Let's Crack Zodiac - Episode 1 - Graysmith

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  • Опубліковано 21 січ 2025

КОМЕНТАРІ • 491

  • @jleclanche
    @jleclanche 4 роки тому +639

    Congratulations David, you have broken the cypher. Your solution is good and valid.

    • @suprotikdey1910
      @suprotikdey1910 4 роки тому +3

      Seriously man. Salute 🔥

    • @rickh3714
      @rickh3714 4 роки тому

      And it's a likely identifier!

    • @davebar2017
      @davebar2017 4 роки тому +4

      He said a computer did it
      ..I have a question for it
      IOOIIO OIIOIO IIOOIOI OI OIIO OIIO IOIO OOII OOOIOI

    • @trinidad17
      @trinidad17 4 роки тому +14

      "I'm the Zodiac and I approve this message... yes I'm like 105 years old and Ted Cruz."

    • @lucaslucas191202
      @lucaslucas191202 4 роки тому +3

      It sounded so made up. Like who says 'you're solution is good and valid', sounds robotic.

  • @323observing
    @323observing 4 роки тому +386

    That’s it! The Zodiac Killer was a “Complete Pong Master”
    Check all ping pong tournaments in the relevant times and areas. We got him now boys!

  • @shirleylilly7439
    @shirleylilly7439 4 роки тому +775

    I want this solved so they can solve the murder of Cheri Jo Bates. She was killed 10/30/66. She was my neighbor and babysat me when I was little! A number of us, now in our mid sixties want this solved before we die!

    • @Ghst-nn9yy
      @Ghst-nn9yy 4 роки тому +84

      I hope it gets solved, my dads brother was murdered by him

    • @seanjohn2312
      @seanjohn2312 4 роки тому +21

      How old were you when she died?
      Ps sorry fo yo loss. (If your telling the truth.)

    • @BlackAdder1970
      @BlackAdder1970 4 роки тому +7

      I'm really thinking Ross Sullivan Killed her and it's completely unrelated to the Zodiac Killer.
      I had read somewhere that Ross's older brother was dating her. Any truth to that?

    • @rickh3714
      @rickh3714 4 роки тому +1

      'Intestis as I hone Z'
      'Mete Stine. I ensure it fund.'
      'A hiss and tart senses a shake.'
      'Leaf in Thea's hat'
      ...Gar.
      Part of the word length based Morse transcription derived from the Riverside Confession letter.
      Sent by me to Police in 2018.
      No response.
      I don't know if the RCL is from the murderer but it certainly seems allied to the 'Z' cases.
      My 'suspects' are GSP and 🧸K.
      Both went to Berkeley University
      One as a student who spent two years in the military, the other as an eventually infamous Professor.
      The ex military one might have used the March airforce base. I think they may have worked as a team. He appears to code this correlation in Caesar field code adjacent character steganography derived from the title of one of his books/essays.
      'I used Ted K's gun'
      'Max by my v.high,v.high IQ.'
      Both still alive. One in jail.

    • @sid1920
      @sid1920 4 роки тому +14

      Its solved!

  • @Blake_Stone
    @Blake_Stone 4 роки тому +108

    Robert Graysmith: Greg Mellen told me "go away boy, you bother me", but upon applying a substitution cipher plus a lot of rearrangement of letters, it turns out he actually said "congratulations, you've broken the code"!

  • @yissssss
    @yissssss 4 роки тому +112

    Complete pong master is obviously the correct solution. He was giving us a clue to his identity. He is the pong master.

    • @InvisibleFreak23
      @InvisibleFreak23 4 роки тому +2

      Hahaaa!! I just went into the same direction with my post before i saw your comment xD

  • @rengarcia5189
    @rengarcia5189 4 роки тому +24

    When I read Robert Graysmith's book, I could tell he really, really wanted to be the guy who cracked the 340 character cipher. His solution was optimistic at best, dodgy and unintelligible at worst. The Zodiac wrote in a polite monotone , the 480 cipher reflected that. Greysmith's solution was a hot mess. Congrats on your dedication and hard work. With luck, we might someday close the book on the Zodiac.

    • @AndrewDangerously
      @AndrewDangerously 3 роки тому +2

      My copy of his book never mentions the 340 cypher on the front or back cover. If he thought he had actually solved it, he probably would have thought to mention that in the advertising. He had to of known that his solution was incorrect, any reasonable person can see it is mostly nonsense. I think he just really wanted to have something, anything on it to make it seem like he contributed more to the case than he actually did.

  • @mistertor
    @mistertor 4 роки тому +150

    He did stumble across "slaves" and "because" in the same line. Was that just random good luck, or did he happen to follow the correct sequence for a fleeting moment, albeit inadvertently?

    • @samsonbella1
      @samsonbella1 4 роки тому +16

      watch the last video, good catch!

    • @ratpiss
      @ratpiss 4 роки тому +8

      I was thinking the same thing.

    • @PS-wh1yr
      @PS-wh1yr 4 роки тому +13

      slaves was used it in the previous decoded message

    • @mistertor
      @mistertor 4 роки тому +5

      @@PS-wh1yr OK, it makes that he would go looking for words that had been used in the previous Cypher.

    • @maulcs
      @maulcs 4 роки тому +7

      For some reason people seem to think the slaves in the afterlife thing is new - it's not. It was in the original solved 408 cipher and many of his letters.

