Algemeen Complotten-topic - nep of realiteit... #10

quote:

The May Day Mystery revolves around a series of strange newspaper ads that have appeared in the Arizona Daily Wildcat, the student-run newspaper of the University of Arizona. The advertisements vary in style and size, but they regularly pop up every 1st of May (or on the closest possible day) and occasionally on other dates, too. Their content is an instantly recognizable, eerie mixture of advanced mathematics and history knowledge, and their themes remain more or less consistent. There are elements that repeat themselves: allusions to famous scientists and politicians, liberal use of mathematics and cryptic messages in various languages are all present, and there's generally a stylized smiling face that seems to act as a signature of sorts. The general vibe of the ads is that of an intellectual challenge of some kind. Wait, didn't I say this was a university newspaper? Clearly, this is just some student pranking the rest of the campus with logic puzzles, right?

It could be, yeah. The only problem is that this has been going on since at least 1981. Someone has been sinking insane amounts of time, money, and effort into this thing, so if it's a student, kudos -- they're going for Andy Kaufman-levels of long con.

Most students would wander away in search of beer before the first ad was even halfway finished.

The consistent, eerie ads were noticed by journalist Bryan Hance, a student there in the late '90s. He became intrigued and made a website so he could discuss his finds with like-minded people. However, it soon became clear that whoever (whatever?) was behind the ads was following Hance's investigations too. In January 1999, he was contacted by someone claiming to represent a member of an organization called "The Orphanage," the society behind the ads. They've been watching him ever since, occasionally dropping hints and generally encouraging him to solve their riddles, specifically stating: "When you see the door you will be welcomed inside."

May Day Mystery

"Then you, too, can learn to draw faces like this."

The mystery has been drawing a moderate amount of attention ever since. Along with Hance and other interested parties, Reddit has been tinkering with the mystery, but to this day there is no conclusive breakthrough. Some say (and Occam's razor strongly suggests) that a local eccentric lawyer, who has allegedly been placing the ads for at least a decade but claims to work for others, is the person behind the "secret society." Others speculate that either Hance is in on the con or this is a wacky long con that members of the university have been keeping up for decades to mess with people, and a bunch of students and professors are having a ball at Hance's expense. As for Hance himself, he claims he has been bombarded with over 100 emails, courier packages, phone messages, and even small donations from the people behind the ads over the years. He seems convinced that the ads are actually communication between members of a possibly vast secret society of intellectual dissidents, and something potentially sinister is at hand.

quote:

Lees net ergens dit verhaal:

The May Day Mystery revolves around a series of strange newspaper ads that have appeared in the Arizona Daily Wildcat, the student-run newspaper of the University of Arizona. The advertisements vary in style and size, but they regularly pop up every 1st of May (or on the closest possible day) and occasionally on other dates, too. Their content is an instantly recognizable, eerie mixture of advanced mathematics and history knowledge, and their themes remain more or less consistent. There are elements that repeat themselves: allusions to famous scientists and politicians, liberal use of mathematics and cryptic messages in various languages are all present, and there's generally a stylized smiling face that seems to act as a signature of sorts. The general vibe of the ads is that of an intellectual challenge of some kind. Wait, didn't I say this was a university newspaper? Clearly, this is just some student pranking the rest of the campus with logic puzzles, right?

It could be, yeah. The only problem is that this has been going on since at least 1981. Someone has been sinking insane amounts of time, money, and effort into this thing, so if it's a student, kudos -- they're going for Andy Kaufman-levels of long con.

Most students would wander away in search of beer before the first ad was even halfway finished.

The consistent, eerie ads were noticed by journalist Bryan Hance, a student there in the late '90s. He became intrigued and made a website so he could discuss his finds with like-minded people. However, it soon became clear that whoever (whatever?) was behind the ads was following Hance's investigations too. In January 1999, he was contacted by someone claiming to represent a member of an organization called "The Orphanage," the society behind the ads. They've been watching him ever since, occasionally dropping hints and generally encouraging him to solve their riddles, specifically stating: "When you see the door you will be welcomed inside."

May Day Mystery

"Then you, too, can learn to draw faces like this."

The mystery has been drawing a moderate amount of attention ever since. Along with Hance and other interested parties, Reddit has been tinkering with the mystery, but to this day there is no conclusive breakthrough. Some say (and Occam's razor strongly suggests) that a local eccentric lawyer, who has allegedly been placing the ads for at least a decade but claims to work for others, is the person behind the "secret society." Others speculate that either Hance is in on the con or this is a wacky long con that members of the university have been keeping up for decades to mess with people, and a bunch of students and professors are having a ball at Hance's expense. As for Hance himself, he claims he has been bombarded with over 100 emails, courier packages, phone messages, and even small donations from the people behind the ads over the years. He seems convinced that the ads are actually communication between members of a possibly vast secret society of intellectual dissidents, and something potentially sinister is at hand.

-------

Beetje gelijk aan Cicada 3301 waar ik een topic over maakte. Wel weer heel bijzonder. De website van die gozer: http://www.maydaymystery.org/mayday/

En het loopt dus nog steeds, en is begonnen op 1981.
Ik zou bijna kranten gaan lezen om dit soort dingen tegen te komen.

quote:

Op woensdag 22 juli 2015 21:30 schreef jogy het volgende:

[..]

Ik begrijp er gewoon echt geen snars van, buiten het feit dat ik de looptijd van het mysterie wel geweldig vind. .