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WW2 Carrier Pigeon and Undecoded Message Found In Chimney
BigBadBus writes "The BBC is reporting that the remains of a World War 2 carrier pigeon were found during renovation of a chimney in England. What is interesting is that the pigeon's remains still had its message attached to the leg ring; even more interesting, this is the first recorded instance of a code being used rather than plain text. The successor to WW2 code-breaking HQ Bletchley Park, the GCHQ, is trying to decipher this unique code. Maybe a Slashdot reader can beat them to it?"
It says, "Dresden agrees to surrender, no need to firebomb, Feb. 12, 1945"
What political party do you join when you don't like Bible-thumpers *or* hippies?
So, encoded?
It says, "All Germany's base are belong to us"
Eat me with a peeper sauce and a good wine.
WW2 Carrier Pigeon and Undecoded Message Found In Chimney
I guess that's code for coded.
"For every expert, there is an equal and opposite expert"
Obviously they were just sending serial numbers to aid in pirating punch card software.
They had huge latency and packet loss back then, didn't they?
i wonder how the bird got in the chimney in the first place
Any person using FTFY or editing my postings agrees to a US$50.00 charge
It read "This pigeon is under no circumstances to be shot and eaten, nor allowed near chimneys"
Please consider this account deleted, I just can't be bothered with the spam anymore.
"Don't forget to drink your Ovaltine"
"Wenn ist das Nunstuck git und Slotermeyer? Ja! Beiherhund das Oder die Flipperwaldt gersput!"
"Be sure to drink your Ovaltine."
--------
This isn't the sig you're looking for. Move along.
Eat your ovaltine!
-db
Looks like a red flower, maybe a poppy. Is it some local or national thing? Can any slashdotter not working on decoding enlighten, please?
I am not a crackpot.
Gotcha!, He He!
Mutley
It says, "besuretodrinkyourovaltine"
Proverbs 21:19
I am dead. http://www.somethingawful.com/d/news/you-reading-this.php
... it may never be decoded :(
At least what I could read of it thus far from the image, some letters in parenthesis if I was unsure, and probably not everything correct: (please reply with your corrections)
A(C)AKN HVPKD (F)NFJU YIDD(C/L)
RQX(Q)R DJHFP (E/F)OVFN MIAPX
PABUZ WYYNP C(M)PNW HJR(C)H
NLXKE MEMEK ON(O)(I/L)B AREE(G)?
UAOTA RBQRH DJOFM TPZEH
LKX(E/P)H R(E/F)(E/F)HT JRZCQ FNKTQ
KLDTS (E/F)QIRU AOAKN (2)7 1525/6
NURP 40 TW 194
NURP 37 DK (7/1)6
Slashdot: stuff for news, nerds that matter, matter for news, stuff that nerd
Just a couple of Windows Activation keys @ 1:39
George: "It's a bit charred. Something something at once..PS, due to communication crisis, the shooting of carrier pigeons is now a court-martial offence. I don't see what's so funny about that, sir."
...this was already done before:
http://m.fark.com/comments/7412776/British-get-coded-message-by-carrier-pigeon-from-agent-in-Nazi-Germany-This-is-not-a-repeat-from-1940
And some more newsitems (not video): http://swns.com/news/wwii-carrier-pigeon-secret-code-defeating-nazis-70-years-later-chimney-26984/
Slashdot: stuff for news, nerds that matter, matter for news, stuff that nerd
Put yourself in the carriers position. You are under a DDOS attack and you still want to deliver the packet. So you attempt to route around the damage.
You are being MICROattacked, from various angles, in a SOFT manner.
Well, yes, but a "coded message" might not be an "undecoded message". That is, a "coded message" might have been decoded at some point, whereas an "undecoded message" has never been decoded.
The truth is that all men having power ought to be mistrusted. James Madison
"If only we had a few good African swallows, we could have sent a coconut too big to fall into chimneys"
Someone ought to post the cipher text.
I've boiled down the 32 comments (so far) to 2:
"Drink more ovaltine! (ha ha)" and the like
Undecoded = unnecessary double negative.
Glad to save you some time, Dear Reader.
