During Christmas break in 2013, Sara Rivers Cofield bought a vintage frock
and later found that it had a secret pocket. The pocket was not only well
hidden, but also difficult to open, adding to the intrigue of its contents.
In contrast to popular belief, pockets were frequently seen on gowns
throughout the 1880s. Fashion designers didn't conclude that ladies didn't
require pockets until the 1900s! However, the contents of this pocket made
it seem like no ordinary pocket, and it would take nearly ten years to
figure out what the secret code dress was.
In February of 2014, Sara posted a blog post about the antique garment.
Sara noted in her article all the special details of the silk bustle
garment, such as the original buttons and clear indications of changes. Silk
is an unforgiving fabric that shows every thread. And there was the
enigmatic pocket after that.
Sara discovered two crumpled sheets of paper inside the pocket; they
appeared to have been washed in their hiding place. Carefully unfolding the
pages, she found mysterious written lines. Some of the terms, such "Bismark
Omit leafage buck bank," appeared absurd. There were twelve lines of
unintelligible text on each sheet. By sharing the outfit online, she was
hoping that a "decoding prodigy" would come across it and decide to take on
the job.
Many people accepted the Silk Dress Cryptogram challenge, but eventually
gave it up. It rose to the top 50 encrypted communications that are still
unsolvable. Thanks to Wayne Chan of the University of Manitoba in Winnipeg,
Canada, it is no longer the case. Wayne works at the Center for Earth
Observation Science as a research computer analyst.
Deciphering the Vintage Dress's Secret Code at Last
Wayne's research was published in 2023. In addition, he produced an amazing
pictorial film that shows the steps he took to solve the riddle. It's worth
spending the 17 minutes to learn the extent Wayne went to in order to solve
the puzzle.
Telegraph codes were used by academics in their early attempts to decipher
the secret. Though it wasn't as thrilling as unearthing pirate loot, the
hunt was on. Sending a lengthy message might be costly because telegraph
costs were determined by the word count. In order to enable shorter
communications with a full block of information, the early telegraph codes
were used.
They were near, but nobody saw the one missing piece from the puzzle. It
took Wayne a while to recognize that the code looked like weather reports.
The National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) was
eventually reached as a result. The U.S. Army was in charge of weather
reporting in the 1880s. Wayne was able to decipher the code at last as a
result.
It required ten years to decipher the coded documents, which were kept
secret for 135 years. However, we now know where the enigmatic lines of code
came from. I appreciate you cracking this fascinating puzzle, Mr. Chan. And
thanks to Sara Rivers Cofield for giving the secret code to your antique
outfit.
Please tell your friends about this mystery if you found it enjoyable. They
will enjoy the excitement of the hunt and the payoff of discovering the
truth.
Tags:
Internet