“Secret Code” Found Hidden in 1800s Dress

In an antique mall in Maine, Sara Rivers Cofield, a collector of vintage costumes and an archaeologist, discovered a Victorian dress from the 1880s. Despite its age, the dress’s intricate details and condition were remarkably preserved. The dress featured a secret pocket under its bustle, hiding two sheets of paper filled with a list of words and locations that seemed nonsensical or perhaps coded.

Rivers Cofield, intrigued by this find, sought to understand the purpose of these hidden messages and their significance to the owner, Bennett, who’s name was found hand written on a tag inside the dress.

The code found within the Victorian dress’s hidden pocket consisted of a series of words and locations that, at first glance, appeared to be a random assortment. The cryptic list included terms such as “Bismark, omit, leafage, buck, bank” and another sequence mentioning “Calgary, Cuba, unguard, confute, duck, Fagan.” These sequences, coupled with marginal notes suggesting temporal elements, puzzled Sara Rivers Cofield and sparked widespread curiosity.

Cryptic note hidden inside 1880’s dress. Sara Rivers Cofield

In 2014, Rivers Cofield shared her discovery on a blog, hoping to attract someone capable of deciphering the cryptic notes. The mystery captivated online sleuths, though no conclusive answers were found. Speculation ranged from espionage to secret communications, but none fit the context of the dress’s era accurately.

The breakthrough came when Wayne Chan, a Canadian researcher, took an interest in the puzzle. Chan, experienced in solving codes, investigated extensively but initially found no solution. It wasn’t until years later, when he was exploring weather codes from the telegraph era that he identified the messages as weather reports. These reports were not encrypted for secrecy but rather condensed for economical telegraph transmission. Each word represented specific meteorological data, such as temperature, wind speed, and barometric pressure, relevant to a particular location and time.

For instance, the line “Bismark, omit, leafage, buck, bank” held detailed meteorological information:

“Bismark” indicated the location of the weather station, in this case, Bismarck, North Dakota.

“Omit” translated to an air temperature of 56 degrees Fahrenheit and a barometric pressure of 0.08 inches of mercury.

“Leafage” denoted a dew point of 32 degrees Fahrenheit observed at 10 p.m.

“Buck” signified the absence of precipitation.

“Bank” represented a wind velocity of 12 miles per hour and a clear sunset.

Chan’s research revealed that the coded messages followed a 19th-century telegraphic weather code used by the Army Signal Corps, the national weather service of the United States at the time. This discovery highlighted the practical use of telegraphic codes for cost-saving purposes in transmitting detailed weather information.

The complexity of the code, despite its non-secretive nature, shows the ingenuity of communication strategies in the telegraph era before they had all of our fancy cell phones.

AI Changes PDF Documents Forever

Adobe unveiled a new artificial intelligence assistant within its Reader and Acrobat applications, designed to streamline the process of summarizing and querying PDFs and other documents.

Currently in its beta phase, the AI assistant is accessible in Acrobat and is slated to be integrated into Reader in the near future, as per Adobe’s announcement. Following the beta, Adobe intends to offer a subscription model for this innovative tool.

This AI assistant aims to simplify the consumption of extensive PDF documents by providing concise summaries and responding to queries directly within the document, employing a “conversational interface” for ease of use. Furthermore, it is equipped to suggest potential inquiries users may have regarding the document’s content.

A standout feature of Adobe’s AI assistant is its ability to generate citations for its responses, ensuring users can trace the information back to its original source. Additionally, it can create text suited for various outputs, including emails, presentations, and reports.

While AI models like ChatGPT also offer PDF reading capabilities that facilitate the analysis of long documents, they necessitate uploading the PDF. Adobe sets itself apart by integrating this assistant directly into its applications, eliminating the need for external uploads.

Adobe CEO Shantanu Narayen, speaking with CNBC’s “Squawk on the Street,” highlighted the AI tool’s alignment with Adobe’s mission to “democratize access” to the vast array of PDF documents worldwide. Narayen envisioned a user-friendly experience where individuals can interact with, seek summaries from, and pose questions to a lengthy document, integrating this information with other documents and data across an enterprise.

Following the beta, Adobe intends to offer a subscription model for this innovative tool.

Over 100 Stunning New Species Found

Over a hundred novel species of exotic marine creatures have been unveiled in the vicinity of towering underwater peaks off Chile’s coast. This discovery was made by an international group of researchers who ventured into the uncharted territories of sea mountains, some reaching heights of up to 3,530 meters.