  • @guitarslim56
    @guitarslim56 4 роки тому +157

    Graysmith did a lot of creative "fill in the blank." About half of what he writes in his book is pure fantasy.

  • @davidmartins4666
    @davidmartins4666 4 роки тому +35

    "Got replacement mops" is the most eery message of all

  • @CryptographyForEverybody
    @CryptographyForEverybody 4 роки тому +60

    Well made and good and easy to understand - looking forward to see the next one 🙂👍

  • @ak47is
    @ak47is 4 роки тому +19

    "Go contemplate Sperm" ... I almost chocked

  • @JeanCarloQR
    @JeanCarloQR 4 роки тому +14

    I just finished watching the movie a few minutes ago. I went to look for more information and saw your video, it was very good. Now in quarantine I will read the book. I will be waiting for more episodes. Greetings from Peru.

    • @doranchak
      @doranchak  4 роки тому +1

      Thanks for watching!

  • @occularmalice
    @occularmalice 4 роки тому +124

    Now that you guys actually solved this, this shows Graysmith was full of crap and got his "solution" completely wrong.

    • @maulcs
      @maulcs 4 роки тому +27

      We've always known Graysmith was full of crap

    • @Raffini
      @Raffini 4 роки тому +20

      Puts his claim that Arthur Lee Allen was the killer even further in doubt. Allen was definitifely a weird dude, but Graysmith might've unjustifiably made the last few years of his life hell. That's what's always bugged me about his book. He was publically convicted because of circumstantial evidence and for just being weird, while all the forensic evidence cleared him.

    • @Jinisinsane
      @Jinisinsane 4 роки тому +1

      Yeah looks like he just wants to make a quick buck.

    • @patavinity1262
      @patavinity1262 4 роки тому +1

      I mean, it was obvious before that too.

    • @AngelaFernandesBlevins
      @AngelaFernandesBlevins 3 роки тому +1

      @@Raffini but JMC is a solid suspect in the shadows of the Bay Area
      JMC also has a creepy personality disorder. Some dark triad and a history of being interesting in little girls. I learned through a deposition in 2018 after my mothers mysterious illness, questionable death that he in 1970 he was living in a trailer park in Vallejo right at the same time these incidents of murder and it Geary Street he’s only at eight minute walk away where he worked at Levi Strauss as a delivery driver on Union Square. I put my life on the line and I swear to God this creep killed my mother and I do believe Dana Stidham is his work also, You know she’s missing a sternum that’s part of the clue in the puzzle it’s a game still on for sternum. I could go on about this man all night long if people don’t start checking him out really really close there’s a great chance that they’re missing DNA and it could perfectly match. Unfortunately I met this psycho killer and I know he killed my cat that’s just obvious with poison anyways he pulled up in the driveway to date my mother when I was 12 years old he had just left California couple years earlier told my mother he needed a woman and it was so difficult to find a woman that would even look his direction, he really just wanted to get laid but my mom she somehow excused all the circumstantial evidence thought he was a good guy. He wasn’t But he is a Chamaeleon he’s not who he seems to be he’s very dangerous and he’s absolutely corrupted with his intelligence and getting by with naughty things for fun.
      For some reason he wrote in a letter that he felt like he had to flee the deadly fog of California back to Arkansas in 1974 there you go

  • @jameswestgate416
    @jameswestgate416 4 роки тому +14

    This is a fabulous high quality video that really deserves more views.

  • @JoesGLI
    @JoesGLI 4 роки тому +3

    Amazing, simply amazing. Well done to you and the team! 50 years in the making.

  • @violinmerchant
    @violinmerchant 4 роки тому +157

    So glad Zodiac got those replacement mops. We needed them after the splatter cop got tempted to mangle that corpse after the complete pong master spent the whole day contemplating sperm. But you know what they say...
    ...Pros get a complement

    • @drogadepc
      @drogadepc 4 роки тому +7

      Some people do love contemplating sperm

    • @Log-On-Line
      @Log-On-Line 3 роки тому +4

      i thought you were just commenting random shit that had nothing to do with the video but i understand now

  • @Kosmiceggburst
    @Kosmiceggburst 4 роки тому +4

    To me, Oranchak is articulate and gifted at clarity, from which I appreciate this quality in others. So, thanks, Dave. The video is a way of saying "What's wrong with this way of thinking about decrypting something?" without attacking the person for trying different things. We don't know the solution yet and are sometimes too quick to write off the person rather than the concept. This video explains this phenomenon well. That said, Graysmith did put forth a lot of effort and there is some value there. He said something interesting in his book that Mad magazine had a fold-in on the inside of the back cover where the drawing looks completely different when folded into vertical thirds. I had actually thought of that same thing on my own years ago and when I finally got around to reading his book in detail, that particular point got my attention when coupled together with what we now know since the 1980s. Apparently some others explored the angle as well, but there's more to do and the concept easily fits into what we've seen so far on decrypt snippets. For that reason alone it's a lead to the undeciphered portion of the Z304 worth pursuing further because the most reliable key stopped working after the first eight lines before working again near the last few lines. Maybe it's a horizontal fold into thirds, for example, given the fold-in effect. The two giant but backward LLs formed by patterns in the middle are another indicator that something like that is going on underneath. Maybe it's a play on the double LL that led to the Z408 cipher decryption in 1969. I don't know so I raise the question of a fold-in, or kaleidoscope type of overall cipher grid manipulation technique that the backward LL drives, but is borrowed from nostalgic publications, or something like that such as the Riddler from Batman that we just haven't hit upon because the murderer deliberately employs over-generalizations as for one of his obscurity tactics. Along those lines, the cipher writer likes to role play. At the same time, as everybody knows, role play was the initial process employed to solve enough of the Z408 to come up with a key as well as parts of the Z340, so it's a technique that worked in the past but it took a combined effort to get a yield.

