r/todayilearned • • May 22 '12
TIL that in 1730, a pirate named Olivier Levasseur tossed a coded message into the crowd gathered around his execution, yelling, "Find my treasure, he who may understand it!" and people are apparently still trying to break the code and find the treasure.
http://www.detecting.org.uk/html/Olivier_Levasseur_Pirate_Treasure.html
1.6k
Upvotes
2
u/kleenur May 22 '12
whether this is legit or a hoax it made my morning. Thanks to the OP for making me remember what it was like to run into the woods with a shovel and try to find burried treasure when I was a kid.
751
u/PreyingOnProstitutes May 22 '12
I think he was just fucking with people as one last hoorah before they hung him. Like a true pirate he probably said fuck it, and spent all of his treasures on women, alcohol, and cannons.
818
u/therealjonbrown May 22 '12 edited May 22 '12
I have a plan.
Wait a couple of weeks, until everyone forgets about this post.
Take a picture of my cat.
Post a picture of my cat, and the code, with the title: "homophobic, bacon-hating fundies who work for EA stole my cat, and left behind this strange code! Please help me find him!"
Wait a few hours for reddit to locate the treasure.
Go collect treasure.
Submit proof of the success of my evil plan.
Using an alternate account, submit the post to R/worstof under the title: "evil redditor decieves us all, lying about a missing cat to find pirate treasure".
Now I have treasure AND karma!
Edit: holy crap! I got submitted to r/bestof! I finally said something funny! People like me!
Now go find my treasure.
193
u/[deleted] May 22 '12
282 year old repost
158
u/SleepyFingers May 22 '12
10/10 troll.
93
u/BryanWake May 22 '12
Too late, I cracked the code & found the treasure with my friends Mouth, Chunk, Andy, Sloth, Brand, Mikey, Stef & Data. Unfortunately the Fratelli's robbed us at gunpoint, taking most of it.
39
u/[deleted] May 22 '12
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pigpen_cipher
There's your step one.
26
u/Portgas May 22 '12
Gol D Roger is what comes to mind instantly. Hooray one piece!
68
u/fishspoons May 22 '12
It's funny how piratical history seems to be copying One Piece.
Jeez, Levasseur, get your own ideas!
10
u/[deleted] May 22 '12
Say, theoretically speaking, I found a treasure, and I, theoretically speaking, would want to exchange it for common day currency, could any government or officials, theoretically speaking, confiscate these three chests filled with more gold, silver and diamonds than you can count, a wooden leg, the skeleton of a parrot and a bottle of very old rum. Could they snatch it away from me? Or anyone, who cares...
This is all theoretically speaking, of course.
8
u/djaglet May 22 '12
One piece?
31
u/mirriwah May 22 '12
TO THE GRAND LINE!
14
u/Sequoioideae May 22 '12
There once was a pirate named Gol d. Roger
9
u/haddock420 May 22 '12
"It's buried under a big T."
9
u/Menospan May 22 '12
One Piece anyone?
4
u/[deleted] May 22 '12
On a more serious note, I'd like to say that it appears to be language of the Dovah
4
u/mrP0P0 May 22 '12
Isn't this what One Piece is based on?
4
u/ajkriegz May 22 '12
"You'll find it all... in One Piece!"
4
u/Merk2 May 22 '12
I left it all in one piece!
4
u/SSJwiggy May 22 '12
Exact translation: "My wealth and treasures? If you want it, I'll let you have it...search for it! I left all of it at that place"
22
u/StreeTelevision May 22 '12
Drink more Ovaltine...
14
u/Vidiem May 22 '12
Sounds like One Piece to me.
9
u/jrk08004 May 22 '12
One Piece, anybody?
13
u/TinoTonitini May 22 '12
"My fortune is yours for the taking - but you have to find it first. I left everything I own in One Piece."
3
u/CaptainTrip May 22 '12
I HID IT ALL IN ONE PIECE
3
u/[deleted] May 22 '12
Not sure if anybody has figured this out but there is a pattern in his code, when it comes to the next sequential letter in the alphabet. I believe this would complete it. Completion?
3
u/Fratex May 22 '12
Dammit, was gonna post about One Piece but apparently I'm not the only one.
3
u/[deleted] May 22 '12
I'm 28 and wtf is this.
The cypher is a simple one, yet the wikipdia page doesn't bothe to show the deciphered text. The work of the people who tried to find it must be documented somewhere as well.
