Found a notebook in a library book with a code I couldn't crack

I picked up a used copy of 'The Hobbit' at the local library sale and a small black notebook fell out. It was full of strange symbols and what looked like a made up alphabet. I thought I could figure it out in an afternoon, but it took me three weeks of trying different ciphers before I realized it was just a kid's secret language for tracking bird sightings. Has anyone else found a notebook that seemed way more mysterious than it actually was?

2 comments

2 Comments

evanpalmer1mo ago

That "made up alphabet" for bird tracking is the kind of thing that would have sent me on a wild goose chase too.

lee.cole1mo ago

Ugh, tell me about it. I once spent a whole afternoon trying to decode some weird symbols on a trail map, convinced it was a secret code. Turns out it was just a hiker's doodle from a muddy boot. That sinking feeling when you realize you've been solving a puzzle that doesn't even exist is the worst. Solidarity, man.