    • @doranchak
      @doranchak  4 роки тому +2

      Thanks for watching! These are interesting ideas. Donald Harden thought Zodiac might have gotten his cipher ideas from old detective story magazines. Maybe he read about some scheme similar to your ideas and it inspired the 340 cipher.

    • @Kosmiceggburst
      @Kosmiceggburst 4 роки тому +1

      @@doranchak Thanks Dave I give them hell too. I didn't know that detail about the Hardens. We all pretty much know the plain text is coming from a moron who is asking for it once he gets caught and that's why the nostalgic magazines turned out to be a significant discovery. That's pretty much how you've started out your presentations that it's the ramblings of a lunatic. Amen. Deciphering the Z340 content has even greater psychological analysis value. At Berryessa the guy showed off his problem of mixing fantasy and reality.
      Here's what I've turned up so far on the specific publication you mention: During World War II issues of Street & Smith's Detective Story magazine were distributed to American forces with "Overseas Edition for Armed Services" printed on the cover. We'll have to examine all versions (British, USA, USA-Overseas) to be thorough.
      OK, at Riverside we have a different size but similar shoe and a paint-flecked Timex traced to a purchase at an overseas PX. That's a connection to Detective Stories overseas edition we didn't have before. Add Detective Story magazine Overseas Edition to the list of suspicious coincidences between Riverside and July 31st letter where I think the first Zodiac Killer self-ascribed symbol appeared.

  • @Aster_Risk
    @Aster_Risk 4 роки тому +20

    The Nancy Drew, true crime, puzzle enthusiast in me is really excited to watch this.

  • @quantumcommunities7618
    @quantumcommunities7618 4 роки тому +9

    This is so great. Really hope to see more eps.

    • @doranchak
      @doranchak  4 роки тому +6

      Thanks for watching. Working on Episode 2 now. :)

    • @quantumcommunities7618
      @quantumcommunities7618 4 роки тому +2

      @@doranchak the editing is wonderful and really illustrates your points. Having done editing work I can imagine this is time consuming so thanks for investing your effort. I'm interested in the Hoax theory from Horan but there are some things that seem to not be addressed like the writing on the car door etc but it does make me wonder to what extent the ciphers are even relevant. Thanks again.

  • @theunionargus2589
    @theunionargus2589 4 роки тому +7

    Informative and well made, it distilled a lot of information from your ACA presentation. I’ll be tuning in for any future episodes.

  • @finkployd6110
    @finkployd6110 4 роки тому +27

    An absolutely brilliant showcase of how you can solve a cipher using the "whatever the hell I want" method.

  • @gnarshred1239
    @gnarshred1239 4 роки тому +9

    Great! Can't wait for part two!

  • @sobanked-3734
    @sobanked-3734 4 роки тому +38

    Took 5 episodes for you to crack it. Genius

  • @patricklemire9278
    @patricklemire9278 Рік тому +3

    One thing that is disappointing is how many things Graysmith just bent until they fit.

  • @davidmartins4666
    @davidmartins4666 4 роки тому +2

    Just discovered your latest episode 8, had to come and start from the beginning, fascinating stuff

  • @badnewsbruner
    @badnewsbruner 4 роки тому +15

    Go contemplate sperm is going to be my new insult to yell at people, that was great xD

  • @sherlockshlome473
    @sherlockshlome473 3 роки тому +7

    Code at the end of the video:
    If there are no dogs in Heaven, then when I die I want to go where they went. - Will Rogers

    • @doranchak
      @doranchak  3 роки тому +1

      Congratulations! Well done. :)

    • @Sniper_Dude_OG
      @Sniper_Dude_OG 23 дні тому

      How did you come to that solution? I got
      DL EEPEP MEP VS SSFH MV EPMAP EEPV WEPV WEPV M SMP M WMVE ES FS WEPEP EEPT WMEE ESFPE

  • @c.r.johnson7725
    @c.r.johnson7725 4 роки тому +3

    Subbed - Been waiting so long for quality content like this for this topic. Thank you and keep it up!

  • @tonydanis1480
    @tonydanis1480 4 роки тому +4

    Nicely done! Extremely articulate presentation.

  • @nutyyyy
    @nutyyyy 4 роки тому +30

    Seems like it's either not been encrypted properly and is therefore impossible to decipher or there is no message at all, it would certainly fit with the seeming narcissism of the Zodiac. He probably got frustrated that his relatively amateur first cipher was solved so quickly by a couple of high school teachers on a Sunday afternoon. The leftover letters on the first letter also show he likely wasn't an expert at encryption but no doubt his ego made him think he was.
    A lot of the Zodiac's actions seem quite amateurish, but he had a lot of luck.

    • @shlemp5183
      @shlemp5183 4 роки тому +7

      nothing about zodiac was professional. for gods sake, the guy created a persona right from comic books . other serial killers such as ridge way killed 50 people, yet had a IQ of 80

    • @rivers613
      @rivers613 4 роки тому

      That's on the lines of what I just said also

    • @maxxdahl6062
      @maxxdahl6062 4 роки тому +1

      Agreed....and are you related to George?

