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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"
Obviously they were just sending serial numbers to aid in pirating punch card software.
i wonder how the bird got in the chimney in the first place
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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.
"Wenn ist das Nunstuck git und Slotermeyer? Ja! Beiherhund das Oder die Flipperwaldt gersput!"
Looks like a red flower, maybe a poppy. Is it some local or national thing? Can any slashdotter not working on decoding enlighten, please?
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Remembrance_poppy
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
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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.
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 Flanders fields the poppies blow
Between the crosses, row on row,
That mark our place; and in the sky
The larks, still bravely singing, fly
Scarce heard amid the guns below.
We are the Dead. Short days ago
We lived, felt dawn, saw sunset glow,
Loved and were loved, and now we lie,
In Flanders fields.
Take up our quarrel with the foe:
To you from failing hands we throw
The torch; be yours to hold it high.
If ye break faith with us who die
We shall not sleep, though poppies grow
In Flanders fields.
-- John McCrae
Your "fair share" is NOT in my wallet.
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
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!
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.
This is correct. Radio communications in the UK were restricted for this sort of thing in WWII. Even weather reports were restricted, lest the Germans should use them to determine the best time to do an air raid. Not only were pigeons used to relay important intelligence, but they were drafted. Individuals who were known to keep pigeons for pleasure were required to turn their hobby into a civil service, much as factories were converted to produce matériel and farms were directed to increase production of specific staples.
They were still using carrier pigeons in WW II? Despite the invention of radio?
The trouble with radio is that everyone else hears it too. Carrier pigeons, assuming they get through, can carry a message from the front lines to the rear without it being intercepted as easily.
And yet the last cavalry charge occurred 80 years later!
Actually, the WWII cavalry charges were done because they sometimes worked: For example, an infamous Polish cavalry charge early on in the war was successful in halting the advance of an infantry force - the trouble was that then some tanks showed up and the cavalry had to retreat (this later got propagandized as Poles charging tanks with lances, but that never happened). Later on, an Italian cavalry unit was surrounded by Marshal Tito's forces in the Balkans, and managed to escape by charging them with sabres drawn. And yes, the Germans used cavalry too, mostly on the Eastern Front.
In short, the generals aren't as stupid as you think.
I am officially gone from
Hello, I am a Prince of the Nairobi Royal Family and I need your help...
Poignant as the words are, recently (last 10 years or so?) someone scored them to music for Remembrance Day ceremonies. Let me tell you, listening to these words from the dead, sung by school-age children, is one of the most powerful and haunting things you can hear.
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.