Trips Places Foods Stories Newsletters

Take your next trip with Atlas Obscura!

Our small-group adventures are inspired by our Atlas of the world's most fascinating places, the stories behind them, and the people who bring them to life.

Visit Adventures
Trips Highlight
Puglia Italy - Matera
Italy • 8 days, 7 nights
Southern Italy: Castles, Caves & Coastal Treasures in Puglia
from
Turkmenistan Gates of Hell Darvaza crater
Turkmenistan • 10 days, 9 nights
Turkmenistan & the Gates of Hell
from
View all trips
Top Destinations
Latest Places
Most Popular Places Random Place Lists Itineraries
Add a Place
Download the App
Top Destinations
View All Destinations »

Countries

  • Australia
  • Canada
  • China
  • France
  • Germany
  • India
  • Italy
  • Japan

Cities

  • Amsterdam
  • Barcelona
  • Beijing
  • Berlin
  • Boston
  • Budapest
  • Chicago
  • London
  • Los Angeles
  • Mexico City
  • Montreal
  • Moscow
  • New Orleans
  • New York City
  • Paris
  • Philadelphia
  • Rome
  • San Francisco
  • Seattle
  • Stockholm
  • Tokyo
  • Toronto
  • Vienna
  • Washington, D.C.
Latest Places
View All Places »
Pinal Airpark
Note the chrysanthemum crests.
Hachiman Bridge
Clarendon War Memorial.
Clarendon War Memorial
This fried chicken is one of Bangkok’s most famous.
Gai Tord Jae Kee
Latest Places to Eat & Drink
View All Places to Eat »
Order a flight of infused ya dong shots.
Tep Bar
Thai-Chinese makes up Bangkok’s largest diaspora.
Nai Ek Roll Noodle
This fried chicken is one of Bangkok’s most famous.
Gai Tord Jae Kee
Chefs Aruss Lerlerstkull and Atcharaporn Kiatthanawat lean into regional traditions.
Charmgang
The khao soi at Gedhawa comes with a rich, coconutty broth.
Gedhawa
Recent Stories
All Stories Video Podcast
Most Recent Stories
View All Stories »
Haleakalā National Park’s summit region, shrouded in the pre-dawn fog.
Beware the Legends Behind These National Park Souvenirs
6 days ago
For Aguilar-Carrasco, nature is a powerful reminder of the interconnectedness of all life.
How Can National Parks Be Made Accessible to All? AO Wants to Know.
7 days ago
Podcast: Finding ‘The Great Gatsby’ in Louisville
8 days ago
Here’s which treats you can safely lug home without risking a fine.
Dear Atlas: What International Food Can I Legally Bring Into the U.S.?
9 days ago

No search results found for
“”

Make sure words are spelled correctly.

Try searching for a travel destination.

Places near me Random place

Popular Destinations

  • Paris
  • London
  • New York
  • Berlin
  • Rome
  • Los Angeles
Trips Places Foods Stories Newsletters
Sign In Join
Places near me Random place
All Taiwan Tainan City 'Shoaf Kepl Poets'
AO Edited

'Shoaf Kepl Poets'

A plaque by the roadside describes a three-dimensional glossary of an imagined language where words are numbers and numbers are words.

Tainan City, Taiwan

Added By
jase
Email
Been Here
Want to go
Added to list
Shoaf Kepl Poets right after installation.   Eames Demetrios
Shoaf Kepl Poets right after installation.   Eames Demetrios
Good mystery for a visitor to solve.   geographeratlarge / Atlas Obscura User
The meaning “birds” in 4 languages.   geographeratlarge / Atlas Obscura User
Shoaf Kepl Poets installation after some time.   geographeratlarge / Atlas Obscura User
Been Here
Want to go
Added to list

About

At this site in Baihe, Taiwan, a stone marker tells the story of an unusual language where words and numbers swap roles. But it's not a language local to the region—it hails from a fictional parallel universe known as Kcymaerxthaere.

