Difference between revisions of "Solved 340-character cipher (old version)"

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(Transpositions and other possible variations)
(Transpositions and other possible variations)
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*[[Cipher Legitimacy]] - Are the Zodiac ciphers real, or are they hoaxes?
 
*[[Cipher Legitimacy]] - Are the Zodiac ciphers real, or are they hoaxes?
 
*[[Corpus Experiments]] - A collection of corpus-based experiments performed on the Zodiac ciphers
 
*[[Corpus Experiments]] - A collection of corpus-based experiments performed on the Zodiac ciphers
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*[http://zodiackillersite.com/viewtopic.php?f=81&t=2617 Outline of ongoing work on Z340]
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*[http://zodiackillersite.com/viewtopic.php?f=81&t=2916 Another outline of ongoing work on Z340]
  
 
== Homophone sequences ==
 
== Homophone sequences ==
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== Transpositions and other possible variations ==
 
== Transpositions and other possible variations ==
Is the 340 cipher unsolved because it is not a simple homophonic substitution cipher like the 408 cipher?  Here is a collection of considered possibilities:
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Is the 340 cipher unsolved because it is not a simple homophonic substitution cipher like the 408 cipher?  I began an attempt to rule out specific encipherment schemes here:
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[[Hypothesis Testing]]
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Here is an older collection of considered possibilities:
 
*[[Oxcart]] - Does the 340 cipher's plaintext follow an "ox cart" path; that is, does it read alternately from left to right, then right to left?
 
*[[Oxcart]] - Does the 340 cipher's plaintext follow an "ox cart" path; that is, does it read alternately from left to right, then right to left?
 
*Vigenere
 
*Vigenere
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*[http://www.zodiackillersite.com/viewtopic.php?f=81&t=2435 Jarlve's tests]
 
*[http://www.zodiackillersite.com/viewtopic.php?f=81&t=2435 Jarlve's tests]
 
**At the above link, Jarlve has documented the following variations: Cardan grille variant, stacked directional transformations, spirals, double spirals, column flips, double directional transformations, rail fence, row flips, and row flips in a 20 by 17 grid.
 
**At the above link, Jarlve has documented the following variations: Cardan grille variant, stacked directional transformations, spirals, double spirals, column flips, double directional transformations, rail fence, row flips, and row flips in a 20 by 17 grid.
*[https://www.dropbox.com/sh/xlsjup1en6evq2o/AABHmixWHW9rdbWupupSC87sa?dl=0 Largo's transposition ideas]
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*[https://www.dropbox.com/sh/xlsjup1en6evq2o/AABHmixWHW9rdbWupupSC87sa?dl=0 Heiko's transposition ideas] [http://www.zodiackillersite.com/viewtopic.php?f=81&t=3093&p=48602 (more info)]
  
 
== Halloween Card ==
 
== Halloween Card ==
 
* Does the Halloween Card, mailed by the killer a year after the 340 cipher, contain clues about the 340?
 
* Does the Halloween Card, mailed by the killer a year after the 340 cipher, contain clues about the 340?
 
**[http://www.kirps.com/web/main/resources/various/zodiac340/ Jos Kirps' article about interesting coincidences between the Halloween card and the 340 cipher]
 
**[http://www.kirps.com/web/main/resources/various/zodiac340/ Jos Kirps' article about interesting coincidences between the Halloween card and the 340 cipher]

Revision as of 18:24, 26 June 2016

Zodiac, the serial killer who terrorized Northern California in the late 1960s, sent four ciphers to local newspapers. The first cipher was separated into three different parts and each part was sent to Vallejo Times-Herald, the San Francisco Chronicle, and the San Francisco Examiner. The combination of all three parts formed a 408-letter cipher, which was decrypted one week after it was received. Zodiac also sent a 340-letter cipher, mailed on a card on November 8 1969, that remains unsolved to this day.

Articles and information about the 340 cipher

High-resolution scan of the 340-character cipher
Cipher as it appeared in the SF Chronicle on Nov 13, 1969 (Credit: Deborah Silva, who posts as Seagull on the Zodiac forums)

Homophone sequences

The "Pivots"

Transpositions and other possible variations

Is the 340 cipher unsolved because it is not a simple homophonic substitution cipher like the 408 cipher? I began an attempt to rule out specific encipherment schemes here:

Hypothesis Testing

Here is an older collection of considered possibilities:

Halloween Card