A Mysterious Manuscript

Do you enjoy riddles and codes? Consider theVoynich manuscript, an illustrated book written by hand in the early 15th century, which remains one of the world's biggest puzzles because it was written in an alphabet invented by its mysterious writer! No one is able to decode or read the book: although many famous code-breakers, mathematicians and linguists have tried, all have failed so far. Beyond the possibility of it being composed in Italy, no other details are known about the Voynich manuscript. All previous history has been lost: even the name of the manuscript originates from Wilfrid Voynich, who purchased the book in 1912, several centuries after the book was written. The manuscript is composed of 240 calf skin pages, and a few pages are missing. Scholars were so confused by the book that they believed it to be a hoax! However, a recent analysis by two researchers has identified a pattern that indicates there is a hidden message in the text. Currently, this confusing book is at the Yale Rare Book Library, where all kinds of people come try to decode the book. The diagrams of biology, plants and astronomy that are on almost every page indicate that solving the puzzle could lead to a new understanding of the history of science!