Poe had a keen interest in the field of [[cryptography]], as exemplified in his short story "The Gold-Bug". In particular he placed a notice of his abilities in the [[Philadelphia]] paper ''Alexander's Weekly (Express) Messenger'', inviting submissions of [[cipher]]s, which he proceeded to solve.[http://starbase.trincoll.edu/~crypto/historical/poe.html] His success created a public stir for some months. He later wrote essays on methods of cryptography which proved useful in deciphering the [[Germany|German]] codes employed during [[World War I]].
Poe's prowesssuccess in cryptography relied not so much on his vast knowledge of thethat field (his effortsmethod in the field werewas limited to the simple substitution cryptogram, one of the easier forms of encryption), butas inon his abilityknowledge to popularizeof the magazine and newspaper culture. Like a [[magician]], his skills were more sleight of hand and sensationalism than actual cryptographic literature. His keen analytical abilities, (which hewere likedso to show offevident in his detective stories), allowed him to see that the general public was largely ignorant of the very basic methods by which a simple substitution cryptogram can be solved, and he used this to his advantage. [http://www.usna.edu/EnglishDept/poeperplex/cryptop.htm] The sensation Poe created with his cryptography stunt played a major role in popularizing cryptograms in newspapers and magazines.
