ViralWorld

Cicada 3301

You might remember it as 3301 puzzle

The archive has not found a surviving copy.

2012·The social era

Three sets of puzzles posted anonymously under the name 3301, a year apart, each said to be looking for highly intelligent people.

At a glanceThe facts

Remembered as
3301 puzzle
Spread in
2012
Began as
A social-media post
Format
Phenomenon
Era
The social era
Made by
Unknown
Where it started
4chan, for the first puzzle
Origin
Not an upload originally
Available
Not held by ViralWorld

What this wasThe story

On 4 January 2012 an image appeared on 4chan inviting intelligent individuals to find a message hidden inside it. It led through cryptography, steganography, phone numbers and physical posters in half a dozen countries. It ran again on 4 January 2013 and 2014. The organisation stopped posting verified messages in April 2017 and the third puzzle is still unsolved.

Why it matteredWhat changed

Nobody knows who set them or for what purpose. The third has never been solved.

TimelineIn order

  1. Made

    The first puzzle is posted. It runs for nearly a month.1

  2. Made

    A second begins.1

  3. Made

    A third is posted on Twitter.1

  4. Later

    The last message carrying the group’s verified signature is published.1

How it spreadFrom one place to everywhere

Why it is here: something the internet still knows by name · it got out of its own corner of the internet fast · still being watched and quoted years later

This first circulated as a social-media post, not as a video upload.

Where it came fromWhat we know

There is no original upload to identify: this did not begin as one. There is no copy of it here either — what it was, when it appeared and what people called it is what this page can tell you.

Nothing here is claimed to be the first publication of this Moment, because the first publication was not an upload. This first circulated as a social-media post, not as a video upload.

Not established. This index only names a creator where the evidence supports it.

More from 2012You were there

More from the social eraMore of the archive

ConnectedFollow it further

SourcesWhat was read

  1. Wikipedia — Cicada 3301

Sources last read on . That date is about the history on this page. Whether the media still plays is checked separately and can change any day. How ViralWorld documents things

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