This tip comes by way of Gadget Lab reader Ken Fricklas, who calls it “The coolest cypherpunk gizmo, ever.” And we’d have to agree, especially as it could be ours for a reserve price of just €25,000 ($34,000)
The gizmo? The Enigma machine, used by the Nazis in World War II to (unsuccessfully) send secret messages and ensure world domination. It also starred in the execrable 2001 movie of the same name, tagline: “10,000,000,000,000,000+ combinations – 24 hours to get it right.”
According to this movie, the Enigma was recovered by an American who then, against the clock, saved the day. According to the truth, and to history, a team of be-suited boffins toiled away in the low-key Bletchley Park, England, to crack the code of the “unbreakable” cipher machine. Whether you prefer fantasy or fact, the Enigma remains the ultimate analog computer and comes from time when the names of devices were as good as the devices themselves. Donations are welcome.
Auction page [Artfact. Thanks, Ken!]
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