Hello guys, welcome back to Most Amazing Top 10 - my name is Danny Burke and today were
talking about hostages.
Sometimes, for many different reasons, a person takes another person and wont let them leave.
They are a hostage.
But sometimes, that hostage comes up with a clever way of communicating with the people
trying to save them.
These are true, mind blowing stories - this is the Top 10 Secret Messages Sent By Hostages.
Coming in at number 10 we have the Pizza App.
In 2015, a story emerged of a woman who used the Pizza Hut app to escape from her abusive
boyfriend.
Cheryl Treadway was a 25 year old woman who was being held against her will by her boyfriend.
He was high on meth and had a knife, running out the door was not really an option.
So, one night, she convinced him to let them order a pizza through the Pizza Hut app.
When the order came through, it was for a large pepperoni pizza and the message read:
Please Help.
Get 911 to me.
The Pizza hut employees passed the details on to the police who arrived at the house
to arrest the boyfriend and get the woman and her children to safety.
What an amazing story …
Next up at number 9 we have Torture.
In 1965, Jeremiah Dentons jet was shot down during the Vietnam War in 1965.
He was taken as a prisoner of war by the North Vietnamese.
He was one of the earliest and highest ranked officers ever to be taken prisoner there so
his captors forced him to participate in a television interview.
It was also shown in the US.
During the interview, Denton kept blinking.
He told them it was because of how bright the television lights were but actually, those
blinks were sending a message.
The blinks were Morse Code.
When the US decoded them, they realised he was spelling out the word Torture.
It was a scary message for the US government to receive.
Denton was released in 1973 after 8 years as a prisoner.
He was awarded for his bravery.
Coming in at number 8 now we hav My Dear Mummy.
In 1940, Sub Lieutenant John Pryor was captured by the Germans during WW2.
He would send home innocent letters talking about the prisons vegetable garden or what
book he was reading.
However, they contained secret messages about how he had been captured on what was going
on in the prison camp.
They were coded complexy and when John came to write his memoirs in 1980, he had actually
forgotten his own code!
It took a team of mathematicians to crack it.
However, they were about 40 years too late.
I don't have time to go into how the code works but I don't doubt that John Pryor was
a very clever man!
At number 7 now we have The Pizza Call.
This was a story shared on reddit by Keith Wy-singer.
Hes a police dispatchr who answers emergency calls.
One day, he answered the phone: 911, what is your emergency?
-123 ain St- Ok, whats going on there?
- Id like to order a pizza for delivery - Mam, youve reached 911 - Yeah I know, can i have
a large with half pepperoni, half mushroom and peppers?
- Keith was very confused but the penny dropped when he asked if she couldnt talk about this
emergency because there was someone in the room with her.
She replied yes, thats correct.
He sent a police officer to the house and found her beaten up with a drunken boyfriend.
He was arrested.
Keith praised the woman for her quick thinking and ingenuity.
Next up at number 6 we have The Dutch Train Hostage Crisis.
In 1975, 7 terrorists seized a train with 50 passengers on board in the Netherlands.
The driver was immediately killed.
On the 3rd day, another hostage was killed.
The Dutch government were paralyzed.
Did they hold out and hope for the terrorists to surrender, or do they try and save them,
risking a bloody gun battle that could kill all of the hostages?
Then, one night, a man aboard the train used a mirror to flash a message at the police
in Morse code.
It said -come and help us get out- … this convinced the government to take action.
Less than 24 hours later, a gun battle broke out.
There were injuries and deaths on both sides but finally, the soldiers were able to rescue
most of the hostages.
Maybe we should all learn Morse Code!
Next up at number 5 we have ISIS.
In 2014, terrorists claiming to be in ISIS took hostages in a cafe in Sydney.
A mother called Mel said that she had received a message from her 18 year old son who was
one of the hostages.
This is despite the terrorists strictly controlling contact with those outside of the cafe.
The text simply said -Mum, Im in the Lindt cafe in Syndney- her heart stopped and she
text back asking -What is going on?
Are you OK?- he replied -Im ok mum, cant talk- … that was the last she heard from him.
Fortunately, he made it out alive.
However, two hostages were killed during the event.
At number 4 now we have The Pirates.
In 2009, Paul and Rachel Chandler were captured by Somali pirates in the Indian Ocean.
They had been keeping a blog of their travels but after not posting for a few days, the
family became concerned - the area was known to be dangerous.
Before they left, the family had agreed to not send them a message saying -Emergency.
Call urgently- because they didnt want to cause any panic that might put them in danger.
Instead, family member Sarah went on to Rachels blog and simply wrote -please ring Sarah-
… when they didnt get a reply, they raised the alarm.
It took an astonishing 13 months but eventually Paul and Rachel were released.
Ok for our number 3 now we have The Colombian Message.
This one is actually people sending a secret message TO a hostage but its too good to leave
out.
In 2010, the FARC Guerrillas had been holding some hostages from the Columbian government
for years.
The Columbian army wanted to let them know that they hadnt been forgotten and to not
give up hope.
They needed a message that would slip by the soldiers but not an observant hostags.
So, they inserted a secret Morse code message into a popular song that was being played
on the Radio.
Listen very carefully here for the little bips in the background of the music.
If you translate that, it says -19 people rescued.
Youre next.
Don't lose hope.- the message was heard, the hostages didnt give up hope and were eventually
rescued … Next up at number 2 now we have the Chinese
Letter.
In May 2017, an Arizona woman bought a purse from Walmart.
When she got home, she found a note.
It was written in a Chinese dialect and appeared to be from a desperate prisoner.
The note said that prisoners were being forced to work 14 hours a day with no breaks.
If they didnt finish, they were beaten.
If they got sick, the cost of medicine was deducted from their salary.
They signed off by saying Prison in China is unlike prison in America.
Walmart said there was no way to verify the origin of the letter but some say this is
proof that companies are not doing enough to check where their products are being made
… And finally at number 1 we have the Stitching.
During WW2, Major Alexis Casdagli was taken prisoner by the Germans in 1941 and sent to
a prison camp.
He passed the time by sewing.
He would sew intricate pieces with beautiful patterns.
The Nazis were so impressed by them that they would hang them in their offices at the prison.
However, little did they know that the pieces contained secret messages.
Around the edges was a pattern of Morse Code.
If the Nazis had decoded this, it would have read God Save The King and Fuck Hitler.
Both of these messages could have got Alexis killed if they were decoded.
Luckily, they never were for the 4 years until the war ended.
The stitching's have now appeared in museums in London.
Well guys, I hope you enjoyed that.
Did you find the secret message that I left in this video?
I hope not, because I didnt leave a message.
Or did I.
My name is Danny Burke, thanks for watching and Ill see you all in the next video.