The Binary Code In Canada's Gov-Gen Coat of Arms 486
Lev13than writes "Dr. David Johnston, formerly the president of the University of Waterloo, was installed as Canada's new Governor-General on Friday. As de facto head of state and the Queen's representative in Canada he is required to design a personal coat of arms. One modern detail has attracted particular attention - a 33-digit palindromic binary stream at the base. Efforts to decode the meaning of the number using ASCII, Morse, grouping by 3/11 and other theories has so far come up empty (right now it's a toss up between random, the phone number 683-077-0643 and Morse code for 'send help - trapped in a coat of arms factory.') Is 110010111001001010100100111010011 the combination to his luggage, or just a random stream of digits?"
EH (Score:5, Funny)
all it says is EH
Re:Can't we just ask? (Score:5, Funny)
110010111001001010100100111010011? (Score:3, Funny)
I think that translates into: CNUS, Canada's Not the United States.
Not necessarily binary (Score:5, Funny)
Tough one (Score:5, Funny)
If he were from New Zealand I would say it's a binary solo, but being from Canada I'm not sure.
Re:Palindrome (Score:2, Funny)
And after reading the article, it seems they noticed the same thing!
Wonder why that option was left out of the summary, as it seems the most likely. Silly editors
You mean the link you clicked on to read the article that has the text "33-digit palindromic binary stream"? That link?
Re:Not necessarily binary (Score:5, Funny)
Neither the 33 last. I can tell because I just checked it.
Posted as AC for obvious reasons.
This sounds like a job for... (Score:5, Funny)
... Robert Langdon!!! I'm sure that buried somewhere in that seemingly random sequence of 1s and 0s is a code that will shake the very foundations of the human race and expose a truth that has long been hidden!
I can already hear Dan Brown feverishly scratching away at his notepad, as he begins researching and stringing together a load geographically accurate, but ultimately randomly contrived pile of nonsense for his next magnum opus, "The Canada Complex"
Re:Palindrome (Score:5, Funny)
The first thing I notice is the binary string is a palindrome, the same forwards or backwards.
This is to prevent Soviet Russia jokes from working in Soviet Canada.
Re:Not necessarily binary (Score:3, Funny)
Re:Palindrome (Score:2, Funny)
The first thing I notice is the binary string is a palindrome, the same forwards or backwards.
This is to prevent Soviet Russia jokes from working in Soviet Canada.
He's the Governor General. It reads: "In Soviet Canada, the taxes pay YOU"
DRM (Score:3, Funny)
base64? (Score:3, Funny)
The base64 result, y5Kk6QE=, reminds me of something a url shortener would spit out. But i am unsure which it would be.
Re:base64? (Score:2, Funny)
You are saying "This random number looks like other random numbers I have seen". I don't think you have thought this through.
Simple (Score:3, Funny)
Re:The numbers are wrong (wild guess) (Score:5, Funny)
That OTAN is NATO backwards is incidental, mirroring is not the reason for it. The reason is that France succeeded in demanding French as an official Nato language. OTAN = Organisation du Traité de l'Atlantique Nord.
There is no use for mirrored writing on airplanes, they fly too fast for your cars rear-view mirror, and planes that do have rear view mirror wouldn't wait 'till the bogey is a couple of yards behind them to find out who he is.
Re:The number is a Palindromic Prime in base 2. (Score:5, Funny)
In base 2, every number is prime.
They fixed that in base 2.0.1.
it says "OMG! Canada haz teh internetz" (Score:3, Funny)
Re:Possibly you're right (Score:3, Funny)
Nothing at all? In katakana?
Maybe it was his name.
Re:Can get even worse (Score:5, Funny)
Re:EH (Score:5, Funny)
Re:Can't we just ask? (Score:5, Funny)
Yes, but it's traditional to offer him a barometer.
Re:The numbers are wrong (wild guess) (Score:5, Funny)
Canadian planes should have 'NATOTAN' written on them to please the speakers of both languages ('NATO' 'stylishly' mirrored around the 'O'). Of course, for the Japanese, that acronym would read 'achieving a darker skin tone by slathering yourself in fermented beans'.
Re:Can't we just ask? (Score:4, Funny)
...signifying nothing.
A coat-of-arms inscribed by an idiot?
