A MAN FROM A PARALLEL REALITY: THE UNSOLVED MYSTERY OF JOPHAR BORIN
Nothing about him made sense. Not his homeland, his language, or even his map of the world. Then, he disappeared.
Curiosity Meets Fixation: My Search for Jophar “Vorin”
I’m the first American in history to uncover this story the way it truly unfolded. I know that’s a bold claim, so I invite you to go ahead and check. Every source you’ll find in English gets it wrong, including the spelling of his last name. The story of a man in Germany who claimed to be from an unknown continent and speaking an unknown language came to my attention, and I was too intrigued to let it pass me by without knowing what became of him. The truth wasn’t in America. It was buried in 1850s European newspapers — and I spent days digging through the archives and translating them to English to bring it back. So, without further ado, let me introduce you to the man… the myth… the glitch in the 19th century, Jophar Borin.
A Stranger in Frankfurt an der Oder
On September 30, 1850, Jophar surfaced in Frankfurt, Germany, where he was detained. His story wouldn’t appear in print until the following April — not because it wasn’t strange, but because “strange” wasn’t always “urgent” in a 19th-century news cycle that moved at the speed of snail mail. The archived newspapers haven’t been OCR-scanned, which means I had to go page by page, PDF by PDF, manually searching through 19th-century print until I found him. Naturally, the documents were in German, so I had the added joy of translating each page. The German used in 19th-century newspapers differs noticeably from modern German, not only in spelling and grammar, but also in the use of outdated words, long compound nouns, and Fraktur typefaces. I loved the process, and there was something so beautiful about my eyes being the first eyes to read these newspapers in over 170 years. As a special treat to you for reading my work, it would be my pleasure to share with you the very article that entered Jophar into existence!
Magdeburgische Zeitung | Tuesday, April 1, 1851 | Nr. 77
“Miscellaneous News”
