December 2020
Problem of the Month

Decode a message

Can you find the hidden message inside the following square?

Each letter or symbol (period) will be used exactly once.



Hint:
8 Franklin Square in The Lost Symbol.

Click here for a printer copy

Solution to the Problem:

The decoded message is:

IT IS NOT ENOUGH TO HAVE A GOOD MIND. THE MAIN THING IS TO USE IT WELL. DESCARTES

The hint referred to Ben Franklin's order 8 Magic Square which was used to solve a mystery in Dan Brown's book The Lost Symbol.

Here is Ben Franklin's Magic Square followed by the coded message:




Match up the numbers in Franklin's Magic Square with the letters in the coded square to get the message:

1   :   I
2   :   T
3   :   I
4   :   S
5   :   N
6   :   O
7   :   T
8   :   E
:
:

Correctly solved by:

1. Colin (Yowie) Bowey	Beechworth, Victoria, Australia
2. Veena Mg	Bangalore, Karnataka, India
3. Angelica Mosher	Mountain View High School, Mountain View, Wyoming
4. Holly Hamblin	Mountain View High School, Mountain View, Wyoming
5. Aubrie Winkler	Mountain View High School, Mountain View, Wyoming
6. Joshua Cushing	Mountain View High School, Mountain View, Wyoming
7. Maddi Aimone	Mountain View High School, Mountain View, Wyoming
8. Taylor Balding	Redlands Middle School, Grand Junction, Colorado
9. Kadin Holloway	Mountain View High School, Mountain View, Wyoming
10. Ivy Joseph	Pune, Maharashtra, India
11. Lindsay Gammon	Redlands Middle School, Grand Junction, Colorado

Send any comments or questions to: David Pleacher