No, it's natural language's wonderfully concise way of expressing "coded, but subject to ongoing attempts at decoding it" so that everybody who occasionally talks to people instead of machines immediately understands it.
"Help, I'm stuck in a chimney. I'm attaching this message to the leg of a carrier pigeon. Oh crap, I am a carrier pigeon, and this is my leg."
Yeah double negative so what.. in this case it's probably apropos...
I don't know, perhaps it's indicating to you that it's coded and they haven't decoded it yet.. vs if they had just said "coded" which is ambiguous because you don't get any indication if that means they know how to decode it.
AOAKN HVPKD FNFJU YIDDC
RQXSR DJHFP GoVFN MIAPX
PABUZ WYYNP CMPNW HJRZH
NLXKG MENEK ONOIB AREEQ
UAOTA RBQRH DJoFM TPZEH
LKXGH RGGHT JRZCQ FNKTQ
KLDTS GQIRU AOAKN 27 1525/6
NURP 40 TW 194
NURP 37 DK 76
lib 1025
http://www.animalsinwar.org.uk/
"This monument is dedicated to all the animals
that served and died alongside British and allied forces
in wars and campaigns throughout time"
The second, smaller inscription simply reads:
"They had no choice"
.
In that it was a British pigeon, there could only be on message: Bloody Hell - we are surrounded on all sides and are running short of supplies, We need emergency drop - location to follow.... HURRY!!! we are almost out of tea!
Unbelievable. They were still using carrier pigeons in WW II? Despite the invention of radio?
My first thought was that this they got the war wrong or that it was some hobbyist playing at secret messages. But no, they did use pigeons in WW II. The Army Pigeon Service was only disbanded in 1957!
It's weird how military people refuse to give up their favorite toys. As early as the Civil War, the smarter generals were pointing out the stupidity of charging cavalry against modern rifled weapons. And yet the last cavelry charge occurred 80 years later!
Now that's what I'm talkin' about!
No, no, you're not thinking; you're just being logical. --Niels Bohr
The message was hidden within the lace of avian lingerie.
Actually this is the second part of a message.
First Message reads:
Sorry to hear of the russian porn infecting your computer old chap.
Will send activation code once we can get through to India so you can reinstall.
Dick Dastardly finally stopped that pigeon!
Actually, it says:
Notice of intent to build a hyperspace express route is hereby given to the peoples of earth.
Plans and demolition orders may be viewed at your local planning office in Alpha Centauri.
Thank you,
Galactic Hyperspace Planning Council
did you guys catch it?
decoded it says:
"PS: if you didn't get this message, let us know and we'll send it again"
(you know, I bet the sender had one of those fake paint-on moustaches.)
--
"It is now safe to switch off your computer."
Santa stepped on the pigeon by accident, killed it dead....
Don't decode it! It's a copy of the funniest joke in the world! It's in coded form so that it won't hurt anyone!
Coder's Stone: The programming language quick ref for iPad
.
If people only used standards, then even multi-decades old avian-datagrams could route around the blockage of chimneys and continue onward! ;>)
.
The RFC even discusses encryption and tactical issues: ``Security Considerations Security is not generally a problem in normal operation, but special measures must be taken (such as data encryption) when avian carriers are used in a tactical environment.'' This BBN place sounds like a fun place to work if they've got this much time on their hands!
Transcription based on
http://i.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2012/11/01/article-2226203-15CC0406000005DC-295_306x423.jpg
and
http://i.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2012/11/01/article-2226203-15CC0406000005DC-763_634x286.jpg
Transcription assumes all capital letters and no numbers in the encoded message.
--cut here--
[TOP LINE NOT SHOWN IN IMAGE]
TO X02
FROM [NOT FILLED OUT]
Originator's No. [NOT FILLED OUT]
Date. [NOT FILLED OUT
In reply to No. [NOT FILLED OUT]
AOAKN .HVPKD FNFJU YIDDC
RQXSR DJHFP GOVFN MAIPX .
PABUZ WYYNP CMPNW HJRZH .
NLXKG MEMKK ONOIB AKEEQ
UAOTA . RBQRH DJOFM TPZEH
LKXEH REEHT JRZCQ FNKTQ .
