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Internet Helps Crack Code Written By Grandma 18 Years Ago

With the help of an online forum, a woman was finally able to crack a code her grandmother left on more than 20 index cards before she died in 1996.

Internet Helps Crack Code Written By Grandma 18 Years Ago
Ask MetaFilter / Janna Holm
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A woman has finally been able to solve a mysterious code that's been in her family for nearly two decades.

According to WDAF, Janna Holm has been trying to interpret what she and her family believe is a code her grandmother Dorothy scribbled on at least 20 index cards right before she died in 1996.

WFTS reports brain cancer stole Dorothy's ability to speak, and during the last two weeks of her life, she began filling the index cards with what looks like random sequences of letters.

Holm and her cousins were reportedly all under the age of 10 at the time and loved puzzles, so they assumed Dorothy had left them a code to crack. But they couldn't figure it out until 18 years later.

"One of Dorothy's granddaughters posted pictures of the index cards to MetaFilter.com. Then, the internet community went to work, to successfully decode those cards." ​(Via WGHP)

Holm's post on the site read, "I'm beginning to think that they are the first letters in the words of song lyrics, and would love to know what song this was. This is a crazy long shot, but I've seen [users] pull off some pretty impressive code-breaking before!" ​(Via Ask MetaFilter)

To her surprise, Holm says users began to post what they thought was behind the letters' meaning within minutes.

But it was one user in particular who pointed out the letters could have a religious connection and, a few minutes later, posted that some of the letters were a long acronym for the Lord's Prayer. (Via Ask MetaFilter)

Several other posters have commented with their interpretation of Dorothy's index cards, and Holm says she can't believe it took "14 minutes to solve the back of the card that has been bugging my family for 20 years." She's still working to decode the rest of the letters.