Woman discovers 'secret' coded message in John Milton poem 'Paradise Lost'

Originally published at: https://boingboing.net/2019/11/07/woman-discovers-secret-cod.html

4 Likes

ralphie_ovaltine_sonofabitch

23 Likes

::counts on fingers::

31 Likes

“Phaal: ‘FALL, FALL, FALL.’”

16 Likes

A bit of a stretch but cool nonetheless!

2 Likes

A word occurs to me… Pareidolia

11 Likes

The first letters of the eight lines Phaal found in the poem spell out “FFAALLAF.”

This is clearly about Milton’s love for Falafel dishes, and nothing else!

28 Likes

Wow. So the “secret” message in a poem about about Adam and Eve’s fall from grace is “fall”

Interesting.

15 Likes

Yep. She fell for it! :wink:

8 Likes

Did he mean loofahs?

8 Likes

Perhaps it’s unkind to observe that the message might be less “Fall” and more “F. All”.

16 Likes

God this is dumb

4 Likes

If it’s supposed to be a ‘double fall’ it should be FFAALLLL.

1 Like

The maximum number p of pieces that can be created with a given number of cuts n , where n ≥ 0, is given by the formula p=(n*2+n+2)/2, yielding the first four numbers 1,2,4,7…

Reversing “Miranda” gives us “adnarim”, and taking the first, second, fourth, and seventh letters gives us “Adam” with only three letters left over.

I also just discovered that “Phaal” sounds like “fall”.

Milton was very fond of pancakes. Well, probably. I mean, who isn’t?

18 Likes

Paradise Lost has over 10000 lines. A random selection of 8 of them start with a mangled combination of F, A and L. This is below the tier of youtube game theory videos.

This is so stupid I am legit mad.

15 Likes

Based on her name, this is clearly a joke, right?

2 Likes

Here’s my acrostic discovery. If you take the first letters from:

Squadrons at once, with huge two-handed sway
Brandisht aloft the horrid edge came down
Wide wasting; such destruction to withstand
He hasted, and oppos’d the rockie Orb
Of tenfold Adamant, his ample Shield
A vast circumference: At his approach

SBWHOA

In other words:
WHOA, BS.

13 Likes

This poem is three hundred and fifty years old and by now several hundred undergrads, in a desperate attempt to sound clever and do something to fill out the page count at 3 AM on the due date, have already discussed the matter at tremendous length.

6 Likes

Is this from the Dominos Pizza training manual? :slight_smile:

10 Likes

They’re rather like those virtuous pagan philosophers Milton mentions in book 2 of Paradise Lost:

Others apart sat on a hill retired,
In thoughts more elevate, and reasoned high
Of providence, foreknowledge, will, and fate,
Fixed fate, free will, foreknowledge absolute,
And found no end, in wandering mazes lost.
Of good and evil much they argued then,
Of happiness and final misery,
Passion and apathy, and glory and shame:
Vain wisdom all, and false philosophy.

Bullshit, in a word. . . .

1 Like