“𝘐𝘯 𝘍𝘳𝘢𝘯𝘬𝘧𝘶𝘳𝘵 𝘢𝘯 𝘥𝘦𝘳 𝘖𝘥𝘦𝘳, 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘪𝘴 𝘤𝘶𝘳𝘳𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘭𝘺 𝘢 𝘴𝘵𝘳𝘢𝘯𝘨𝘦𝘳 𝘸𝘩𝘰 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘥𝘦𝘵𝘢𝘪𝘯𝘦𝘥 𝘰𝘯 𝘚𝘦𝘱𝘵𝘦𝘮𝘣𝘦𝘳 30𝘵𝘩 𝘰𝘧 𝘭𝘢𝘴𝘵 𝘺𝘦𝘢𝘳 𝘪𝘯 𝘞ü𝘴𝘵𝘦 𝘛𝘶𝘯𝘦𝘳𝘴𝘥𝘰𝘳𝘧, 𝘓𝘦𝘣𝘶𝘴 𝘥𝘪𝘴𝘵𝘳𝘪𝘤𝘵. 𝘏𝘦 𝘢𝘱𝘱𝘦𝘢𝘳𝘴 𝘵𝘰 𝘣𝘦𝘭𝘰𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘰 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘊𝘢𝘶𝘤𝘢𝘴𝘪𝘢𝘯 𝘳𝘢𝘤𝘦 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘩𝘢𝘴 𝘢𝘯 𝘶𝘯𝘳𝘦𝘮𝘢𝘳𝘬𝘢𝘣𝘭𝘦 𝘱𝘩𝘺𝘴𝘪𝘲𝘶𝘦. 𝘏𝘦 𝘨𝘪𝘷𝘦𝘴 𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘯𝘢𝘮𝘦 𝘢𝘴 𝘑𝘰𝘱𝘩𝘢𝘳 𝘉𝘰𝘳𝘪𝘯 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘤𝘭𝘢𝘪𝘮𝘴 𝘵𝘰 𝘣𝘦 𝘧𝘳𝘰𝘮 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘭𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘰𝘧 𝘓𝘰𝘹𝘢𝘳𝘪𝘦𝘯, 𝘰𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘤𝘰𝘯𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘦𝘯𝘵 𝘰𝘧 𝘚𝘢𝘧𝘳𝘪𝘢. 𝘏𝘦 𝘴𝘱𝘦𝘢𝘬𝘴 𝘣𝘳𝘰𝘬𝘦𝘯 𝘎𝘦𝘳𝘮𝘢𝘯, 𝘥𝘰𝘦𝘴 𝘯𝘰𝘵 𝘶𝘯𝘥𝘦𝘳𝘴𝘵𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘢𝘯𝘺 𝘰𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘌𝘶𝘳𝘰𝘱𝘦𝘢𝘯 𝘭𝘢𝘯𝘨𝘶𝘢𝘨𝘦, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘴𝘢𝘺𝘴 𝘩𝘦 𝘴𝘱𝘦𝘢𝘬𝘴 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘸𝘳𝘪𝘵𝘦𝘴 𝘪𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘓𝘰𝘹𝘢𝘳𝘪𝘤 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘈𝘣𝘳𝘢𝘩𝘢𝘮𝘪𝘤 𝘭𝘢𝘯𝘨𝘶𝘢𝘨𝘦𝘴. 𝘈𝘤𝘤𝘰𝘳𝘥𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘰 𝘩𝘪𝘮, 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘭𝘢𝘵𝘵𝘦𝘳 𝘪𝘴 𝘢 𝘱𝘶𝘳𝘦𝘭𝘺 𝘭𝘪𝘵𝘦𝘳𝘢𝘳𝘺 𝘭𝘢𝘯𝘨𝘶𝘢𝘨𝘦 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘓𝘢𝘹𝘢𝘳𝘪𝘢𝘯 𝘤𝘭𝘦𝘳𝘨𝘺, 𝘸𝘩𝘪𝘭𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘧𝘰𝘳𝘮𝘦𝘳 𝘪𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘮𝘰𝘯 𝘵𝘰𝘯𝘨𝘶𝘦 𝘰𝘧 𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘱𝘦𝘰𝘱𝘭𝘦. 𝘏𝘦 𝘱𝘳𝘰𝘧𝘦𝘴𝘴𝘦𝘴 𝘵𝘰 𝘧𝘰𝘭𝘭𝘰𝘸 𝘊𝘩𝘳𝘪𝘴𝘵𝘪𝘢𝘯𝘪𝘵𝘺, 𝘮𝘰𝘳𝘦 𝘴𝘱𝘦𝘤𝘪𝘧𝘪𝘤𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘺 𝘢 𝘴𝘦𝘤𝘵 𝘩𝘦 𝘤𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘐𝘴𝘱𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘢𝘯 𝘳𝘦𝘭𝘪𝘨𝘪𝘰𝘯, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘤𝘭𝘢𝘪𝘮𝘴 𝘵𝘰 𝘩𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘣𝘦𝘦𝘯 𝘢 𝘎𝘳𝘪𝘧𝘵𝘭𝘪𝘤𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘪𝘯 𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘩𝘰𝘮𝘦𝘭𝘢𝘯𝘥. 