# It is an enigma . **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [June 2, 2009, 7:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/it-is-an-enigma/498466 "2009-06-02T07:05:56Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Indian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/c0e974/32.png) [@Indian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Indian)\ **Post date:** [June 2, 2009, 7:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/it-is-an-enigma/498466/1 "2009-06-02T07:05:56Z")
What is the answer to this[puzzle](http://www.itsanenigma.com/) ? ---
**Author:** ![NineToTheSky](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/b5a626/32.png) [@NineToTheSky](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/NineToTheSky)\ **Post date:** [June 2, 2009, 8:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/it-is-an-enigma/498466/2 "2009-06-02T08:41:03Z")
Just so everyone is aware (in case you’re using a work PC or are otherwise concerned), clicking on the object in the link downloads four .pdf files. ---
**Author:** ![Indian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/c0e974/32.png) [@Indian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Indian)\ **Post date:** [June 2, 2009, 9:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/it-is-an-enigma/498466/3 "2009-06-02T09:00:59Z")
> [@NineToTheSky](#): > > Just so everyone is aware (in case you’re using a work PC or are otherwise concerned), clicking on the object in the link downloads four .pdf files. Thanx ! I should have included that warning ..:smack: ---
**Author:** ![BigT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bigt/32/12044_2.png) [@BigT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BigT)\ **Post date:** [June 2, 2009, 10:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/it-is-an-enigma/498466/4 "2009-06-02T10:48:38Z")
I find it odd that it is split into 4 pdfs. I did a quick-n-dirty paste job to help people who want to solve the puzzle without printing. I can still read the letters at this resolution. > **[File not found - DriveHQ Web and File Hosting Service](https://www.drivehq.com/help/hosting/FileNotFound.aspx?filePath=%2Ftrlkly%2Fwwwhome%2Fspiral.png&errCode=5)** > > The requested file is not found. DriveHQ offers the easiest file hosting and static web hosting service. ---
**Author:** ![Blake](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/a9a28c/32.png) [@Blake](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Blake)\ **Post date:** [June 2, 2009, 11:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/it-is-an-enigma/498466/5 "2009-06-02T11:16:43Z")
Fibonacci spiral. I’m thinking Fibonacci sequence. The first few letters in the standard sequence seem to read “I’m a GCF” and the period conveniently falls on the 21st letter. GCF = Greatest common factor? I can’t be bothered reading the rest, but you might like to play around with it. ---
**Author:** ![chrisk](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/6de8d8/32.png) [@chrisk](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/chrisk)\ **Post date:** [June 2, 2009, 12:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/it-is-an-enigma/498466/6 "2009-06-02T12:01:58Z")
> [@indian](#): > > It is an enigma… …wrapped in a PDF. 😉 [sub]And yes, that lame joke was all I have to contribute at this moment.[/sub] ---
**Author:** ![ftg](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ftg/32/2801_2.png) [@ftg](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ftg)\ **Post date:** [June 2, 2009, 2:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/it-is-an-enigma/498466/7 "2009-06-02T14:47:27Z")
> [@Blake](#): > > Fibonacci spiral. I’m thinking Fibonacci sequence. The first few letters in the standard sequence seem to read “I’m a GCF” and the period conveniently falls on the 21st letter. > > GCF = Greatest common factor? I can’t be bothered reading the rest, but you might like to play around with it. Perhaps of use: Adjacent Fibonacci numbers are the worst cases (in terms of time) for the classic [Euclid’s Algorithm](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Euclid's_algorithm#Number_of_steps) for finding GCDs. ---
**Author:** ![Crotalus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/crotalus/32/41_2.png) [@Crotalus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Crotalus)\ **Post date:** [June 2, 2009, 3:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/it-is-an-enigma/498466/8 "2009-06-02T15:02:53Z")
I instantly got a 14 k of g in a f p d vibe from this. ---
**Author:** ![Indian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/c0e974/32.png) [@Indian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Indian)\ **Post date:** [June 2, 2009, 3:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/it-is-an-enigma/498466/9 "2009-06-02T15:26:42Z")
C’mon ! Dopers can surely crack this ! 😉 ---
**Author:** ![gazpacho](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/6f9a4e/32.png) [@gazpacho](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gazpacho)\ **Post date:** [June 2, 2009, 3:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/it-is-an-enigma/498466/10 "2009-06-02T15:46:17Z")
Here is a link to the back ground of this. The four files were placed in newspaper boxes in four different cities. See this thread. > **[Puzzle: Anyone in Miami Beach, Austin, Cambridge or San Francisco Able to...](https://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=518029)** > > I posted in a previous thread about a Twitter user who was tweeting in code—it turned out to be ROT13—but solving that puzzle just led to another. The decoded text revealed Google Map URLs for locations in Miami Beach, Cambridge, Austin and San... ---
