The Cicada 3301 Mystery
 

http://wiki.n0v4.com/index.php/3301:Cicada

On January 5th, 2012, an image was posted on 4chan with the following message:

Hello. We are looking for highly
intelligent individuals. To find them we have devised
a test.

There is a message hidden in this image.

Find it and it will lead you on the road to
finding us. We look forward to meeting the
few who will make it all the way through.

Good Luck.

3301

When opened with WordPad, this image was found to contain a cryptogram that, once deciphered, has led to a series of puzzles which have people currently searching various coordinates around the globe for a series of posters that contain additional clues. Some have been discovered but the puzzle is ongoing.

Re: The Cicada 3301 Mystery
 

Amazing.

Re: The Cicada 3301 Mystery
 

Wow that's sick.

Re: The Cicada 3301 Mystery
 

This is amazing

Re: The Cicada 3301 Mystery
 

Half Life 3!

Re: The Cicada 3301 Mystery
 

Re: The Cicada 3301 Mystery
 

Thats really interesting...It's prob a group of guys from some nerdy forum that is in different locations around the world that devised this. That would explain the range of the coordinates. I wonder if they actually want anyone for something specific or are just doing this for the lulz.

Re: The Cicada 3301 Mystery
 

looking for highly intelligent people so they went to 4chan?

Re: The Cicada 3301 Mystery
 

Hmm... I live in Seattle... I could check out 3 of those places. But what am I looking for? What's a QR code? I'm a noob.

Re: The Cicada 3301 Mystery
 

Re: The Cicada 3301 Mystery
 

Gotcha, will check it out today. How old is this though? How likely are the images still to be at these locations?

Re: The Cicada 3301 Mystery
 

If you look at the timestamps it seems like these are a little over a week old. This reeks of ANONYMOUS to me.

Re: The Cicada 3301 Mystery
 

Nice... the roads in Seattle or solid sheets of ice so it will be interesting trying to get to these places. Hopefully the sheets of paper are laminated or something otherwise they've probably deteriorated rapidly in the elements.

Re: The Cicada 3301 Mystery
 

It's just a promo for the Mothman Prophecies 2

Re: The Cicada 3301 Mystery
 

I was thinking viral marketing as well. But would they really start this off by posting on 4chan?

Lots of things on the Internet started on 4chan and spread elsewhere so it makes sense.

Re: The Cicada 3301 Mystery
 

I've decoded the final message:

Re: The Cicada 3301 Mystery
 

I live within walking distance to one of the Seattle locations.

Re: The Cicada 3301 Mystery
 

I was reading up on this on Reddit. This originated around two weeks ago. Since then 'supposedly' all of the locations have been recovered (but not posted online). I would go look for myself if Seattle wasn't a sheet of ice :( Oh well.

Re: The Cicada 3301 Mystery
 

ITS A COOKBOOK!

Re: The Cicada 3301 Mystery
 

Re: The Cicada 3301 Mystery
 

Sounds like a pretty standard troll.

Re: The Cicada 3301 Mystery
 

Pretty cool. Although, much less cool when it turns out to be viral marketing.

I live not too far from the Chino one, but it looks a little too Se7en for me.

http://i.imgur.com/ye0nY.jpg

Re: The Cicada 3301 Mystery
 

Hrmmm. Maybe I should go over there and see what the hell this is all about? Also, will I get sent to gitmo for randomly parking my car on the side of the road looking at telephone poles?

Re: The Cicada 3301 Mystery
 

ahahahahahaha, wp