The expedition, spearheaded by the Schmidt Ocean Institute, revealed a diverse collection of species previously unknown to science, including unique deep-sea corals, sponges, sea urchins, amphipods, and squat lobsters.

Utilizing a remotely operated underwater vehicle, the team probed the depths of the ocean floor, encountering marine life in regions as deep as 4,500 meters. They discovered that each underwater mountain hosted a rich variety of ecosystems, many of which were classified as vulnerable, featuring vibrant coral reefs, sponge gardens, and an array of peculiar fish, lobsters, and amphipods.

Dr. Javier Sellanes from the Universidad Católica del Norte in Chile expressed astonishment at the sheer number of new species found, particularly among sponges, expressing that the findings surpassed their expectations. The team is currently examining the physical and genetic characteristics of these specimens to officially classify them as new species.

The captivating journey and its findings can be viewed through the Schmidt Ocean Institute’s video footage below. Make sure to check it out, it is amazing!

Solar Chaos Coming Soon

At first glance, the sun appears as a tranquil, steady beacon in the sky. However, a closer look reveals a star in constant turmoil, oscillating between states of calm and chaotic plasma activity in a cycle that reshapes its surface and magnetic field.

Every 11 years, the sun undergoes a dramatic transformation. Its magnetic field, having become as twisted as an overwound bundle of elastic bands, abruptly reverses, swapping its magnetic poles. This event is the climax of a process leading to heightened solar activity, including the ejection of massive plasma blobs, the formation of vast dark spots, and the release of intense radiation streams.

This phase of increased solar behavior, known as the solar maximum, can trigger solar storms capable of disrupting communication systems, damaging electrical grids, affecting living organisms (astronauts in particular), and endanger satellites.

Recent observations indicate that the upcoming solar maximum might arrive earlier and with more intensity than previously anticipated. Although scientists had forecasted the peak of the current solar cycle to occur in 2025, a surge in sunspots, solar storms, and unusual solar events now suggests that the solar maximum could begin as early as the end of this year.

The solar cycle transitions from a solar minimum, a period of low solar activity, to a solar maximum and back every 11 years. The reasons behind the duration of these cycles remain a mystery, despite their consistent tracking since the first recorded Solar Cycle 1 between 1755 and 1766. The ongoing cycle, Solar Cycle 25, started in December 2019, as confirmed by NASA.

The root of the sun’s cyclical changes lies in its magnetic field, explains Alex James, a solar physicist. During the solar minimum, the sun’s magnetic field is strong and well-ordered, effectively suppressing solar activity by keeping the sun’s plasma contained. Over time, however, this magnetic field becomes entangled, leading to a weakening of its strength and a subsequent increase in solar activity. This activity is marked by the emergence of coronal loops — massive, magnetized structures on the sun’s surface — and the occurrence of solar flares and coronal mass ejections as the magnetic field realigns.

Following the peak of this activity, the sun’s magnetic field undergoes a complete reversal, marking the end of the current cycle and the beginning of a new solar minimum, thus continuing the cycle of solar transformation.

While this is a regular event that happens every 11 or so years, I am very excited for the upcoming solar maximum. The quality of images we have been able to take of the sun over the last few years has gotten so much better. I think we will get a whole new wealth of amazing photographs of our sun in its most active time.

Related: The Sun, Like Never Seen Before

Glow-in-the-Dark Petunias

Forest plants don’t naturally glow in the dark like in Avatar, but now we have the ability to genetically modify plants to exhibit bioluminescence. The Firefly Petunia, the first commercially available glowing flower, has received approval from the USDA and is currently open for pre-orders.

Produced by Light Bio, these flowers emit a soft glow similar to moonlight and can be cultivated in pots, baskets, or gardens, achieving a size of 8 to 10 inches with abundant white flowers. Indoors, they can thrive in sunny spots, benefiting from at least six hours of direct sunlight to enhance their brightness.

The concept of bioluminescence was inspired by mushrooms that naturally glow in the dark. Scientists transferred four genes from these mushrooms into a tobacco plant, resulting in continuous bioluminescence throughout the plant’s life.

Lead author Karen Sarkisyan highlighted the potential extension of bioluminescence to other plants, such as periwinkles and roses. Beyond the creation of marketable products, the experiments aim to reveal insights into plant behavior through the emitted light.

The initiative not only explores scientific possibilities but also seeks to rekindle an appreciation for the natural beauty of the plant world. The company envisions that the introduction of bioluminescent plants, such as the Firefly Petunia, will spark interest and curiosity in nature and science, particularly among younger audiences. Through hands-on experiences with living plants designed to emit light, individuals can engage with the fascinating realm of biotechnology.