EASY PUZZLE 17 - Bacon Cipher Mystery Cache

  This cache is NOT located at the posted coordinates. You must solve an EASY puzzle to get the final coords.

  If you would like to find out more about this series, click GENERAL INFO and look in the red box.

  NORTH = N 35 40.ABC

Bacon's cipher or the Baconian cipher was devised in 1605 by Francis Bacon.

He created this method of hiding one message within another.

It is not a true cipher but just a way to conceal your secret text within plain sight (steganography).

The way it originally worked is that the writer would use two different typefaces. One would be the "A" typeface and the other would be "B". Your message would be written with the two fonts intermingled, thus hiding your message within a perfectly normal text. So one letter is made up of a combination of 5 A & B characters.

  There are two versions. The first uses the same code for I and J, plus the same code for U and V. The second uses distict codes for every letter.

  WEST = W 79 FG.HIJ

  Answer the multiple choice questions below and substitute the numbers for the correct answers in the formula to get the final coords for west.

  F. Who devised Bacon's cipher?
        2. Francis Bacon
        3. Tom Sawyer
        4. George Washington

  G. What year was it devised in?
        6. 1799
        7. 1876
        8. 1605

  H. How many characters in Bacon's cipher does it take to make one letter?
        3. 3
        4. 4
        5. 5

  I. How many different letters are used in Bacon's cipher?
        8. 1
        9. 2
        0. 3

  J. What are the letters used in Bacon's ciper?
        3. Y & Z
        4. A & B
        5. N & O

You can validate your puzzle solution with certitude.

  We are in NC. It has rained. The logs WILL probably be wet! Unless someone has changed it, it is writ-in-rain paper. Write on it.

  All the NUDGES are in the description of the puzzle

  Beyond A NUDGE

    - Getting the A's & B's:

  After reading description, you know that you need groups of five A's or B's to make one letter.

  You also learned that there has to be something in the text that are different, so what two things are different that would give you A's & B's?

  In this puzzle, there are black letters and different colored (rainbow colored) letters.

  The best way I have found to get my letters is to open the description page and an empty notepad file. Minimize them both and place them beside each other on your desktop. Starting at the top of the description page, type on the notepad an A for the black letters and a B for the colored letters. I use my left hand index finger for A and my right hand index finger for B.

  NOTE: The secret message (numbers) are in the 2nd, 3rd and 4th paragraphs. When you get to the all black letters, just type a couple of A's and then decode it. (Decode one paragraph at a time.)

    - Two ways of solving the bacon cipher:

  1. Yourself - looking at a group of 5 letters and comparing it to a list of bacon's cipher letters. A link to a website to learn more about bacon's cipher and see the charts click Bacon's Cipher.

  2. Decoder = Bacon's Cipher Decoder .

    1. METHOD - make sure you are on 'decrypt'.
    2. VERSION - you have two choices. (1) Distinct code uses all 26 letters and (2) I=J and U=V. (Example: fiue = five & seuen = seven.) I will use the 'Distinct Values' for this puzzle.
    3. Copy and paste your A's and B's into the empty box. If it doesn't look right, make sure you are on decrypt.

  On this puzzle, you will get 'AIS[number spelled out]BIS[number spelled out], etc.
(If you don't and you are on decrypt, change the version . If it still doesn't look right, message me your A & B list and I will be glad to look at them and help.)

  Do you need one? Well, if yes, check within the North rainbow section of the puzzle box.

  ADDITIONAL Beyond A Nudge for NORTH

  There are three paragraphs with rainbow colors in them mixed between the black letters. Use a notepad and type an A where you see a black letter and a B where you see the colored letter. Then copy and paste your A's & B's into the decoder. Then use the above decoder. If your solution does not look right, message me your A's and B's

        NOTE: Need more help? Contact me. I LOVE to help and give nudges. :-)