Each episode of Gravity Falls is well known to have tons of secret messages and ciphers
hidden throughout. For example, at the very end of each episode, a string of seemingly
random characters can be seen. When decrypted, these messages often turn out to be some sort
of joke or reference to something that happened during the episode, or even something that
will happen in an upcoming episode. Series creator Alex Hirsch is the one who creates
all the ciphers and usually includes them at the very end of production. The cryptograms
uses quite a few different encryption methods. First we have the "Caesar cipher" which in
this case offset the alphabet by three characters. So "A" becomes "D", "B" becomes "E", "C" becomes
"F", and so on. The next one is called the "Atbash cipher" and it simply reverses the
alphabet. Then we have the "A1Z26 cipher" which replaces each character in the alphabet
with the corresponding number of its position. So "A" becomes "1" and "Z" becomes "26". Thus
the name. The "Vigenère cipher" uses a random word as a key to encrypt the message. So say
the message we want to encrypt is "LEMMINO WATCHES GRAVITY FALLS". We then pick a random
key word, so let's say "DIPPER". We repeat this key word until it matches the length
of the message like so, and then use something called the Vigenère square. The first letter
of the message is "L" which means the row that begins with "L", and the first letter
of the key word string is "D" which means the column that begins with "D". Row L and
Column D intersect at "O" so the first letter of the cryptogram is "O". Then you repeat
this process for each letter and just like that, you have a secret message.
If you want clues to solve the many ciphers, they can actually be found in the opening
sequence of every episode. If you play the intro in reverse, you'll hear someone whisper something.
Three letters back.
And it's not always the same as the whisper changes as the ciphers change in the show.
Switch A with Z.
26 letters.
Key vigenère.
Oh, and you can also see Bigfoot if you pause at the right frame.
If you ever thought Regular Show, Adventure Time, and Gravity Falls seemed at bit similar
at times, it's not that strange considering that the three creators all know each other.
J. G. Quintel (Regular Show), Pendleton Ward (Adventure Time), and Alex Hirsch (Galaxy Falls)
all went to CalArts together and also worked on The Marvelous Misadventures of Flapjack
together, before creating their own respective shows.
When Alex Hirsch and his friends where still in school at CalArts, they knew a guy named
Jesús Chambrot. They knew he was a few years older than them but not his exact age. He
jokingly became this sort of mysterious person that they knew but at the same time kinda
didn't. This brought on the inspiration to create the character Soos in Gravity Falls.
Grunkle Stan is also based on a real person, namely Alex's grandfather, also named Stan.
Even Dipper and Mabel are loosely based on Alex and his twin sister Ariel. For example,
just like Mabel in the show, Alex's sister used to love boy bands, had an assortment
of vibrant sweaters and was in general quite goofy and crazy as a child.
Throughout the show you might have noticed a number showing up again and again. The number
618. This is the birthday of Alex Hirsch and his twin sister. Some examples are The Mystery
Shack's address. Every cash register you can find. The first page of Journal 3 is dated
June 18. When Bill gets angry during one episode, you'll see a bunch of symbols flashing inside
his eye. The third, forth, and firth are Thai numerals that spell out 6, 1, and 8. Even
the main production code for each episode begins with this number.
The creator has even appeared as himself a few times. In the opening sequence, the bottom
half of his face can be seen in one of the photos. He's seen riding a unicycle in one
episode, known simply as Alex the Clown. In one episode, a photo of him can be seen with
the text "Who?" written in red, and in another he appears on the front cover of a magazine.
The name Dipper comes from acne. Well sort of at least. When Alex Hirsch went to hight
school there was a kid with extreme amounts of acne, and he took pleasure in imagining
that the acne was stars and thus mapped out constellations between them. One day, the
kid supposedly had a perfect cluster that looked like the Big Dipper on his forehead.
And thus Dipper got his name and even the constellation itself in the form of a birthmark
on his forehead. The name is just a nickname though and Dipper's real name has never officially
been revealed. But Quentin Trembley in the show calls him Roderick and writer Jeff Rowe
has said that his real name is Llamanic, but it's unclear if it was simply a joke or not.
Many characters in the show have some form of symbol that is in some way related to them.
For example Mable has a rainbow with a star on her most frequently used shirt. Dipper
has a blue pine tree on his hat. Stan has a yellow crescent shape on his fez. Robbie
has red bleeding heart with stitches on his hoodie and Soos has the iconic question mark
on his shirt. These 5 symbols can all be found within the so called "Bill Cipher Wheel".
It's displayed very briefly at the end of the opening sequence as well as within Journal
2. The other 5 symbols are a bit more ambiguous. The glasses are all but confirmed to represent
Stans brother Ford, also known as The Author of the Journals. The bag of ice could perhaps
be a reference to Dipper, Wendy or any of her friends as Dipper has been made to fetch
ice for them on several occasions. But as Dipper and Robbie already have symbols on
the wheel and Wendy's friends are quite minor characters. It's at least most likely a reference
to Wendy. The star is most likely a reference to Gideon Gleeful, but could also be a reference
to his father Bud Gleeful. The six fingered hand is obviously a symbol for the Journals.
But the author, Ford Pines, already has a symbol on the wheel so this is a bit of a mystery
so far. Maybe it's simply a reference to the Journals themselves.
I mean there's nothing to say that the symbols has to represent a person.
The llama has so far been seen on one of Mabel's sweaters and on a painting inside
Northwest Mansion which could reference really anyone in the Northwest family.
But again, as Mabel already has a
symbol on the wheel and most of the Northwest family are minor characters. It's most likely
a reference to Pacifica. There's tons theories out there as to what this could mean and who
the symbols are supposed to represent, but so far this is all we can say for certain.
In the episode Dreamscaperers, Gideon falls to his knees and begin chanting some incomprehensible
phrase over and over again. If you play this scene in reverse, you'll hear what he's actually saying.
Both Dipper and Mable where born at the end of the summer in 1999. In the show they are
now 12 years old and as the show takes place over the course of one single summer, it means
their childhood will come to an end with the end of the series. Gravity Fall's creator
has said that summer used to feel endless to him when he was a child so the length of
the summer in Gravity Falls is more emotional than logical. It's supposed to illustrate
one long, insane, seemingly eternal summer before they have to return home leaving behind
not only Gravity Falls, but also their childhood.