Cipherday #62 · August 24, 2026

The answer to Cipherday #62

The full three-cipher chain from August 24, 2026, the public-domain quote it hid, and how each cipher worked. Today’s chain stays sealed until it becomes a past day.

The revealed quote

“Give me six hours to chop a tree and I will spend four sharpening the axe.”— attributed to Abraham Lincoln

A famous case for preparation as the larger half of the work.

The cipher chain

1. Stage 1 · Caesar · Shift of 4

   Ciphertext

   Vsqi aew rsx fympx mr e hec.

   Decodes to

   Rome was not built in a day.

   Every letter was slid 4 places down the alphabet; sliding it back the same amount restores the line.

2. Stage 2 · Substitution · Keyword “MEADOW”

   Ciphertext

   Blld scfkbr aljo sl sclro vcl vmfs.

   Decodes to

   Good things come to those who wait.

   A keyword scrambled the alphabet into a fixed cipher alphabet, so each letter always stands for the same partner — letter frequency gives it away.

3. Stage 3 · Vigenère · Keyword “CIPHER”

   Ciphertext

   Iqkl qv uqm oslta iv gyqx p avvg ick M nkta ztvpl uvyi uppytvpqcn xyg iml.

   Decodes to

   Give me six hours to chop a tree and I will spend four sharpening the axe.

   A repeating keyword shifted each letter by a different amount, which is what lets one letter encrypt two ways; the right keyword resolves it.