    • @kattegatcitychamberofcomme311
      @kattegatcitychamberofcomme311 4 роки тому +3

      @@shlemp5183 I agree, but Gary Ridgeway wasn't looking for attention. Zodiac not only wanted attention he also wanted to control the narrative.

    • @guitarslim56
      @guitarslim56 4 роки тому +1

      I agree. I think he was a guy of low intelligence who wanted to show how smart he was. Only an idiot tries to convince you that he's a genius.

  • @LeoPaulHelmar
    @LeoPaulHelmar 4 роки тому +3

    I'm really stoked to see this new content. I've watched your ACA presentations multiple times.
    I'd love to see an episode about the Harden's solution more in-depth and whether their solution in the 408 can be applied in any fashion to the 340. In other words, are there any clues in the other extant Z letters or ciphers that may be applied to the unsolved ciphers? I get that these have likely been tried to death, but it would be very interesting to see how you might try and apply the original substitution key and eliminate some obvious low hanging fruit solutions. It's frustrating searching through proposed cipher solution videos on UA-cam by other people because of their lack of rigor so your adherence to verisimilitude is super refreshing.

  • @TexansForChrist
    @TexansForChrist 2 роки тому +2

    And then, outside of the rush and hunger for fame, attention, power and money, ..humble people step up and patiently apply intelligence and focus and even share credit upon success. Thank you David and others. You have inspired many to apply those good qualities to their pursuits in life. I was praying for a solution and breakthrough in the case. I am so pleased by the developments

    • @doranchak
      @doranchak  2 роки тому

      Thank you! Our success was definitely the result of the efforts of an entire community. Our 3-person team could not have accomplished it without the work that was done before us.

  • @CurtRowlett
    @CurtRowlett 2 роки тому +2

    Robert Graysmith's contribution to Zodiac research is huge, without any doubt. But over the years, too many things within his Big Picture of the Zodiac story have fallen under all kinds of suspicion. Much like his forced solution to the 340 cryptogram that you reveal in this video, it has been revealed that he also "forced" other facts in evidence in order to make a case against his prime suspect. I have never favored any of the named suspects that orbit around this case. In fact, I believe that if/when Zodiac is truly unmasked, it will be someone that has never been on anyone's radar. I really enjoy your channel here and I appreciate your straightforward, levelheaded approach to the subject.

    • @doranchak
      @doranchak  2 роки тому +2

      Thanks Curt. Yes, I agree - There's a good chance Zodiac is someone no one has considered. Similar to how the Golden State Killer case turned out.

  • @floyddog2283
    @floyddog2283 4 роки тому +7

    6:00 “This one doesn’t have any recognizable words in it”
    To: am I a joke to you

  • @mwillis7791
    @mwillis7791 4 роки тому +1

    Wow! Congratulations on solving this!! Thank you for all your hard work. Starting at the beginning of this series. Much love and respect!

  • @georgefranklin5552
    @georgefranklin5552 4 роки тому +2

    Wow! This is fantastic! I've been interested in the Zodiac case for over 5 years now, I've always found the ciphers very intriguing and always wanted to learn how to solve them, how to apply cryptography, and I feel like I really have learned a lot from this. Cant wait to watch more.
    I watched your 1 hour presentation on the 340 on youtube, i really loved that but I feel I do prefer this format more. The shorter eps seem more easier to grasp.
    id love it if you done an ep on the guy that was in the 5 part series hunt for the zodiac, the show said that he solved it. i would love to know if he really did solve it or not.
    I'd really like it if you done a video on Gary stewarts decryption of the cipher too.
    Also, on UA-cam, you should check out a guy called Drew Beeson, he's got a series of videos called Sighting in on the Zodiac,, this is his channel: ua-cam.com/channels/xv5EfTss01iDhELoBZwdDw.html
    and there's a new indie production, an 8 part documentary series called Zodiac Killer Obsession Into Darkness, the first ep is over an hour long, here's a link to it: ua-cam.com/video/wiqiIU4Imf4/v-deo.html
    Its an awesome episode, i cant stop watching it!

  • @nikolizard
    @nikolizard 4 роки тому +7

    I'm confused about how you took the zodiac's characters and deciphered them into numbers
    thank you for the videos!

  • @bipedleek241
    @bipedleek241 4 роки тому +5

    Great video man, explained in a very understandable way

    • @doranchak
      @doranchak  4 роки тому +2

      Thanks for watching!

  • @anonlinealias7182
    @anonlinealias7182 4 роки тому +32

    This guy needs more subs

  • @AlexReynard
    @AlexReynard 4 роки тому +5

    7:04 That is a Shakespearean insult if I've ever heard one.

  • @CatDaddySteve
    @CatDaddySteve 2 роки тому +2

    I just want to say You do pro quality editing, videography 😉👍

    • @doranchak
      @doranchak  2 роки тому +1

      Thank you so much 😀

  • @arciks11
    @arciks11 3 роки тому +5

    When you watch Graysmith method you get a bad feeling the moment he starts ignoring symbols and discarding letters. It's way more of a Creative Writing exercise at that point.

  • @guilhermemalacarne479
    @guilhermemalacarne479 4 роки тому +2

    Great vid! Thanks for it, i'm really looking forward to this series, keep it up!