KLDTS PQIRU[FQIRU?] AOAKN 27 1525/6.
NURP 40 TW 194
NURP 37 OK 76
[cursive] lib. [normal print] 1625
Time of origin. 1522
Date and time of return at loft [not filled out]
Number of copies sent. 2
Sender's Signature [line illegible/best guess] W St[?]t Sjt.
--cut here--
Transcriber's note:
Dots/periods in the body of the message are probably not part of the encrypted message.
The dot in the first line is somewhat below the letter H in the second grouping.
Knowledge is how to play a game, intelligence is how to win, wisdom is knowing what game to play.
It entered the chimney because it was pining for the fjords.
It's not pinin,' it's passed on! This pigeon is no more! It has ceased to be! It's expired and gone to meet its maker! This is a late pigeon! It's a stiff! Bereft of life, it rests in peace! If you hadn't nailed him to the perch he would be pushing up the daisies! Its metabolical processes are of interest only to historians! It's hopped the twig! It's shuffled off this mortal coil! It's run down the curtain and joined the choir invisible! This.... is an EX-PIGEON!
Bruce Perens.
Obviously it already is a word, and now unseats Tnetennba as Moss' longest countdown word.
It says, "Please send new carrier pigeon. This one continues to get lost."
"First post! Suck it Hitler!"
Better article here: http://www.express.co.uk/posts/view/340486/Coo-blimey-Riddle-of-Percy-the-pigeon-and-a-wartime-mission
"encrypted"
Table-ized A.I.
The data you put on a pigeon's leg is no longer your property says the US government
"Please save my friend, Big Bird, from the flippy guy who looks like a game-show host!"
Table-ized A.I.
The life that I have
Is all that I have
And the life that I have
Is yours.
The love that I have
Of the life that I have
Is yours and yours and yours.
A sleep I shall have
A rest I shall have
Yet death will be but a pause.
For the peace of my years
In the long green grass
Will be yours and yours and yours
Somewhere in The Doughnut, a cryptographer is trying to use Violette Szabo's emergency one-time pad code poem to decrypt the message.
Leo Marks' life was truly amazing. Read more at his IMDB entry, (bio & trivia)
11 is getting crowded with 11/11, 9/11 and 7/11. I suggest that the next important event or big convenience store chain use another common denominator.
lucm, indeed.
Hello, I am a Prince of the Nairobi Royal Family and I need your help...
The answer is 42
R belong to us!
2207520000000 ms ping time....? Packet dropped?
--- If the bible proves the existence of God, then Superman comics prove the existence of Superman.
It will still be encrypted after we have figured out what the plain text is. It will no longer be undecoded, though.
09 F9 11 02 9D 74 E3 5B D8 41 56 C5 63 56 88 C0
FWIW, the NURP... at the end of the message simply identifies the carrier pigeons (NURP stands for National Union of Racing Pigeons).
This probably has nothing to do with the message.
The 40 and 37 indicate the year of registration and TW194 and DK76 are the "serial numbers" of the pigeon.
"Send More Chuck Berry"
It decoded as "drink your Ovaltine".
no it's horrid. 'encoded' is the correct word.
The Kruger Dunning explains most post on
The paper with the encoded message they show in the BBC video is probably a fake. A very informative New York Times article shows probably the original message. Bletchley Park shows the same picture in their publication.
http://www.nytimes.com/2012/11/02/world/europe/world-war-ii-pigeons-message-a-mystery.html?smid=pl-share
http://www.bletchleypark.org/news/docview.rhtm/675670
NURP 40 TW 194 and NURP 37 DK 76 identify the pigeons bearing the message, the numbers 40 and 37 identify the year of birth. 27 is simply the number of code groups and 1525 is probably the time of the encryption. If the message is indeed from D-Day the time would be plausible, because the troops operated off the beaches at this time. Note that the first and the last code group are repeated and are probably not part of the actual ciphertext. The frequency distribution of the letters suggest a substitution cipher.
"NURP was a code for a specific bird. A couple of the pigeons awarded the Dicken medal are know only by their NURP numbers. This suggests to me that two birds were released. As XO2 was Bomber Command HQ, the implication is that two birds were released by a bomber to confirm SOMETHING. Now if the bird's ring still exists and it should, somewhere the number will show up in old RAF records as being signed for by some W/T Operator. If the other bird arrived safe, the message will exist in its decoded form---maybe."
