The Pigpen Cipher is another example of a substitution cipher, but rather than replacing each letter with another letter, the letters are replaced by symbols. The cipher has an interesting history: although its true origins are unknown, it has been used by many groups. Most notoriously, it was the cipher of choice for use by …
Monthly Archives: September 2024
Hire the Regimental Brewmeister for your Event or Site
Add excitement and authentic color to your special event, or create one for your site, with Philadelphia’s best Colonial Brewer and tradesman. Whether it is a reenactment, motion picture, a tavern night for a private event, or other endeavor, I can bring can bring a real sense of authenticity and fun to your event and …
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Colonial Spymaster (#4) — Polybius Cypher
The Polybius checkerboard, is a device invented by the ancient Greeks Cleoxenus and Democleitus, and made famous by the historian and scholar Polybius, a Greek historian noted for his work The Histories, which covered the period of 264–146 BCE. Polybius was well known to the Founding Fathers of the United States and was influential on …
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Colonial Spymaster (#3) — Ottendorf or Book Cypher
The Ottendorf Cypher, or Book Cypher, is a cyphertext is made up of numbers in groups of 3, and these numbers correspond to positions in a book (or other type of text). Most often the numbers refer to Line, Word, and Letter. To encode a message, the encoder needs only to find the word at …
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Historical Tidbits — Arnold’s March through the Wilderness
When reenacting or acting as a historical interpreter, its good to have a few historical dates and stories to share. This series will publish a few. September 25, 1775 Arnold’s March through the Wilderness. Early in the American Revolutionary War, Colonel Benedict Arnold led a force of 1,100 Continental Army troops on an expedition from …
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Historical Tidbits
When reenacting or acting as a historical interpreter, its good to have a few historical dates and stories to share. This series will publish a few. September 25, 1789 Bill of Rights On September 25, 1789, the first Congress of the United States adopted 12 amendments to the U.S. Constitution–the Bill of Rights–and sent them …
Early Meteorology — Predicting the Weather 18th Century Style: scientific beginnings in England
The shift from superstition to scientific study of meteorology began when proper measuring instruments became available in the mid-17th century. By the early 18th century, Daniel Fahrenheit produced accurate mercury thermometers calibrated to a standard scale that ranged from 32 to 96 degrees (i.e., from the melting point of ice to body temperature). Early work …
Historical Tidbits — ANTIFEDERALIST papers
When reenacting or acting as a historical interpreter, its good to have a few historical dates and stories to share. This series will publish a few. September 25, 1787 – a first of a series of fifteen essays arguing AGAINST the formation of a new US Constitution were published. The authors of these ANTIFEDERALIST papers …
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Colonial Spymaster (#2) — Caesar Cypher
The Caesar cypher is one of the earliest known and simplest cyphers. It is a type of substitution cipher in which each letter in the plaintext is ‘shifted’ a certain number of places down the alphabet. For example, with a shift of 1, A would be replaced by B, B would become C, and so …
A little Heresy can be Entertaining — the Smoking Bishop Punch
Well, it’s finally Fall and my wife has been binging Little Dorrit on PBS. Since I haven’t posted any new recipes lately, I thought it time I put out a Fall classic – the SMOKING BISHOP. Fine oranges well roasted with sugar and wine in a cup, they’ll make a sweet Bishop when gentlefolk sup. …
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Michael Carver -- Historical Interpreter/Reenactor 