The Philosopher’s Stone

Not just a Harry Potter title, though. The Philosopher's Stone, if you believe in alchemy, is a material that has the power to transform common metals like lead or iron into gold. And maybe more significantly, it contained the essence of existence. That indicated that it had the alleged ability to grant you immortality.

Alchemist John Dee and his son Arthur created a document in the 1600s that contained a cipher. It wasn't decrypted until 2019, when it was made public at an alchemy and chemistry conference. In order to get help from amateur code breakers, two academics with an interest in breaking the code published the ciphertext in a blog post in 2021. Richard Bean deciphered the code and discovered that it contained a formula for the Philosopher's Stone. It depends on who follows the instructions and can actually create the stone.