𝘏𝘪𝘴 𝘤𝘰𝘶𝘯𝘵𝘳𝘺, 𝘩𝘦 𝘴𝘢𝘺𝘴, 𝘭𝘪𝘦𝘴 𝘮𝘢𝘯𝘺 𝘩𝘶𝘯𝘥𝘳𝘦𝘥𝘴 𝘰𝘧 𝘮𝘪𝘭𝘦𝘴 𝘧𝘳𝘰𝘮 𝘌𝘶𝘳𝘰𝘱𝘦, 𝘴𝘦𝘱𝘢𝘳𝘢𝘵𝘦𝘥 𝘣𝘺 𝘷𝘢𝘴𝘵 𝘰𝘤𝘦𝘢𝘯𝘴. 𝘏𝘦 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘰𝘯 𝘢 𝘫𝘰𝘶𝘳𝘯𝘦𝘺 𝘵𝘰 𝘧𝘪𝘯𝘥 𝘢 𝘭𝘰𝘴𝘵 𝘣𝘳𝘰𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘸𝘩𝘦𝘯 𝘩𝘦 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘴𝘩𝘪𝘱𝘸𝘳𝘦𝘤𝘬𝘦𝘥, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘱𝘢𝘴𝘴𝘦𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘳𝘰𝘶𝘨𝘩 𝘮𝘢𝘯𝘺 𝘭𝘢𝘯𝘥𝘴 𝘶𝘯𝘬𝘯𝘰𝘸𝘯 𝘵𝘰 𝘩𝘪𝘮 𝘣𝘦𝘧𝘰𝘳𝘦 𝘢𝘳𝘳𝘪𝘷𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦. 𝘏𝘦 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘶𝘯𝘢𝘣𝘭𝘦 𝘵𝘰 𝘭𝘰𝘤𝘢𝘵𝘦 𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘩𝘰𝘮𝘦𝘭𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘰𝘯 𝘢𝘯𝘺 𝘮𝘢𝘱𝘴 𝘰𝘳 𝘨𝘭𝘰𝘣𝘦𝘴 𝘴𝘩𝘰𝘸𝘯 𝘵𝘰 𝘩𝘪𝘮, 𝘣𝘶𝘵 𝘢𝘵𝘵𝘦𝘮𝘱𝘵𝘦𝘥 𝘵𝘰 𝘪𝘯𝘥𝘪𝘤𝘢𝘵𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘭𝘰𝘤𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯 𝘰𝘧 𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘎𝘳𝘪𝘮𝘢𝘵𝘩 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘧𝘪𝘷𝘦 𝘬𝘯𝘰𝘸𝘯 𝘸𝘰𝘳𝘭𝘥𝘴, 𝘸𝘩𝘪𝘤𝘩 𝘩𝘦 𝘯𝘢𝘮𝘦𝘥 𝘚𝘢𝘬𝘳𝘪𝘢, 𝘈𝘧𝘭𝘢𝘳, 𝘈𝘴𝘭𝘢𝘳, 𝘈𝘶𝘴𝘭𝘢𝘳, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘌𝘶𝘱𝘭𝘢𝘳, 𝘶𝘴𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘢 𝘩𝘢𝘯𝘥-𝘥𝘳𝘢𝘸𝘯 𝘮𝘢𝘱. 𝘈𝘶𝘵𝘩𝘰𝘳𝘪𝘵𝘪𝘦𝘴 𝘸𝘩𝘰 𝘩𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘦 𝘪𝘯𝘵𝘰 𝘤𝘰𝘯𝘵𝘢𝘤𝘵 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘑𝘰𝘱𝘩𝘢𝘳 𝘉𝘰𝘳𝘪𝘯 𝘴𝘰 𝘧𝘢𝘳 𝘥𝘰 𝘯𝘰𝘵 𝘣𝘦𝘭𝘪𝘦𝘷𝘦 𝘩𝘪𝘮 𝘵𝘰 𝘣𝘦 𝘢 𝘧𝘳𝘢𝘶𝘥, 𝘢𝘭𝘵𝘩𝘰𝘶𝘨𝘩 𝘢𝘯 𝘦𝘧𝘧𝘰𝘳𝘵 𝘵𝘰 𝘢𝘯𝘢𝘭𝘺𝘻𝘦 𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘸𝘳𝘪𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘴𝘤𝘪𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘪𝘧𝘪𝘤𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘺 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘶𝘯𝘴𝘶𝘤𝘤𝘦𝘴𝘴𝘧𝘶𝘭. 𝘏𝘪𝘴 𝘵𝘳𝘢𝘯𝘴𝘧𝘦𝘳 𝘵𝘰 𝘉𝘦𝘳𝘭𝘪𝘯 𝘩𝘢𝘴 𝘯𝘰𝘸 𝘣𝘦𝘦𝘯 𝘳𝘦𝘲𝘶𝘦𝘴𝘵𝘦𝘥, 𝘸𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘪𝘵 𝘪𝘴 𝘩𝘰𝘱𝘦𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘴𝘤𝘩𝘰𝘭𝘢𝘳𝘴 𝘤𝘢𝘯 𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘪𝘧𝘺 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘵𝘳𝘶𝘵𝘩 𝘰𝘧 𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘴𝘵𝘢𝘵𝘦𝘮𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘴. (𝘊𝘰𝘯𝘴𝘵. 𝘎𝘰𝘳𝘳.)”
