Saturday, November 6, 2010

Half-Timber Message


Can you find the name of an American university hidden in the half-timbering of this unretouched photo, taken in Bourges, France?

6 comments:

nana said...

MIT! Lower right corner of the 3rd storey! :D
Haha, never thought I'd find it...

Alex said...

Doesn't take too much imagination to find YALE as well.

Bob Mrotek said...

I enlarged the photo by 400 percent and MIT jumps right out but alas, Nana beat me to it. However, Yale is a real stretch. I just can't seem to find it.

Max West said...

MIT!

Of course, I doubt whoever built that structure did that intentionally...or did they?

Karin Corbin said...

It is believed by many persons that the Germans used Runic alphabet characters in designing the timbering patterns. They often included symbols for protection. Even some of the wood choices for around doorways, windows and the mantels over the fireplace were done to help keep out the evil. Some historians dispute that theory as nonsense but those builders and the owners of the houses were living in a time where lots of people believed in devils and witches. We still use one runic symbol frequently today, crossing our fingers for good luck.

j. w. bjerk said...

I looked for it and couldn't find any letters. Once i read the comments and knew i was looking for MIT, i found it in a few seconds.