  • @samfisher7040
    @samfisher7040 5 місяців тому +1

    Interesting if you switch between the ciphertext and plaintext on the 18th word "GAME" and 18th letter, both locations produces the name "JAMES" the James on the 18th letter "E" in the 408 it is part of the name JAMES if you switch back and forth between the two. The JAMES in this location is part of the SEIG HEIL there are the beginning of the 408. You can find a similiar thing in the 340 switching between the plaintext and enciphered text at the bottom produces "ZODIAC" at the bottom of the 340. The correct spelling of "ZODIAC" goes from right to left, not the left to right that many people see in the ciphertext of the 340. I believe this is part of the "game" is finding things switching back and forth between the plaintext and ciphertext. Great work and good video! Very informative videos!

  • @peterfalconer
    @peterfalconer 4 роки тому +7

    I mean, I’m stuck at the beginning: how on earth did the Hardens crack a substitution code when each letter cycles through different symbols? Mind bogglingly brilliant.

    • @WhatIsItAboutThem
      @WhatIsItAboutThem 4 роки тому +2

      ^ Peter is asking about the couple who cracked the first Zodiac letter. It is their cipher key that many people use. They used a substitution method. However, it is not 1 to 1. As each letter uses multiple symbols. Logically, it's hard to comprehend how you'd be able to determine what the symbols stand for if each letter has more than one symbol.
      I believe you first count the amount of symbols. Then you try to figure out which ones stand for E as it is the most used letter in english. But I'm just as lost as you.

    • @dekaywill4572
      @dekaywill4572 4 роки тому +1

      @@WhatIsItAboutThem Yea sounds like bullshit, just like Graysmith's bullshit.

  • @baderh7880
    @baderh7880 4 роки тому +9

    I know absolutely nothing about cryptography and I am sure this has been thought of/done. What about mirroring? Either in half or quadrant mirroring of text/symbols? Thank you for the amazing video

  • @Treblaine
    @Treblaine 4 роки тому +90

    "Congratulations, you've broken the cypher" perhaps they were being sarcastic.

    • @revolvency
      @revolvency 4 роки тому +15

      Yeah, he can't even decipher the sarcastic tone, lol

    • @elizabethsmith9624
      @elizabethsmith9624 4 роки тому

      I mean, they told him they were going to release a statement

  • @chrnovids
    @chrnovids 2 роки тому +6

    zodiac totally feels like the kind of guy to need to get replacement mops

  • @zachary4670
    @zachary4670 2 роки тому +2

    I haven’t watched the rest of this series, but I just wonder how power the encryption would be if the key changed. Maybe there’s only one way to substitute letters for symbols, but each 5 lines has its own columnar transposition, for instance.

    • @doranchak
      @doranchak  2 роки тому +1

      That definitely would have made it more difficult to solve, if not nearly impossible!

  • @mess8008
    @mess8008 4 роки тому +2

    omg i was just wondering why no ones taken a crack at it. thank you for this.

  • @backyardmech
    @backyardmech 4 роки тому +2

    Great video David - you seem like someone who has the knowledge to possibly crack that cipher ! Get to work on it and update us with your findings :)

  • @howardsend6589
    @howardsend6589 4 роки тому +1

    Really well made video. Great editing and visual style. 👍

  • @doranchak
    @doranchak  4 роки тому +9

    Is Zodiac's unsolved cipher a hoax, or does it have a real message?
    Let's investigate some possible clues, in Episode 2 of "Let's Crack Zodiac": ua-cam.com/video/uyH9-AHz-HY/v-deo.html

    • @SvenStadt
      @SvenStadt 4 роки тому

      It was Richard Gaikowski. 'GYKE' was spelled out. The idea that those four letters would be spelled out and Gaikowski was an actual person? Exponentially improbable.

    • @davidciao9808
      @davidciao9808 4 роки тому

      Do you think it just happenstance and a coincidence that LT. Paul Kiel signed off on the brief police report for P. Stine that is found on the net? Or that LT equals both 32 and 3898? Or that the other two last names on the report are "Peda" and "Pellisetti"? Both are a little too appropriate to the case?

  • @Johnny.H158
    @Johnny.H158 2 роки тому +2

    Transposition and definitely has some type of key to even begin to starting the cipher. Interesting 🤔. 👍

  • @Fnargl99
    @Fnargl99 4 роки тому +6

    I have an idea for a future episode. one where you solve it. edit: looks like you took my idea. glad I could help

  • @CallumBradbury
    @CallumBradbury 3 місяці тому +1

    Please reorder your playlists to be 'Date Published - Oldest First'

  • @brianc1889
    @brianc1889 4 роки тому +8

    I like that your still positive and just want it solved. I think the more ideas even the dumb ones can help a collective solve it. Theres obviously something very unique to the way this codes written and I think an unorthodox approach could be helpful

  • @user-zg5cm5mx4e
    @user-zg5cm5mx4e 4 роки тому +16

    here after the solution of the letter actually came out !!! 11\12\2020

  • @markhewitt2126
    @markhewitt2126 4 роки тому +1

    Well done. Thank you for this much needed video.

  • @billcook4768
    @billcook4768 5 місяців тому +1

    Have we checked out the Pong masters from back in the day?

  • @MrJin520
    @MrJin520 4 роки тому +1

    Interesting video, thanks for the easy to digest breakdown of the cryptography involved.