Where the Trail Goes Cold
Berlin was supposed to bring answers. Instead, it became the last confirmed place Jophar Borin was ever seen. I had to switch newspapers once he was moved by authorities to another location, but the longer I searched, the more I began to recognize the layout of 19th-century papers. I could identify where to look, what the fonts signified, and the order in which certain sections appeared. Some German words and column structures became familiar enough to guide me without needing to stop and translate. I noticed that an October article of Plauderstübchen based out of Kaiserslautern mentioned the phrase “ein Mann von etwa 25 Jahren” which translates to “a man of about 25 years.” I actually screamed with excitement because now I had an age?! I was now beginning to visualize Jophar, as this detail did not appear to be in any of the earlier or more commonly referenced versions of the story. And guess what… while writing this, I went ahead and dug up the Berlin article again, just for you, so you can be fully in this moment with me!
Didaskalia | Blätter für Geist, Gemüth und Publizität | Tuesday, October 14, 1851 | Nr. 245
“Miscellanea”
“𝘈 𝘮𝘰𝘴𝘵 𝘮𝘺𝘴𝘵𝘦𝘳𝘪𝘰𝘶𝘴 𝘴𝘶𝘣𝘫𝘦𝘤𝘵 𝘪𝘴 𝘤𝘶𝘳𝘳𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘭𝘺 𝘣𝘦𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘩𝘦𝘭𝘥 𝘪𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘸𝘰𝘳𝘬𝘩𝘰𝘶𝘴𝘦 𝘪𝘯 𝘉𝘦𝘳𝘭𝘪𝘯. 𝘏𝘦 𝘪𝘴 𝘢 𝘮𝘢𝘯 𝘰𝘧 𝘢𝘣𝘰𝘶𝘵 25 𝘺𝘦𝘢𝘳𝘴 𝘰𝘧 𝘢𝘨𝘦, 𝘸𝘩𝘰 𝘢𝘱𝘱𝘦𝘢𝘳𝘦𝘥 𝘴𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘢𝘭 𝘮𝘰𝘯𝘵𝘩𝘴 𝘢𝘨𝘰 𝘪𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘊𝘳𝘰𝘴𝘴𝘦𝘯 𝘢𝘳𝘦𝘢, 𝘢𝘭𝘮𝘰𝘴𝘵 𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘱𝘭𝘦𝘵𝘦𝘭𝘺 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩𝘰𝘶𝘵 𝘤𝘭𝘰𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘰𝘯𝘭𝘺 𝘴𝘭𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵𝘭𝘺 𝘤𝘢𝘱𝘢𝘣𝘭𝘦 𝘰𝘧 𝘴𝘱𝘦𝘢𝘬𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘎𝘦𝘳𝘮𝘢𝘯 𝘭𝘢𝘯𝘨𝘶𝘢𝘨𝘦. 𝘈𝘧𝘵𝘦𝘳 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘪𝘯𝘥𝘪𝘷𝘪𝘥𝘶𝘢𝘭 𝘩𝘢𝘥 𝘭𝘦𝘢𝘳𝘯𝘦𝘥 𝘎𝘦𝘳𝘮𝘢𝘯 𝘳𝘦𝘮𝘢𝘳𝘬𝘢𝘣𝘭𝘺 𝘲𝘶𝘪𝘤𝘬 𝘪𝘯 𝘱𝘳𝘪𝘴𝘰𝘯, 𝘩𝘦 𝘴𝘵𝘢𝘵𝘦𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘩𝘦 𝘤𝘢𝘮𝘦 𝘧𝘳𝘰𝘮 𝘢𝘯 𝘶𝘯𝘬𝘯𝘰𝘸𝘯 𝘭𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘪𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘮𝘪𝘥𝘥𝘭𝘦 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘰𝘤𝘦𝘢𝘯, 𝘸𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘸𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘯𝘰 