Friday, May 20, 2011

[Resources] A Secret Message in Lincoln's Watch

The Smithsonian reported a secret message hidden in Abraham Lincoln's pocket watch in March 2009.

The secret inscription reads: “Jonathan Dillon April 13-1861 Fort Sumpter [sic] was attacked by the rebels on the above date J Dillon April 13-1861 Washington thank God we have a government Jonth Dillon.”

Dillon, working for a Washington, D.C. jeweler, inscribed the message when he was repairing Lincoln's watch. The story was passed from Dillon, down the generations, to his great, great grandson Doug Stiles, an attorney from Illinois. It took Lincoln's 200th birthday to prompt Stiles to call the curator of the Smithsonian to tell him this tale.

And the curator believed his story. So, they opened the watch and found the inscription.

This is a great story that can be used in your game. A secret message, leading to some other adventure, hidden in some simple object that the PCs acquire. It would be especially good if the object was in their possession for a long time (game-wise).

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