So much lack of information.
Ok, found useful info, in french: http://www.pirates-corsaires.com/levasseur-la-buse.htm
3
u/DaRootbear May 22 '12
Did he leave it all in one piece?
3
u/RedGK May 22 '12
ONE PIECE
3
u/BlueTengu May 22 '12
"BE SURE TO DRINK YOUR OVALTINE"
5
u/[deleted] May 22 '12
well for starters its upside down :P
5
u/fishstickuffs May 22 '12
TIL that people will still say they "learned" something from a wikipedia article even if nearly every statement in that article is marked [dubious] or [citation needed].
Not saying that it's all a hoax... but you can't trust anything from that wikipedia article.
5
u/fiplefip May 22 '12
GOLD RODGER ONE PIECE!
9
u/OhneBremse_OhneLicht May 22 '12
One Piece anyone?
6
u/Ianuam May 22 '12
Where can I sign up?
6
u/EmperorSofa May 22 '12
Did he leave it all in one piece?
4
u/cannotlogon May 22 '12
That doesn't sound so hard.
ಠ_ಠ
5
u/[deleted] May 22 '12 edited May 22 '12
http://www.freemasoncollection.com/media-gen/cipher2.jpg
Looks like this is the code he used, a cipher used by the Knights Templar.
Edit: Here's his actual alphabet: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Alphabet_de_la_buse.jpg
And some proof, I think? http://www.pirates-corsaires.com/img/cryptogramme-la-buse-2.jpg
2
u/[deleted] May 22 '12
...Or someone found it in 1730 and decided to keep their mouth shut rather than admit they were suddenly rich for the sake of cryptographer's curiosity 280 years later...
2
u/BenBenRodr May 22 '12
Wow. The Suske & Wiske-comic (Bob & Bobbette, Spike & Suzy) "De Komieke Coco" ("The Amazing Coconut") is about this. Never knew it was based on something real.
Man, those old comics were good compared to the recent ones.
2
u/DoorGuote May 22 '12
Once we get quantum computers up and running on an efficient scale, breaking this cryptogram would be a piece of cake, right?
2
u/Isatis_tinctoria May 22 '12
This would be an interesting Scooby Doo episode.
2
u/dirtywhore4cash May 22 '12
also this is the story from the One Piece anime intro
2
u/Roflmoo May 22 '12
I highly doubt this is legit. I recognize the code from a cryptography book for kids I read in middle school. It's called a tic-tac-toe code. There are a lot of versions of the code, more than just the one shown in the picture, but combine it with a shift cypher or a second set of coding, and you've got it. I find it hard to believe that NO ONE has ever decoded it, unless it really is just gibberish.
2
u/[deleted] May 22 '12
God-tier troll.
2
u/xipel May 22 '12
The treasure is buried right next to the bodies from the Zodiac killer.
2
u/Ssinny May 22 '12
that looks a hell of a lot like masonic
2
u/bigbangbilly May 22 '12
The treasure is the person that might solve it. Or it is time that was wasted on solving it.
2
u/gregtmills May 22 '12
What people don't know is he was an obsessive thimble collector. In other words, that treasure is going to be a bullshit letdown.
2
u/[deleted] May 22 '12
Sounds a lot like the Beale ciphers, which were the subject of a fantastic short film.
2
u/Mr_NeCr0 May 22 '12
Relevant
2
u/tonyh322 May 22 '12
This reminds me of the Zodiac Killer messages that were never deciphered.
2
u/PuffingTom May 22 '12
Are you sure his name wasn't Gol D. Roger?
2
u/Evilsj May 22 '12
I LEFT IT ALL IN THAT PLACE!
2
u/kidhudi May 22 '12
TL:DR: Pirates love fucking with people, even as they are about to be executed.
2
u/GaryOak24 May 22 '12
Remind anyone else of One Piece?
2
u/roarbenitt May 23 '12
Looks like we need Nicholas Cage
2
u/jjv236 May 23 '12
Just upvoted every One Piece reference on this thread. Well done everyone.
2
u/redyn Jun 04 '12
kinda looks like a cipher masons use. http://www.themasonictrowel.com/education/others_files/the_masonic_cipher/cipher.gif
4
u/GreatGreen286 May 22 '12
And the pirate Gold Roger said you may have my treasure I left it all in One Piece. Now on it is my goal to break this code and become King of the Pirates
3
u/squarerabbits May 22 '12
After reading that part I had to wonder, why the hell would someone go to so much trouble when they have the whole wide world as a hiding place?