  • @ManuelMartinez-uv7ei
    @ManuelMartinez-uv7ei 4 роки тому

    the game-Scrabble by Alfred Mosher Butts. Zodiac love saying the word Look up the definition game here's a clue Rebus Puzzles. And you know how he misspelled twich in this video:
    ua-cam.com/video/l1puS-reZeE/v-deo.html at 25:02 at the bottom you can find the best examples of Rebus puzzles

  • @despiracy9151
    @despiracy9151 4 роки тому +1

    Has anybody analyzed how the cipher was written? I am not talking about how the message was coded, but how he wrote it out. Tomorrow is an off day, I guess I can take a look at it if I can find a high resolution picture of the cipher.

  • @annalisette5897
    @annalisette5897 4 роки тому +1

    I have watched a number of your videos and played around with the program on your site. I have no experience with ciphers and am very ignorant. However, as do many others, I have a theory which I tried.
    My theory is that normal looking letters obviously spelling out small words--for instance HER at top left of 340--are meant to be used that way. Then there are cipher letters also representing the alphabet. In approaching it this way I was able to bring the frequencies very close to what would be expected in the plain text. (Hope I used the terms correctly.)
    I also think the lines are meant to be read left to right, right to left, etc. , alternately. Or perhaps the ends of lines show direction. For instance I note:
    OK =>?
    KO

  • @lukasj7689
    @lukasj7689 10 місяців тому +1

    can someone clarify how do you get the key with all the combinations? and why one letter has several possibilities? is it just trial and error or there is some confirmed method to get the key?

    • @doranchak
      @doranchak  10 місяців тому +3

      For Z408, the original solvers (Donald and Bettye Harden) noticed repeating patterns and guessed they stood for "LL" which is common in English. So they tried out different words and through trial and error managed to discover the key.
      One letter has several possibilities because it is "homophonic substitution", which means a common letter such as E, for example, can have multiple substitutions (Zodiac used 7 different symbols to stand for E in Z408). The reason to do that is to disguise the letter frequencies. If he had only used one symbol to stand for E, we would have seen a lot of those symbols in the cipher and guessed it stood for E. This is known as "frequency analysis", the most common way to break simple substitution ciphers.

  • @TravelWalesWithPaul
    @TravelWalesWithPaul 3 роки тому

    Fantastic video, it had me completely hooked. Doubt that I will be the one to crack this code, but I will keep on trying though.

  • @doranchak
    @doranchak  4 роки тому +49

    NEW EPISODE! The 408! ua-cam.com/video/57o8g3d6lSw/v-deo.html

    • @slartybartfast4213
      @slartybartfast4213 4 роки тому +1

      Congrates on breaking the cypher, nice one mate.

    • @swankybutters8371
      @swankybutters8371 4 роки тому

      Graysmith was pretty good at investigating the case. His attempt at code breaking was gibberish. It was not his strong suit.

  • @caskoboli7506
    @caskoboli7506 4 роки тому +1

    awesome watching this video after watching the most recent one!!

  • @PneumaNoose
    @PneumaNoose 2 роки тому +5

    I mean, maybe I’m biased but… I’m pretty sure the correct one was:
    “Go contemplate sperm”
    “Got replacement mops”
    Fits like a glove.

  • @dalgetty
    @dalgetty 2 роки тому +1

    Some videos on UA-cam age like fine wine... like this one

  • @relaxationhub2512
    @relaxationhub2512 4 роки тому +3

    Netflix is gonna make hell of a series once this case is really solved!

  • @Legionmint7091
    @Legionmint7091 4 роки тому +6

    Thank you!
    I will have a go at it.
    I’ve asked this question before but I’ll post again. Is it possible the cypher is written in another language and that is why it’s so hard to crack?
    I think I remember him mentioning old Norse in a letter (thoug he spelled it wrong). Do you know any other references to languages he’s made? It could be a film, a book a postcard, or anything.
    M

    • @doranchak
      @doranchak  4 роки тому +5

      Yes, it's possible. Some people have been attacking the cipher using software solvers with language statistics for several non-English languages. But I don't know how thoroughly that has been done. Perhaps Zodiac used a really obscure language.

    • @Legionmint7091
      @Legionmint7091 4 роки тому +3

      David Oranchak Thank you for the answer.
      With his narcissism in mind it can play either way. On one hand he’s attention seeking and want people to read his message to achieve the sense of dominance and control through terror. On the other hand he’s vain and grandiose and probably felt humiliated when the first cypher was cracked so quick by a couple of school teachers.
      In the first scenario he most likely used English, and in the latter he may have used a much more unknown language just to show off.

    • @Legionmint7091
      @Legionmint7091 4 роки тому

      David Oranchak And thank you for your videos. Looking forward to the next.

  • @eggycat
    @eggycat 4 роки тому

    This is amazing so far.

  • @jason___4010
    @jason___4010 4 роки тому +2

    Nice video! I'm really looking forward to this series. What is your greatest guess or assumption as to how to solve this cipher?

    • @doranchak
      @doranchak  4 роки тому +2

      The biggest challenge is to identify the system that was used to create the cipher. I think he probably added at least one more step besides substitution. My guess is he did some kind of transposition or some kind of manipulation of the cipher grid before or after the substitution step.

    • @jason___4010
      @jason___4010 4 роки тому

      @@doranchak Would it be possible the cipher would have to be cracked by flipping it over? Because all the symbols can be looked at in reverse. Maybe this is one of the missing steps.

  • @Newdivide
    @Newdivide 2 роки тому +1

    I wonder if they will add in the cracked 340 cipher? In the film I mean

  • @Alec_Collins78
    @Alec_Collins78 3 роки тому

    You have so much stuff, a zodiac playlist would really help.