𝘵𝘳𝘦𝘦𝘴 𝘰𝘳 𝘧𝘰𝘶𝘳-𝘭𝘦𝘨𝘨𝘦𝘥 𝘢𝘯𝘪𝘮𝘢𝘭𝘴, 𝘸𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘱𝘦𝘰𝘱𝘭𝘦 𝘵𝘳𝘢𝘷𝘦𝘭 𝘪𝘯 𝘭𝘢𝘳𝘨𝘦 𝘣𝘪𝘳𝘥𝘴 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘸𝘢𝘨𝘦 𝘸𝘢𝘳 𝘧𝘳𝘰𝘮 𝘣𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘰𝘰𝘯𝘴, 𝘸𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘨𝘪𝘳𝘭𝘴 𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘧𝘰𝘳𝘤𝘦𝘥 𝘵𝘰 𝘣𝘦𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘦 𝘴𝘰𝘭𝘥𝘪𝘦𝘳𝘴, 𝘸𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘭𝘦𝘢𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘮𝘰𝘯𝘦𝘺 𝘪𝘴 𝘤𝘢𝘳𝘳𝘪𝘦𝘥, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘰𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘴𝘶𝘤𝘩 𝘢𝘥𝘷𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘶𝘳𝘰𝘶𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨𝘴 𝘩𝘢𝘱𝘱𝘦𝘯. 𝘛𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘮𝘢𝘯 𝘸𝘳𝘰𝘵𝘦 𝘢 𝘱𝘦𝘤𝘶𝘭𝘪𝘢𝘳 𝘴𝘤𝘳𝘪𝘱𝘵 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘴𝘱𝘰𝘬𝘦 𝘢 𝘴𝘵𝘳𝘢𝘯𝘨𝘦 𝘭𝘢𝘯𝘨𝘶𝘢𝘨𝘦 𝘢𝘴 𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘯𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘷𝘦 𝘭𝘢𝘯𝘨𝘶𝘢𝘨𝘦, 𝘸𝘩𝘪𝘤𝘩 𝘯𝘰 𝘰𝘯𝘦 𝘤𝘰𝘶𝘭𝘥 𝘥𝘦𝘤𝘪𝘱𝘩𝘦𝘳. 𝘈𝘭𝘵𝘩𝘰𝘶𝘨𝘩 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘮𝘢𝘯 𝘮𝘶𝘴𝘵 𝘩𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘣𝘦𝘦𝘯 𝘢 𝘧𝘳𝘢𝘶𝘥, 𝘢𝘴 𝘩𝘦 𝘣𝘰𝘳𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘦𝘹𝘢𝘤𝘵 𝘢𝘱𝘱𝘦𝘢𝘳𝘢𝘯𝘤𝘦 𝘰𝘧 𝘢 𝘗𝘰𝘭𝘪𝘴𝘩 𝘱𝘦𝘢𝘴𝘢𝘯𝘵 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘴𝘵𝘢𝘵𝘦𝘮𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘴 𝘸𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘤𝘭𝘦𝘢𝘳𝘭𝘺 𝘭𝘪𝘦𝘴, 𝘩𝘦 𝘯𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘭𝘦𝘴𝘴 𝘳𝘦𝘮𝘢𝘪𝘯𝘦𝘥 𝘤𝘰𝘯𝘴𝘪𝘴𝘵𝘦𝘯𝘵 𝘪𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘴𝘦 𝘴𝘵𝘢𝘵𝘦𝘮𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘴, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘪𝘵 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘱𝘢𝘳𝘵𝘪𝘤𝘶𝘭𝘢𝘳𝘭𝘺 𝘴𝘵𝘳𝘪𝘬𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘩𝘦 𝘢𝘭𝘸𝘢𝘺𝘴 𝘴𝘱𝘰𝘬𝘦 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘸𝘳𝘰𝘵𝘦 𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘦𝘨𝘦𝘥, 𝘢𝘱𝘱𝘢𝘳𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘭𝘺 𝘪𝘯𝘷𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘦𝘥 𝘭𝘢𝘯𝘨𝘶𝘢𝘨𝘦 𝘤𝘰𝘯𝘴𝘪𝘴𝘵𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘭𝘺. 