Can you solve the rogue submarine riddle? - Alex Rosenthal episode artwork

EPISODE · Jun 6, 2026 · 9 MIN

Can you solve the rogue submarine riddle? - Alex Rosenthal

from TED-Ed · host TED-Ed

Practice more problem-solving at https://brilliant.org/TedEd--Smuggling yourself aboard the rogue submarine was the easy part. Hacking into the nuclear missile launch override — a little harder. And you’ve got a problem: you don’t have the override code. You know you need the same numbers that were used to authorize the launch, but one wrong answer will lock you out. Can you figure out what numbers to enter to stop nuclear war? Alex Rosenthal shows how.Lesson by Alex Rosenthal, directed by Igor Coric, Artrake Studio.A very special thank you to Jon Schneider and Brian Chen, who wrote the original version of this puzzle for the 2021 MIT Mystery Hunt and were inestimably helpful in adapting it to this format. You can find that original puzzle — and many more like it — at: https://bit.ly/MITHuntSupport Our Non-Profit Mission----------------------------------------------Support us on Patreon: http://bit.ly/TEDEdPatreonCheck out our merch: http://bit.ly/TEDEDShop----------------------------------------------Connect With Us----------------------------------------------Sign up for our newsletter: http://bit.ly/TEDEdNewsletterFollow us on Facebook: http://bit.ly/TEDEdFacebookFind us on Twitter: http://bit.ly/TEDEdTwitterPeep us on Instagram: http://bit.ly/TEDEdInstagram----------------------------------------------Keep Learning----------------------------------------------View full lesson: https://ed.ted.com/lessons/can-you-solve-the-rogue-submarine-riddle-difficulty-level-master-alex-rosenthalDig deeper with additional resources: https://ed.ted.com/lessons/can-you-solve-the-rogue-submarine-riddle-difficulty-level-master-alex-rosenthal#digdeeperAnimator's website: https://www.artrake.com----------------------------------------------Thank you so much to our patrons for your support! Without you this video would not be possible! Kate Sem, VPpurplebelt, Ujjwal Dasu, Angel, Minh Quan Dinh, Sylvain, Terran Gimpel, Talia Sari, Phan Quang Lam, Katie McDowell, Allen, Sarat Chandra Vegunta, Mahina Knuckles, Charmaine Hanson, Paul Aldred-Bann, Thawsitt, Jezabel, Abdullah Abdulaziz, Adriano Fontes, Xiao Yu, Melissa Suarez, SpartacusDMR, Brian A. Dunn, Francisco Amaya, Daisuke Goto, Matt Switzler, Leonardo Monrroy, Sumedh Ghaisas, Maryam, Bethany Connor, Jeremy Shimanek, Mark Byers, Avinash Amarnath, Xuebicoco, Rare Media, Rayo, Po Foon Kwong, NinjaBoffin, Jesse Jurman, Scott Markley, Elija Peterson, Ovidiu Mrd, Xavier dupont, paul g mohney, Aravind Battaje, Nathan Giusti, Helen Lee, Anthony Benedict, Karthik Balsubramanian and John Hong. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Practice more problem-solving at https://brilliant.org/TedEd--Smuggling yourself aboard the rogue submarine was the easy part. Hacking into the nuclear missile launch override — a little harder. And you’ve got a problem: you don’t have the override code. You know you need the same numbers that were used to authorize the launch, but one wrong answer will lock you out. Can you figure out what numbers to enter to stop nuclear war? Alex Rosenthal shows how.Lesson by Alex Rosenthal, directed by Igor Coric, Artrake Studio.A very special thank you to Jon Schneider and Brian Chen, who wrote the original version of this puzzle for the 2021 MIT Mystery Hunt and were inestimably helpful in adapting it to this format. You can find that original puzzle — and many more like it — at: https://bit.ly/MITHuntSupport Our Non-Profit Mission----------------------------------------------Support us on Patreon: http://bit.ly/TEDEdPatreonCheck out our merch: http://bit.ly/TEDEDShop----------------------------------------------Connect With Us----------------------------------------------Sign up for our newsletter: http://bit.ly/TEDEdNewsletterFollow us on Facebook: http://bit.ly/TEDEdFacebookFind us on Twitter: http://bit.ly/TEDEdTwitterPeep us on Instagram: http://bit.ly/TEDEdInstagram----------------------------------------------Keep Learning----------------------------------------------View full lesson: https://ed.ted.com/lessons/can-you-solve-the-rogue-submarine-riddle-difficulty-level-master-alex-rosenthalDig deeper with additional resources: https://ed.ted.com/lessons/can-you-solve-the-rogue-submarine-riddle-difficulty-level-master-alex-rosenthal#digdeeperAnimator's website: https://www.artrake.com----------------------------------------------Thank you so much to our patrons for your support! Without you this video would not be possible! Kate Sem, VPpurplebelt, Ujjwal Dasu, Angel, Minh Quan Dinh, Sylvain, Terran Gimpel, Talia Sari, Phan Quang Lam, Katie McDowell, Allen, Sarat Chandra Vegunta, Mahina Knuckles, Charmaine Hanson, Paul Aldred-Bann, Thawsitt, Jezabel, Abdullah Abdulaziz, Adriano Fontes, Xiao Yu, Melissa Suarez, SpartacusDMR, Brian A. Dunn, Francisco Amaya, Daisuke Goto, Matt Switzler, Leonardo Monrroy, Sumedh Ghaisas, Maryam, Bethany Connor, Jeremy Shimanek, Mark Byers, Avinash Amarnath, Xuebicoco, Rare Media, Rayo, Po Foon Kwong, NinjaBoffin, Jesse Jurman, Scott Markley, Elija Peterson, Ovidiu Mrd, Xavier dupont, paul g mohney, Aravind Battaje, Nathan Giusti, Helen Lee, Anthony Benedict, Karthik Balsubramanian and John Hong. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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Can you solve the rogue submarine riddle? - Alex Rosenthal

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This episode was published on June 6, 2026.

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Practice more problem-solving at https://brilliant.org/TedEd--Smuggling yourself aboard the rogue submarine was the easy part. Hacking into the nuclear missile launch override — a little harder. And you’ve got a problem: you don’t have the override...

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