# Now this is a strange Captcha! **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [November 27, 2009, 6:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/now-this-is-a-strange-captcha/519153 "2009-11-27T18:49:14Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 9\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![lexi](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lexi/32/6806_2.png) [@lexi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lexi)\ **Post date:** [November 27, 2009, 6:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/now-this-is-a-strange-captcha/519153/1 "2009-11-27T18:49:14Z")
I know that it is only random what words show up, but this is what I got for a captcha today on a form! [http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?pid=4576003&l=edbbd70d9a&id=686330069](http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?pid=4576003&l=edbbd70d9a&id=686330069) ---
**Author:** ![Unintentionally\_Blank](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/unintentionally_blank/32/5418_2.png) [@Unintentionally\_Blank](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Unintentionally_Blank)\ **Post date:** [November 27, 2009, 6:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/now-this-is-a-strange-captcha/519153/2 "2009-11-27T18:52:04Z")
I like how it looks like a patriotic banner!! ---
**Author:** ![lexi](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lexi/32/6806_2.png) [@lexi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lexi)\ **Post date:** [November 27, 2009, 6:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/now-this-is-a-strange-captcha/519153/3 "2009-11-27T18:54:38Z")
Funny thing is I am rather left wing & Canadian to boot! ---
**Author:** ![PlainJain](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/5daacb/32.png) [@PlainJain](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PlainJain)\ **Post date:** [November 27, 2009, 7:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/now-this-is-a-strange-captcha/519153/4 "2009-11-27T19:24:46Z")
So you need to write “Palin”? ---
**Author:** ![Sunspace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sunspace/32/1250_2.png) [@Sunspace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sunspace)\ **Post date:** [November 27, 2009, 8:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/now-this-is-a-strange-captcha/519153/5 "2009-11-27T20:44:13Z")
Let me guess. ‘Obama’ wouldn’t work? ---
**Author:** ![palindromemordnilap](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/db5fbb/32.png) [@palindromemordnilap](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/palindromemordnilap)\ **Post date:** [November 27, 2009, 10:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/now-this-is-a-strange-captcha/519153/6 "2009-11-27T22:59:04Z")
> [@PlainJain](#): > > So you need to write “Palin”? I think Sarah is more of a mess than a messiah. In NY’s 23rd district her divine intervention succeeded in electing a Democrat for the first time in a century. ---
**Author:** ![UncleRojelio](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/unclerojelio/32/3160_2.png) [@UncleRojelio](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/UncleRojelio)\ **Post date:** [December 3, 2009, 10:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/now-this-is-a-strange-captcha/519153/7 "2009-12-03T22:23:23Z")
> [@lexi](#): > > I know that it is only random what words show up … [Not always](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ReCAPTCHA). ---
**Author:** ![Electric\_Warrior](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/ee7513/32.png) [@Electric\_Warrior](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Electric_Warrior)\ **Post date:** [December 4, 2009, 5:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/now-this-is-a-strange-captcha/519153/8 "2009-12-04T05:17:57Z")
> [@UncleRojelio](#): > > [Not always](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ReCAPTCHA). I don’t really understand this - if computers are unable to decipher the words, wouldn’t they need to be previously deciphered by a human so they could be used as means of authentication? ---
**Author:** ![dhkendall](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/a9adbd/32.png) [@dhkendall](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dhkendall)\ **Post date:** [December 4, 2009, 5:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/now-this-is-a-strange-captcha/519153/9 "2009-12-04T05:28:16Z")
I wondered that too, but the WP article cleared it up somewhat. For example, lets say our captcha words for the day are “vegetable” and “horse”. Horse has already been verified by humans as one that works, but vegetable is there because the OCR can’t read it, and is relying on captchers to do it for them. Now, if one of the words they enter with the vegetable-horse pair is “horse”, chances are the other word they enter is what that mysterious word is supposed to be. If most of them say the mysterious word is “vegetable”, then they’ve found what the mysterious word is, and it becomes verified, and thus goes in the pool as a potential “control” word (like “horse” is). Not 100% accurate, but seems to be working for them. Now that I know this, of course, I’m tempted to figure out which one of the two is the “control” word and mess with Captcha on the other one. Something along the lines of the MPFC “Dirty Hungarian Phrasebook” skit. Yes, I’m evil. 🙂