Learn 3 Advanced English Words From A 600 Year Old Mystery #shorts

Added: 2026-05-20

[00:00:00]Can you decipher this?

[00:00:02]Nobody can. Not World War II codebreakers, not AI, not anyone.

[00:00:07]But after today, you'll know exactly what that word means.

[00:00:10]United States Army Signal Intelligence Service.

[00:00:14]1944.

[00:00:16]William Friedman, the man who led the team that cracked Japan's unbreakable purple code, sits down with his colleagues after hours.

[00:00:24]They have one goal.

[00:00:25]To read a strange manuscript that nobody has ever been able to decipher.

[00:00:30]Sir, we cracked Japan's purple code. We broke German ciphers. Why can't we decipher this one old manuscript?

[00:00:37]Because this manuscript is unlike anything I have ever seen.

[00:00:40]These plans, they don't exist in nature.

[00:00:43]These symbols match no known language.

[00:00:46]Could it be some kind of secret cipher?

[00:00:48]I have worked on hundreds of codes in my career.

[00:00:51]But this manuscript, I am completely baffled.

[00:00:54]So, what do we do now?

[00:00:56]We keep trying.

[00:00:57]That is all we can do.

[00:01:00]That scene gave us three useful English words. Let's look at them one by one, using simple examples you'll actually remember. [music] Decipher. It means to figure out something that is very hard to read or understand. For example, when you try to read a doctor's messy handwriting, you are [music] deciphering it. Simple as that.

[00:01:21]Baffled. It [music] means completely confused. You have absolutely no idea what is happening.

[00:01:27]>> [music] >> Like when your phone suddenly stops working for no reason, you are baffled.

[00:01:32]Manuscript. Simply, [music] an old handwritten document or book.

[00:01:36]Before printing machines existed, everything was written by hand. Those handwritten [music] books are called manuscripts.

[00:01:43]Your turn.

[00:01:45]Now, pick any one of these three words, [music] decipher, baffled, or manuscript, and write your own sentence in the comments below. [music] Keep it simple. I will read every single one and tell you if it is correct.

[00:01:57]Follow Chronologic HQ for a new historical mystery and new English words every week. See you in the next one.