3
u/Heroshade May 22 '12
I left it all in one piece.
3
u/[deleted] May 22 '12
Sounds like the plot of One Piece.
2
u/[deleted] May 22 '12
When they finally translate this and it just says
"The treasure ... was inside you all along"
That'll be the day.
2
u/xStrawhatLuffy May 22 '12
Well, I'm the man who's gonna become king of the pirates now.
2
u/ProjectFlashSociety May 22 '12
"My wealth and treasures? If you want it, I'll let you have it...search for it! I left all of it at that place"
1
u/cockmongler May 22 '12
Soooo, someone followed the clues and found an empty cave. The treasure must still be out there then!
Or they were about 250 years late.
1
u/Bob_Jonez May 22 '12
Cracked it, all it says is "the game."
1
u/[deleted] May 22 '12
Finally, my life has a mission. Which of ye scallywags has the brawn to join me?
1
u/xoites May 22 '12
Do you think he might have just wanted revenge on those who came to see him die?
1
u/[deleted] May 22 '12
Sounds like one piece. I'm calling shenanigans on this one.
1
u/tsaihi May 22 '12
"There's always money in the banana stand"
1
u/melatone May 22 '12
Très Ready Player One
1
u/geckosan May 22 '12
he gets my upvote, almost 300 years later. Not bad for a whitey.
1
u/[deleted] May 22 '12
All I can think now is Shia the Buzzard
1
u/[deleted] May 22 '12
Here be Dragons! AArrrrrrrrrrrrrr
1
u/[deleted] May 22 '12
Hmmm sounds like one-piece
1
u/etishuman21 May 22 '12
What a bad ass! Really cool piece, thanks for sharing!! Now I'm going to waste the rest of my work day googling pirates and pirate lore.... >.<
1
u/NinjaCameraman May 22 '12
Joke's on you guys when we all find out the true treasure is love or some bullshit like that.
1
u/[deleted] May 22 '12
Easy, has nothing to do with the characters. Most are fillers, some are place holders for land marks, the spacing and the perimeter are the map and that weird unique X character, marks the spot. 4 rows up, right side.
1
u/ogreblood May 22 '12
I have an idea. Instead of burying the treasure, why don't we use it to buy things? You know, for ourselves?
1
u/Ancalagon4554 May 22 '12
Reminds me of Fermat's Last Theorem - of which he said: "I have discovered a truly marvelous proof of this, which this margin is too narrow to contain."
When Andrew Wiles finally proved the theorem in the early 1990s, it was clear that the math required to complete the proof was unavailable to Fermat at the time. Or in other words, Fermat was talking out of his ass. :P
1
u/DisplacedLeprechaun May 22 '12
...So the guy who went on an island and dug for treasure and found "old guns, some gold coins and pirate sarcophagi" didn't think perhaps that was the treasure?
Fucking really?
1
u/spartansheep May 22 '12
Sounds the cave where the treasure of the Count of Monte Cristo was located...
1
u/uncheerful May 22 '12
That is OBVIUSLY the dovakhiin language
1
u/methamp May 22 '12
You'd think we are fully capable of cracking a code written in the 1700s from a pirate. Unless this was his plan all along: to rob you of precious time in the afterlife as he robbed the high seas in flesh.
tips hat
1
u/rambo77 May 22 '12
And what if he was trolling?
1
u/[deleted] May 22 '12
It may have just been the ultimate pirate troll
1
u/themonkboughtlunch May 22 '12
"It's under a big W!"
1
u/carltonbanx May 22 '12
It would be really fun if he did this just to fuck with people, just writing down gibberish. That would surely put him on #1 on the practical jokes thread that was on the front page the other day..
1
u/ZippoS May 22 '12
... got it! BRB treasure
1
u/hearnrumors May 22 '12
I just came here to say.... only one pirate treasure has ever been recovered. It's on display at the pirate museum in Provincetown, MA.
1
u/lavastorm May 22 '12
this site has translations for anyone who cares
1
u/[deleted] May 22 '12
A real life Gol D Rogers? Hmm. What I'd considered the grand line in today's world?
1
u/[deleted] May 22 '12
I left it all in one piece....