Another point, another place on teh net:
"If this is coded using a one time pad it will be impossible to decode without the corresponding pad."
The pigeon. Carrier Pigeons are extinct, maybe they can take the DNA and do a Jurasic Park on it and bring them back. Proably less scary than a Rapor. Or was that passenger pigeon? which is not with us any longer?
It says: Hello sweetie!
Laws affecting technology will always be bad until enough techies become lawyers.
"Help, stuck in chimney. Send rope."
The delays really are getting out of hand.
Warning: this article may contain humor, sarcasm, parody, and perhaps even irony. Read at your own risk.
PIDGEON LSD?
I decoded it:
"No more secrets"
If that doesn't work, try the key "Joshua".
1. Proceed directly to Trafalgar Square.
2. Locate Lord Nelson's Column.
3. Bombs away (pigeon style).
Have gnu, will travel.
Wenn ist das Nunnstück git und Slotermeyer? Ja! Beiherhund das Oder die Flipperwaldt gersput!
It's the Shooting Schedule for "Sherlock"
What if this message was not written by the Brits for the Brits? What if it was a message from one enemy spy to another? I couldn't tell from TFS or TFA if this was definitely a message by a friendly or an adversary. Very interesting either way.
Ramen
'Pidgin'. That's the word you're looking for.
Confucius say, "Find worm in apple - bad. Find half a worm - worse."
It would be wildly optimistic to hope to come across a decoded report from a spy that said "I told you last week that [...something..] but you've not acknowledged receipt of that news". But weirder things have happened.
Birds are not dinosaur descendants;birds are dinosaurs, for all useful meanings of "birds", "are" and "dinosaurs"
Perfectly unambiguous to me, big deal, who cares... ;)
I do not want your cheap brainburning drugs. They are useless for work. And I am a working man today.
cipher text body:
"HVPKD FNFJU YIDDC RQXSR DJHFP GOVFN MIAPX PABUZ WYYNP CMPNW HJRZH NLXKG NENKK ONOIB AKEEQ UAGTA RBQRH DJOFM TPZEH LKXGH RGGHT JRZCQ FNKTQ KLDTS GQIRU"
Key ID reference, and offset into key material:
"AOAKN 27 1525/6
Gonna be real hard to crack this without knowing what the key material was, or what typical material might have been. Could have been a popular book, or even a poem... (ala poem code) though the ACA stats don't point to a pure poem code.
Some odd bits:
The time codes:
"lib 1625" (liberation? of the pigeons)
Time of Origination: "1522"
This makes sense as time stamps for the process of the time from the command to write/encipher the message, until the time the birds were given their payloads and released.
However the "27 1525/6" trailing the message body does not make sense as a time stamp.
The pigeon serial numbers:
NURP 40TW 194
NURP 37DK 76
Indicate one pigeon was commissioned in 1940, and the other in 1937. The ex-pidgeon was 40TW 194...
Depending on how well the RAF took care of their birds, this message could have been coded anytime between 1940 and then end of the war.
Wild pigeons live 3 - 5 years, but domesticated ones can live typically 10 - 15 years without difficulty. I'm gonna guess mortality rate was fairly high. so bird 37DK 76 places a stiffer upper limit on the date... but it still might have been near D-Day.
from: http://bionsgadgets.appspot.com/gadget_forms/refscore.html
Number of standard deviations from averages for each cipher type:
RunningKey 4
Periodic gromark 5
Progkey beaufort 5
Progressivekey 5
Randomtext 5
[...]
The raw histograms doesn't point to a OTP... it looks all wrong for a 125 char message. it should be much flatter. And there would be no need for the "AOAKN" header and footer. Also OTP is really not very good idea for a forward SOE unit... too easy to lose, or be caught with.
Another odd bit about this whole story. Historians who have commented on this story elsewhere seem to think it was extremely rare for birds to carry enciphered payloads. The vast majority during WW2 carried plaintext. I am assuming that this was due to protocol rather than some notion that birds were considered a secure transport.