**Author:** ![VanillaGorilla](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/f9ae1b/32.png) [@VanillaGorilla](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/VanillaGorilla)\ **Post date:** [June 2, 2009, 4:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/it-is-an-enigma/498466/11 "2009-06-02T16:22:41Z")
Yes, fibonacci seems to be involved here. If you skip letters using the fibonacci sequence like this: skip first 1 letter, then 1, then 2,3,5,8,13,21,34,55: you get “imagineanef”. I’m pretty sure “imagine” can’t be a coincidence, but can’t figure out what it means. Imagine an ef? imagine a nef? This is assuming I didn’t make a mistake when copying the letters to notepad. I wrote these letters, and I can’t be arsed to double check. 🙂 iymhacqgaluicldoxnyifjvolbeijmjaghtcrnadamqihhkumyrhvjtldcwxtpnchyrwdptbeitmpaxloxewtprguvuljdnmzekolmyfndzizapetogribvcyrnhubtwfiouwxutpwzepajxtxowwbkggfwpvavpvajkwhnqwhpbxrmaljnjgetcwtriomxs ---
**Author:** ![Crotalus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/crotalus/32/41_2.png) [@Crotalus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Crotalus)\ **Post date:** [June 2, 2009, 4:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/it-is-an-enigma/498466/12 "2009-06-02T16:35:43Z")
Did you perhaps count 45 instead of 55 for the last letter? I got Imagine a new… when I did it. Then what? We don’t have enough letters to skip 89 or 144, unless we paste the whole letter sequence together multiple times. This could get pretty tedious. Maybe I should write a program. ---
**Author:** ![VanillaGorilla](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/f9ae1b/32.png) [@VanillaGorilla](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/VanillaGorilla)\ **Post date:** [June 2, 2009, 4:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/it-is-an-enigma/498466/13 "2009-06-02T16:38:19Z")
You are right, I checked, and it is indeed “imagine a new”. Seems I did make a mistake when I copied the letters, it should be: iymhacqgaluicldoxnyifjvolbeijmjaghtcrnadamqihhkumyrhvjtldcwxtpnchyrwdptbeitmpaxloxewtprguvuljdnmzekolmyfndzizapetogribvcyrnhubtvfiouwxutpwzepajxtxowwbkgfwpvavpvajkwhnqwhpbxrmaljnjgetcwtriomxs And yeah, a program might help. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![jjimm](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ba8739/32.png) [@jjimm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jjimm)\ **Post date:** [June 2, 2009, 4:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/it-is-an-enigma/498466/14 "2009-06-02T16:52:58Z")
“Imagineanew” is the twitter name. Go to [http://twitter.com/imagineanew](http://twitter.com/imagineanew) Next bit… argh! > [@](#): > > ¶2090 IWZ3 TBI5 XAJT 1YVC U1FG N7OS U2SU X1PU 992V 31YD C9ZZ DMU9 HXD2 FDZ9 FJ0N PRVS W630 0H30 0MCI GC63 FG30 4G6G 630C C9YH H6YH Y7FF ---
**Author:** ![Blake](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/a9a28c/32.png) [@Blake](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Blake)\ **Post date:** [June 3, 2009, 2:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/it-is-an-enigma/498466/15 "2009-06-03T02:57:45Z")
> [@Blake](#): > > Fibonacci spiral. I’m thinking Fibonacci sequence. The first few letters in the standard sequence seem to read “I’m a GCF” > [@Etumretniw](#): > > You are right, I checked, and it is indeed “imagine a new”. D’oh. Obviously I miscounted somewhere.:smack: Still, I managed to get the methodology right, even if I was too lazy to do it properly. Most of these puzzles I find more boring than challenging. Working out the methodology usually takes seconds, then you need to spend half an hour doing tedious repetitive legwork of counting letters or finding out which king of Spain preceded Philip the Undecided or something similar. ---
**Author:** ![cmyk](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cmyk/32/3353_2.png) [@cmyk](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cmyk)\ **Post date:** [June 3, 2009, 5:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/it-is-an-enigma/498466/16 "2009-06-03T05:21:07Z")
Huh. I’m just now catching this. I’m intrigued. I’m not good at cyphers, but I find these sorts of things fun and interesting. What kind of cypher is that next bit? Anyone recognize it? ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [June 3, 2009, 5:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/it-is-an-enigma/498466/17 "2009-06-03T05:29:37Z")
> [@gazpacho](#): > > Here is a link to the back ground of this. The four files were placed in newspaper boxes in four different cities. See this thread. > > [Puzzle: Anyone in Miami Beach, Austin, Cambridge or San Francisco Able to Help With T - Factual Questions - Straight Dope Message Board](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=518029) Heh. Looks like my guess in that thread was on the mark, but it would have been better if I actually _tried_ my solution. :smack: I don’t have any immediate ideas for this one, unfortunately. ---
**Author:** ![cmyk](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cmyk/32/3353_2.png) [@cmyk](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cmyk)\ **Post date:** [June 3, 2009, 5:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/it-is-an-enigma/498466/18 "2009-06-03T05:34:06Z")
Is there any other forum, besides the Dope, that is aware of this? More background, **Here Come Dots?** ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [June 3, 2009, 6:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/it-is-an-enigma/498466/19 "2009-06-03T06:34:01Z")
Well, here’s a frequency analysis of the letters in the cipher: a-1 b-1 c-6 d-4 e-0 f-6 g-5 h-5 i-3 j-2 k-0 l-0 m-2 n-2 o-1 p-2 q-0 r-1 s-3 t-2 u-5 v-3 w-2 x-3 y-5 z-4 0-9 1-4 2-4 3-7 4-1 5-1 6-5 7-2 8-0 9-7 108 total It almost looks like it should be a substitution cipher, based on the frequency of letters and the repeating occurance of two- and three-letter combos in the ciphertext (like 30, 63, 300, 630) but it’s not quite working out for me. There’s a total of 31 unique characters in the ciphertext. ---
**Author:** ![jjimm](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ba8739/32.png) [@jjimm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jjimm)\ **Post date:** [June 3, 2009, 7:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/it-is-an-enigma/498466/20 "2009-06-03T07:51:29Z")
The paragraph mark at the beginning also suggests it’s in reverse order. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/it-is-an-enigma/498466.md?page=2)