𝘍𝘪𝘯𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘺, 𝘪𝘵 𝘩𝘢𝘴 𝘣𝘦𝘦𝘯 𝘥𝘪𝘴𝘤𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘦𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘴𝘵𝘳𝘢𝘯𝘨𝘦 𝘱𝘩𝘦𝘯𝘰𝘮𝘦𝘯𝘰𝘯 𝘪𝘴 𝘴𝘪𝘮𝘱𝘭𝘺 𝘥𝘶𝘦 𝘵𝘰 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘧𝘢𝘤𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘮𝘢𝘯 𝘴𝘱𝘦𝘢𝘬𝘴 𝘞𝘦𝘯𝘥𝘪𝘴𝘩, 𝘣𝘶𝘵 𝘳𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘴𝘦𝘴 𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘺 𝘸𝘰𝘳𝘥 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘥𝘴 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘴𝘱𝘦𝘢𝘬𝘴 𝘪𝘵 𝘣𝘢𝘤𝘬𝘸𝘢𝘳𝘥𝘴. 𝘛𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘧𝘳𝘢𝘶𝘥𝘴𝘵𝘦𝘳 𝘥𝘪𝘴𝘱𝘭𝘢𝘺𝘴 𝘦𝘹𝘵𝘳𝘢𝘰𝘳𝘥𝘪𝘯𝘢𝘳𝘺 𝘤𝘶𝘯𝘯𝘪𝘯𝘨, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘩𝘦 𝘮𝘶𝘴𝘵 𝘩𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘱𝘦𝘭𝘭𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘴𝘰𝘯𝘴 𝘵𝘰 𝘤𝘰𝘯𝘤𝘦𝘢𝘭 𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘵𝘳𝘶𝘦 𝘪𝘥𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘪𝘵𝘺. 𝘏𝘦 𝘤𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘴 𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘮𝘺𝘴𝘵𝘦𝘳𝘪𝘰𝘶𝘴 𝘩𝘰𝘮𝘦𝘭𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘓𝘢𝘹𝘢𝘳𝘪𝘦𝘯, 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘪𝘵𝘴 𝘤𝘢𝘱𝘪𝘵𝘢𝘭 𝘋𝘢𝘴𝘧𝘰𝘳, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘤𝘭𝘢𝘪𝘮𝘴 𝘵𝘰 𝘣𝘦 𝘑𝘰𝘱𝘩𝘢𝘳 𝘍𝘰𝘳𝘳𝘪𝘦𝘯 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘩𝘦 𝘪𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘴𝘰𝘯 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘢𝘱𝘰𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘤𝘢𝘳𝘺 𝘢𝘵 𝘕𝘰. 7 𝘪𝘯 𝘋𝘢𝘴𝘧𝘰𝘳.”
The Man from Nowhere, Still Nowhere
I had ChatGPT analyze the claim that Jophar was speaking “reversed and backwards Wendish”, and it confirmed that reversing a language wouldn’t produce a coherent written or spoken system like the one he consistently used; the explanation doesn’t hold up linguistically. Although German authorities tried to make sense of Jophar, the rest of the world laughed — with newspapers in Belgium, France, and England mocking Germany for entertaining the claims of a man from “Laxarien” as anything but absurd. I continued to chase after him by emailing German State Archives, but it seems he vanished from the official record after arriving in Berlin. Wherever he came from, or wherever he went, Jophar Borin will always hold a place in my mind as one of history’s quietest, strangest mysteries.