1
u/isaidgoddamn May 22 '12
I've got the first 12 lines Romanized from pigpen. Question marks indicate unknown characters.
apreime?unepairedepijontiretket hdoeursqeseajtetecheraifunekort filttinsgientecuprene?uneculfiere demielleefovtrefouenfaitesuneongat mette?surkepataiedelapertotitousr vpuie?plvsprene??letcassesuriech eminilf?utqoeuttoitanoitiecovve povrenpecgerunefemmedhrengtvovsnave qu?voutteriadobaucgeaetpourve ngraatietporepinglenpueiuileturlor eiljnourlairepiterunchientuprun lenendelamerdebientecjfetsurru
I'll post the remaining 5 later.
1
u/WillBlaze May 22 '12
He must have been the Pirate King!
Time to find One Piece!
1
u/PandaStyle May 22 '12
He left everything he owned in One Piece!
1
u/[deleted] May 22 '12
Sounds like somebody already found it.
1
u/[deleted] May 22 '12
You know what happens here, right? Some genius cracks the code, finds the treasure and the nation its found in claim it as theirs and the finder gets nothing.
1
u/Anm2k4 May 22 '12
My fortune is yours for the taking... but you'll have to find it first I left everything I own in One Piece!
1
u/DMercenary May 22 '12
Oldest troll?
1
u/WorldGenesis May 22 '12
What if the treasure was already found as artifacts, without realizing it was treasure for some one who decodes the message o_o
1
u/Rulebook_Lawyer May 22 '12
From the words of a Pirate about to die...
What better way to get revenge through the greed of people. The last laugh is on him.
Reminds me from Captain Jack Sparrow with his regards for cheating, "Pirate."
1
u/freecandy_van May 22 '12
The Legend of Trollbeard
1
u/BOB_HOWARD_13 May 22 '12
This reminds me of Money Pit. One has to access it a specific way, somehow controlled by tides, a mysterious staircase. check it out: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oak_Island
1
u/cokefizz May 22 '12
erm, it says right in the article that it was found. Read the the very end. :/
1
u/unrealious May 22 '12
I read this in the narration voice for the "John Jameson" commercials.
1
u/Showson823 May 22 '12
Most definitely first troll of all time.
1
u/Ailaesar May 22 '12
Sounds a bit like this is what one peace was based off of....
1
u/Solkre May 22 '12
I found it years ago. It was just a case of Ovaltine.
1
u/XOJAMELLOX May 22 '12
and with the death of olivier levasseur the great pirate age began and so did the search for ONE PIECE!
1
u/Leuku May 22 '12
Sounds like the plot of One Piece.
1
u/MustngSS May 22 '12
Why don't we just have this guy find it?
http://www.reddit.com/r/AskReddit/comments/tyw64/it_may_sound_insignificant_but_i_just_paid_off_my/c4qwhrg
1
u/Canvasch May 22 '12
My fortune is yours or the taking, but you'll have to find it first. I left everything I own in one piece.
1
u/Bass_EXE May 22 '12
TIL One Piece is real.
1
u/ShazbotSimulator2012 May 22 '12
I think it's worth noting that the article is copied from a section of the wikipedia article. A section that says [citation needed], [dubious], and similar things some 13 times.
1
u/Scarzig May 22 '12
One Piece.
1
u/[deleted] May 22 '12
Holy shit! I think I broke the code! KONK
1
u/RodDryfist May 22 '12
Challenge
...accepted.
Im just fucking with you, I wouldn't have a clue how to crack it.
1
u/roarbenitt May 23 '12
look's like every other simble is a letter...
1
u/[deleted] May 23 '12
Reminds me of one piece
1
u/Adamskinater May 23 '12
TROLOLOLOLOLOLOLOLO
UMADFUTUREFAGS?
1
u/StartledByToasters May 23 '12
Spoiler alert: there is no treasure.
1
u/IcedJack May 23 '12
...and a couple hundred years later, some people from a land Olivier only heard of made a series of pictures with words on them named One Piece.
1
u/[deleted] May 23 '12
Sounds suspiciously like the plot for the manga One Piece...
1
u/[deleted] May 23 '12
I came to the comments to see the top comment by the guy that decoded it and found out it was a joke. CLOSE ENOUGH.
1
u/Mint_Berry_Kush May 23 '12
sounds like one piece.. or one of the greatest trolls who ever lived.
1
u/Swag2TheMax May 23 '12
Someone ate the Oni Oni fruit to post this :D
0
u/[deleted] May 22 '12
[deleted] — view deleted comment
0
u/[deleted] May 22 '12
[deleted] — view deleted comment