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On May 1st of 1995, a student at the University of Arizona named Bryan Hance was reading through the local college paper when he came across a full page advert which contained a cryptic mix of images, maps, languages, and equations. Coincidentally on the same day of May 1st for the next two years, Bryan would again see these bizarre full page ‘May Day” ads of seemingly random and nonsensical images. Deciding to dig deeper, Bryan would soon find himself obsessed trying to uncover and decipher one of the strangest coded mysteries of the modern times.
Soon more light was shown onto this mystery. These full-paged May Day cryptic puzzles went back in the local paper for decades, with additional smaller advertisements placed throughout the years as well. Still, no one knew who was behind them or what purpose they served. Through the years many people from all over the world have tried to crack the code behind the May Day Pages, which hides its clues in obscure historical, mathematical and geographical puzzles.
Are these May Day adverts the work of a secret society as a way to get their message out? An eccentric game which will lead whoever can solve the puzzle to a vast fortune? Or simply the rambling works of an unstable but genius madman? Tune in and hear all the theories and ideas behind this modern cryptic mystery!
View the May Day Mystery Website to view all the texts!
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Hey! Just found your podcast about a week ago and have been binging since! Just finished listening to this week’s podcast and wanted to talk about the style of the articles changing over time. I think one of the biggest things you guys overlooked was how much technology has changed since these started (even if you’re only going as far back as the ’90’s). The drawings would have had to be less complex to show up properly before the digital age. As tech has improved and changed the way newspapers are designed and printed, more complexities and details in the drawings would have been more feasible the later the date. And that’s without taking into account that a person’s personal style changes through time, by learning new techniques, or simply just maturing as an artist with more practice under your belt. The more you practice, the more confident you feel adding details, flourishes and complexities.
Anyways, great show! I’ve enjoyed all your topics and look forward to more! Thanks!
Very good points! Hadn’t put too much thought in the advancements of technology and how the internet allows people to so much more information. Also it would allow more complex drawings and puzzles that would have been a lot of work to pull off in the early 80’s when the ads first appeared. Also as the puzzles grew more in popularity the author might have wanted to make each one even more complex and artistic. Along with getting more experience and better tech, the person/people behind it most likely had different areas of interests as they grew older, which could account for changes in the puzzles. If only there were more ads that would give better clues as to the identity of the person behind it all!
Glad to hear you enjoyed the episode, was a fun one to research!