    • @doranchak
      @doranchak  3 роки тому

      Great idea! I went ahead and made one: ua-cam.com/play/PLm7h0J9VRFvdwVyXuKd0sZTiI_FH5ZgtC.html

    • @Alec_Collins78
      @Alec_Collins78 3 роки тому

      @@doranchak Thanks David.

  • @katherinesapp8250
    @katherinesapp8250 4 роки тому +37

    SOLVED in 2020. Yep, that sounds right.

  • @maff2008
    @maff2008 4 роки тому +1

    Hi Dave. if you move the cipher into blocks like thus: ibb.co/ZfThN0C (website is an image host btw) then we start to see repetition and order that we like. The red squares can become KILL (M+^mirror L) (M+R^) )M+mirror LU) reading the top line of each box first then the bottom line. This condition is very favorable. Using + as the letter i presents a problem though, although + is a great candidate for i, there appears two instances of dual i which will not fit into a dictionary. The third instance disappears with the gird. But notice how the two remaining instances of double i are now in a nice repetition with R? There is a lot of action in the upper left quadrant of the cipher and the block cipher is a good candidate but I think there is a twist. I think we do have three KILLS but I also think we have a situation where the blocks have to be rearranged on the grid through a certain sequence. Not random but sequential and the coder firstly did a normal substitution code then he divided everything into blocks of four and swapped them around according to a sequence. Thoughts?

    • @doranchak
      @doranchak  4 роки тому

      That is a very interesting idea and definitely worth exploring!

  • @archmageguidla
    @archmageguidla 4 роки тому +1

    Really enjoyed the video - thanks so much!

  • @yesterdaysrose5446
    @yesterdaysrose5446 3 роки тому +2

    > Complete Pong Master
    > Go Contemplate Sperm
    Ah I see, a Gamer in the 1970s.
    > Got Replacement Mops
    Never mind, gamers never clean up the place.

  • @carmenl163
    @carmenl163 4 роки тому

    Please, can someone tell me what the 'dogcode' is at 12:05 ?

    • @MrHellUnleasher
      @MrHellUnleasher 4 роки тому +1

      Consider deciphering it yourself, it's not hard. But if you really want to know the solution, click Read More...
      IF THERE ARE NO DOGS IN
      HEAVEN, THEN WHEN I DIE I
      WANT TO GO WHERE THEY WENT.
      - WILL ROGERS

    • @carmenl163
      @carmenl163 4 роки тому

      @@MrHellUnleasher Thank you so much for the solution!

  • @diegoaespitia
    @diegoaespitia 4 роки тому +1

    i remember taking encryption classes for college as a math major. Our final was to decrypt some code. I remember thinking I had found it out cause eventually you get some kind of a sentence that "sort of" makes sense but its just a false positive. looks like Graysmith was finding the same things. Esp since he was an amateur code breaker, he just sort of jumped to conclusions

  • @somaticherbalism
    @somaticherbalism 4 роки тому

    I love your little cipher easter eggs.

  • @djw2684
    @djw2684 4 роки тому +1

    When u doing the next one please ?

    • @doranchak
      @doranchak  4 роки тому

      Working on it now. Hopefully to release within a week or so.

  • @mckernan603
    @mckernan603 4 роки тому +3

    Looking forward to this series. Question: why did the ending characters in the first cipher turn to mush?

    • @doranchak
      @doranchak  4 роки тому +6

      There are two prevailing theories. 1) The end was just filler, designed to make all 3 parts of the code equal in size. 2) The end contains another secret message that hasn't yet been discovered.
      I guess a third possibility is that Zodiac made a mistake when he drafted the cipher, resulting in part of the plaintext being destroyed.

    • @JasonWorkman
      @JasonWorkman 4 роки тому +2

      I have a theory. Ciphers are meant to be decoded by knowing the method of encryption and the key for decryption. By brute forcing the answer, we may have lost something in the key itself or the process that decrypted the last line. It is entirely possible that the key can also be a message or sentence which may be why the plain text alphabet has so many alternative letters. Many thought it was artificially contrived to make it harder to decode, but that may not be true. The "my name is" cipher may be zodiac alluding to this method of using a pass phrase to encypher his message. It may also be a rebuttal of the allegations made at the time that he didn't understand cryptography. ( And was therefore incompetent or stupid)

    • @davidciao9808
      @davidciao9808 4 роки тому +1

      @@doranchak No, it is completely solvable and when completed will have 19 letters. As written in the cipher, it is initially left that way as a herring to make people doubt that the other parts cannot possibly be correct and to maintain the format and link to the bible.
      My solution is: THE EPITOME. MY REBIRTH.
      The Z13 key will use the 19th state abbreviation and the basic key to use is the center five...
      AEN(M)(8) K (8) M (8)NAM(E)
      NAME (8) K (8) M (8) NAME
      The basic Z32 message (there is more) is or becomes a Z34 message...
      I AM FEELING THE NEXT CODE IS BLOWN---ZODIAC

  • @onefeather2
    @onefeather2 4 роки тому +48

    I think Graysmith just has a big ego, he wants to think he is the smartest. Basically he is full of BS.🙂

    • @R3tr0v1ru5
      @R3tr0v1ru5 4 роки тому

      Fraud.

