
Cicada 3301
A trail of cryptographic puzzles appeared online in 2012. Who made them, and what was the point?
Open case file →Conspiracies, paranormal accounts, internet mysteries, and stories too strange to file away. Search a topic, explore an iceberg, or follow a finished investigation.

A trail of cryptographic puzzles appeared online in 2012. Who made them, and what was the point?
Open case file →Browse topic notes, inspect the iceberg collection, or read a sourced investigation.
13,457 strange subjects to investigate. Imported notes are starting points, not verified conclusions.
Browse topics →Explore charts from across the internet, from familiar mysteries to their deepest layers.
View graphics →Read the stories we've researched in depth, with the evidence and open questions in view.
Read investigations →Finished stories separate the record, the theory, and what remains unknown.
An elaborate cryptographic hunt that moved from online clues to posters in cities around the world.
Read case file →A real illustrated manuscript in an unidentified script, preserved and digitized by Yale.
Read case file →These stories are entertaining because the line between record, rumor, and invention can be hard to find. Every finished file makes that line easier to see.