Reddit is a world wide message board where you can help someone find a lost dog, and share gifs of yourself getting smacked in the face with kimchi. If you can view it on a computer, you can post it on Reddit. This usability is what makes it a breeding ground for mysterious posts that can be anything from marketing schemes, to super weird art projects, or even a discovery of a famous actor’s doppelgänger. These mysteries constantly show up on best of Reddit, where millions of people see them and become embroiled in the same nagging mysteries as those of us who spend countless hours trolling the dark web for new secrets to uncover. Prepare to lose some sleep over this list of the biggest mysteries uncovered on Reddit.
Of the many things Reddit has done, “uncover super weird mysteries” is definitely at the top of the list. Sometimes, the mysteries are just really strange websites that are unsettling because of their unorthodox structure, but in other cases the mysteries can seep into the the wider public consciousness when they begin to get picked up by major news outlets like the BBC and Forbes. There are always small mysteries unfolding on Reddit, but these are some of the biggest that have been uncovered by the site’s massive global community.
Vote up the most interesting mysteries solved by Reddit, and if you’ve gone down the rabbit hole, leave a comment about an online mystery that’s been nagging at you every time you close your eyes.
The Biggest Mysteries Uncovered on Reddit,
The Homeless Bifid Cipher
Status: Sort of kind of solved
In 2013, someone posted a story on Reddit about a homeless man handing them $50 and a note full of jumbled letters that the Internet quickly realized was a Bifid Cipher. Redditors who went down the rabbit hole transcribed names into IP addresses, figured out UNIX codes, and tracked down retired professors, while other users, possibly with less time on their hands, called bullsh*t on the whole thread.
The 432 Mystery
Status: Unsolved... Deep Web Style
The 432 mystery began on 4chan with an email that read, "You have been selected, where have you gone? We are watching." Then there was a link to website full of more gobbledegook like that. But things got really weird when whoever was behind the site started posting pictures and IRC names of people trying to solve the mystery.
The original site seems to have stopped being updated, but that doesn't mean people have stopped looking for clues.
The Mysterious Sound in Forest Grove, OR
Status: Unsolved and headache inducing
When an ABC news affiliate from Oregon posted a story about a mysterious squeaking sound that was haunting people in an Oregon town, Reddit got on the case and even though one poster got waaaaay too into the mystery, everyone else pretty much decided that whatever the sound is, it's going to be disappointing.
The Box of Crazy
Status: Solved
In 2013 a Redditor began to document his experience with digging through a box he found in the trash. Inside, he found beautifully hand rendered posters, illustrations, maps, technical drawings, personal belongings, and a handwritten note about what was either an extra-terrestrial invasion, or some kind of government cover up. Most Redditors came to the conclusion that the creator of the contents was obsessed with the book of Ezekiel from the Bible, and that he was probably schizophrenic.
r/F04cb41f154db2f05a4a
Status: Unsolved
F04cb41f154db2f05a4a is seemingly another random dump of code, except the strange numbers tend to correspond to odd Imgur photos and they're a little easier to decode. Oh, and whoever is dumping all of this data keeps posting creepy comments like this ([sic] for days):
"What I got:
Wait, hold on. I think I may have found out how to desipher this. What you guys are failing to realize is that all of thinks links are individual instances of lost. nes those whö ä
Edit: Wait, hold on. I think I may have found out how to desipher this. What you guys are failing to realize is that all of thinks links are individual instances of lost ones those who are comming. There is no light here. The third gateis open. Mark of the fame (flame?). Silent mouths agape. Blood on the stones. Run."
No thanks!
The Mystery of the Modified Extension Cord
Status: Solved?
When Redditor shadybusiness15 opened up an exploded extension cable, he found a SIM card with a serial number on it. After posting a picture of it online other Redditors figured out that there was a microphone connected to the SIM card and that when he called the number on the card he heard the message of an answering system that said "The service is now closed. If you have voicemail you can turn it on." When he contacted the bug's manufacturer, he was told that he would have to get a warrant if he wanted to know what had been recorded.
Grateful Doe
Status: Solved
Grateful Doe was the name of an unknown body that was found in the wreckage of a car crash in 1995. People forgot about the case and it was deemed to never be solved, that is until Layla Betts, a Redditor and Grateful Dead fan began researching the case and posting what she found online. As the case went viral, Betts was contacted by one of Doe's former roommates who was able to help her put together the puzzle and learn that Doe's real name was Jason Callahan.
Cicada 3301
Status: Solved
The Cicada 3301 puzzle appeared in 2012 along with a message saying, "Hello. We are looking for highly intelligent individuals. To find them, we have devised a test. There is a message hidden in the 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."
Wouldn't you know, a Swedish Cybersecurity researcher just happened to have the steganography software and knowledge of the Mayan language to solve it.
Nail Through the Wood
Status: Solved
When a photo of a nail suspended in the middle of pillars of wood showed up on Reddit people lost their minds. It was probably like Nicolas Cage screaming "How did it get burned?" in Wicker Man, but about an impossible nail. Thankfully there's at least one carpenter online who helped everyone solve the mystery - see the video for he solution.
r/A858DE45F56D9BC9
Status: Unsolved
In 2011, Redditors began to notice that someone was dumping an insane amount of code onto r/A858DE45F56D9BC9 and it didn't make sense to anyone. And then one day someone decoded one of the posts and found an ASCII drawing of Stonehenge. Some Redditors believe that this is a message of acknowledgement to someone referring to the page as "the Stonehenge of Reddit," while others believe that it's all a bunch of garbage. As of March 2016, some users were still trying to figure it all out.