    • @hikhik6441
      @hikhik6441 3 роки тому

      still smarter than u

    • @jerryomalley8867
      @jerryomalley8867 2 роки тому

      RG made a fortune by wrapping up Zodiac
      facts with his fictional babaganoush 🤡

  • @elmerkilred159
    @elmerkilred159 3 роки тому +2

    My Name is ; ____________ . (13 characters long).
    "Edward Edwards." He's probably using a decoder ring from the 1940's like Little Orphan Annie. (Ed was an orphan). It's probably not that complicated of a process. He probably used a decoder ring and replaced the numbers with his own symbols on the actual ring. I'll watch more of the videos in the series tomorrow, but the Edward Wayne Edwards guy could be the Zodiac Killer IMO.

  • @Cats-TM
    @Cats-TM 3 місяці тому +1

    TNG makes perfect sense! The Zodiac Killer was a Next Generation fan before it was cool!

  • @adrianmaulanamuhammad7225
    @adrianmaulanamuhammad7225 4 роки тому

    Dude I love your videos!

  • @somsomerson1576
    @somsomerson1576 4 роки тому

    Looking forward to more episodes

  • @karakenio
    @karakenio 4 роки тому

    This is great. I'm checking "all" your Zodiac videos. You should do a separate YT Channel for non-Zodica content. Kudos.

  • @robertfontaine3650
    @robertfontaine3650 4 роки тому +2

    How common were these cyphers at the time and who would know about them? It seems reasonable to assume that the individual who created the scheme was neither a mathematician or analytical genius. Somewhere he was either trained in codes (military) or he went to the library and read a book. Restricting the solution set in this fashion seems mostly reasonable. The first broken cypher was in idiomatic american. This again seems like another reasonable constraint we can add to the solutioning. Cypher analysis always seems like a great way to find out if there is signal in the noise but has never seemed like a great way to solve the problem. It would be nice to see some review of pragmatic approaches to decyphering other than $5 pipe wrench (xckd).

    • @doranchak
      @doranchak  4 роки тому +4

      I think he might have been inspired by old detective story magazines. Codes and ciphers were featured in a lot of the stories. And the magazines often ran "how to" articles explaining how to make and break ciphers. In fact some of those authors went on to form the American Cryptogram Association. Here's a sample collection of those articles: toebes.com/Flynns/Flynns.htm

  • @rogoznicafc9672
    @rogoznicafc9672 2 роки тому +2

    wouldve been REALLLLLLYYYY nice if you explained how they got the keys

  • @techieboothadventure
    @techieboothadventure 4 роки тому +1

    What if the last 18 in the first cipher is a key for a Playfair Cypher after homophonic substitution?

    • @doranchak
      @doranchak  4 роки тому

      Anything's possible! I say give it a try. :)

  • @samjam2376
    @samjam2376 4 роки тому +3

    Just some thoughts I want to throw out and see what others think.
    First, It seems strange that after several months of the 340 cipher not being solved and given that we know the Zodiac liked to taunt the police, it seems (to me) strange that he would pass up the opportunity to point out how stupid, ineffective, etc the police and others were because they couldn't solve the cipher.
    Also some people believe the 340 cipher is just gibberish and of course this would make the cipher unsolvable. But my understanding is that the cipher does seem to have a structure, which makes it more likely that the cipher does contain information or a message(s).
    Someone mentioned that the 340 could have been created using another language. If so maybe that's the reason the 340 hasn't been solved. But I've read that some people believe the zodiac was a "cipher novice" so is it possible he created 340 not realizing it would be unsolvable?
    But if the 340 didn't contain any info that would point to the zodiac why, at some point, would the zodiac not provide the key so to again prove how smart he is compared to those trying to catch him?
    Questions, questions.
    Your thoughts please.

    • @DaveSmith-cp5kj
      @DaveSmith-cp5kj 4 роки тому

      I believe he just made it probably with a message in mind, but then decided to mess it up completely. The more people talk about trying to solve it, the more people remember the zodiac killer, which is the whole point of most serial killers, to have recognition.
      It is why things like mass shootings are far more prevalent in the past decade, even though guns were more easily acquired just a few decades ago, because the media stops news to cover the one killing, which promotes the killer into infamy. If you can't be famous for doing good things (which is hard), at least be famous for doing bad things (which is easy) is their mindset. If one person gets famous for killing people, then other attention starved individuals will follow the "winning" formula. This is also why LE have always said the media should not be making a big deal about mass shooters and should not be going into exposes about their background, but the media obviously doesn't listen because they care more about ratings than lives.

  • @Adhdz89
    @Adhdz89 4 роки тому

    Question, the 2 sections that you all are trying to solve . What if they are not separate, but add to the codes you have cracked. In this case the 2 line code can go on top and the single line can go in bottom. Since the code is down 1 and 2 right, wouldn't this change the code and the give a different outcome.

  • @johnshep1986
    @johnshep1986 3 роки тому

    Didn’t Kelley Marshall solve it? 2018? By transposition and overlay of the last 2 messages(letters)

    • @godfreypigott
      @godfreypigott 2 роки тому

      No, this guy (David Oranchek) solved it in 2020. There was no correct earlier attempt.

  • @lossandangelessinthecity
    @lossandangelessinthecity 4 роки тому +1

    And in addition to that... We know how proud He was and loved to boast! He is surely following all the biggest guys like YOU investigating him. He loves the attention and now more than ever keeping him alive".'

  • @danny3640
    @danny3640 4 роки тому

    wait but how do you assign the different signs to English letters to develop the "key"?

  • @addakgetkd9505
    @addakgetkd9505 4 роки тому

    Ur actually amazing at what u do, seriously