The Voynich Manuscript is an illustrated codex hand-written in an unknown writing system. Carbon dating has placed the vellum to the early 15th century (1404–1438). The manuscript contains mysterious botanical, astronomical, and pharmaceutical drawings, but despite the efforts of professional and amateur cryptographers—including world-class codebreakers from WWI and WWII—no one has ever deciphered the text. Some believe it is a sophisticated hoax, while others argue it is a lost language or a complex cipher. The illustrations depict plants that do not exist in the real world and strange 'bathing' scenes involving miniature female figures. Currently held in Yale University’s Beinecke Rare Book & Manuscript Library, the Voynich Manuscript remains the most famous unsolved mystery in the history of literature and cryptography, inspiring countless theories and fictional stories.