Re:Can get even worse (Score:5, Funny)
I got this tattoo on my forehead that says "poor impulse control"
Re:The number is a Palindromic Prime in base 2. (Score:1, Funny)
What!? Your example is flawed: you didn't divide by binary number. You have to convert both the divisor and the divided to binary!
1) A prime is a number that is only divisible (integer division) by one and the number itself. By definition zero is not a prime. (see any math textbook).
2) A binary number consists of ones and/or zero's.
3) If, without loss of generality, we get rid of leading zeroes, every binary number contains at least one one.
4) Every number (prime or not) is divisible by itself.
So, from 3 follows that any binary number is divisible by one, and from 4 follows that it is divisible by itself. Both are necessary for being prime.
From 2 follows that there are no other divisors than one and zero, so the above holds. Dividing by one is trivial, and division by zero is absurd.
So, every binary number is prime. QED.
Re:Can get even worse (Score:5, Funny)
I discovered, much to my amusement, that the word for "enjoys" can also mean "pleases".
Re:Palindrome (Score:5, Funny)
"The first thing I notice is the binary string is a palindrome"
I noticed that too, from reading the summary.
Re:Can get even worse (Score:5, Funny)
On some old sitcom, a customer is displaying his Chinese-character tattoo to the Chinese proprietor:
Customer (proudly): It means "fiery strength!"
Proprietor (horrified): No! It means of two men who love each other, you are the one who plays the woman!
Re:Possibly you're right (Score:5, Funny)
That's okay, the mere fact that you have an interesting anecdote adds volumes to this conversation. No need to share it, that would just be overkill.
Re:Random? (Score:5, Funny)
So you analyzed the code, now you may look up "palindrome"
Re:Possibly you're right (Score:5, Funny)
Re:Possibly you're right (Score:5, Funny)
Then you get the generation gap. I remember walking through Dresden a few years ago when I saw a young girl (14 or so) wearing a cute shirt, also with a rabbit on it, with "Squirmy Fuck Bunny" in poofy letters. I'm pretty sure that she knew what it meant but that her older, conservative looking mom had no idea.
Re:Random? (Score:4, Funny)
Because this is Slashdot. Your mistake is assuming that GOOD submissions get posted.
Re:I still can't believe (Score:3, Funny)
Re:Not necessarily binary (Score:3, Funny)
How much the stock market lost, worldwide in the last 2 years?
Re:Random? (Score:5, Funny)
Re:Can get even worse (Score:4, Funny)
Re:110010111001001010100100111010011? (Score:1, Funny)
And here I thought it stood for "Royal Canadian Kilted Yaksmen"
Re:Can get even worse (Score:2, Funny)
Re:Seeing patterns in the random (Score:5, Funny)
Then an intern mashed out half of it. Geez, do I have to do all the work around here?
Re:Can't we just ask? (Score:2, Funny)
Re:EH (Score:4, Funny)
Re:Not necessarily binary (Score:3, Funny)
More likely, it's just pi in the sky.
Re:EH (Score:4, Funny)
They spelled me wrong. I'll have to get in contact with them and figure out who transcribed 0100010001010011 wrong.
Re:Not necessarily binary (Score:4, Funny)
I've been using the last four digits of PI as my pin for years, now I'm gonna have to change it.
isn't it obvious? (Score:3, Funny)
Re:Can get even worse (Score:5, Funny)
Re:Seeing patterns in the random (Score:3, Funny)
Yes you do.
Here, type my reply for me on the lines below:
________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________
Re:Can get even worse (Score:3, Funny)
Though, come to think of it, it would be funny if someone did get a runic inscription that was readable as some crap omen.
I mean, I can see it. "Mr Svensson, if I read your tattoo right, feh is the rune for wealth or cattle, but its being inverted would indicate or foretell a loss of such. To make it worse, the rest of it puts it in the context of a disastrous overseas travel. So... can you explain why should we hire you to program our traveling agency's booking and financial software?" ;)
Re:Can't we just ask? (Score:3, Funny)
And a /. discussion full of sound and fury.
Re:Not necessarily binary (Score:5, Funny)
No! Please don't change PI. If you do I will have to redraw all these circles I have and also recalibrate my compass!
--jeffk++
Re:Possibly you're right (Score:4, Funny)
We have always been allied with Eurasia.