Kcymaerxthaere is an art project that has been in progress since 2003.  Created by the artist Eames Demetrios, the project comprises a series of plaques and other markers around the world honoring events that have taken place in a parallel universe. According to Demetrios, this universe "co-exists to some degree with ours.” Most of the installations are bronze or stone plaques inscribed with stories but some are larger, even entire buildings. As of 2021, there are more than 140 sites spread across six continents and 30 countries.

The Shóaf Kepl Poets installation offers a kind of interactive dictionary which allows you to decipher the inscription on the white marble—the story there and the experience of uncovering it, also gives you insight into the languages known as 158s, where words are numbers and numbers are words.

When most people first hear about these cultures, they assume that we are talking about the symbols of the numbers. And while those do have meaning , the remarkable thing was that the meaning was in the number itself. So, for example, the idea of 26 could translate as "the feeling of being about to solve a puzzle or problem." If someone were to drop 26 carrots on the ground, it would be equivalent to seeing the phrase "the feeling of being about to solve a problem" written on the ground.

According to the project's lore, this fictional culture developed an almost preternatural ability to count. As result, they saw patterns and phrases and ideas everywhere. Looking at a beach covered in multicolored stones was like reading a novel where the words are constantly changing meaning.

On one of the stones is carved a mystery solvable only be reading the glossary slabs between the two big stones. But you will learn about a pattern scientist neared Terrat Slemt Surphell--so well worth it.

Related Tags

Mathematics Invented Languages Kcymaerxthaere

Know Before You Go

About 5 minutes outside the town proper, you come upon the site and pull over.

Community Contributors

Added By

jase

Edited By

geographeratlarge

  • geographeratlarge

Published

June 28, 2014

Edit this listing

Make an Edit
Add Photos
'Shoaf Kepl Poets'
Baihe District
Tainan City, 732
Taiwan
23.31572, 120.455075
Visit Website
Get Directions

Nearby Places

Yanshui Beehive Fireworks Festival

Tainan City, Taiwan

miles away

The High Heel Church

Budai Township, Taiwan

miles away

Alishan Sacred Tree Relics

Alishan, Taiwan

miles away

Explore the Destination Guide

Photo of Tainan City

Tainan City

Taiwan

Places 9

Nearby Places

Yanshui Beehive Fireworks Festival

Tainan City, Taiwan

miles away

The High Heel Church

Budai Township, Taiwan

miles away

Alishan Sacred Tree Relics

Alishan, Taiwan

miles away

Explore the Destination Guide

Photo of Tainan City

Tainan City

Taiwan

Places 9

Related Stories and Lists

Kcymaerxthaere, from Atlas to Zephyrs

kcymaerxthaere

By Eames Demetrios

Related Places

  • Interior of the spiral in the foreground, Red Stones in the middle ground, Ararat in the distance.

    Aghdzk, Armenia

    'Crystals of Refrain'

    Atop a small Armenian hilltop adorned with many forms, and carvings, these stones tell a whimsical tale from a fictional world.

  • Right after the Installation

    Pedraza, Spain

    'Los Prados Gnacien' ('Gnacien Paddock')

    A site outside Pedraza, Spain where a plaque tells a tale of seven-legged creatures that were said to have once lived in the area—in the fictional world of Kcymaerxthaere.

  • Silhouettes are often seen on the hill in the distance, perhaps echoes of the survivors watching

    Blinman, Australia

    'Hongsedaunt'

    Past Blinman, past the end of the asphalt, in the majesty of the Flinders Ranges, you will come upon three stone markers by the road.

  • Carved Stone Milestones

    Quintanar de la Orden, Spain

    Carved Stone Milestones

    These milestones have survived centuries and still mark distances although incorrectly.

  • Boston, Massachusetts

    Charles River Esplanade Pi Plaque

    Dedicated to the neverending mathematical constant, this plaque next to a park bench was sponsored by an anonymous benefactor.

  • Leiden, Netherlands

    Ludolph van Ceulen Memorial

    A monument to the 16th-century mathemetician who dedicated his life to calculating the numerical value of pi.

  • The St Mary Redcliffe Chaotic Pendulum

    Bristol, England

    The St Mary Redcliffe Chaotic Pendulum

    The unpredictability of this pendulum's movements has drawn visitors to this magnificent church for decades.

  • Gömböc statue

    Budapest, Hungary

    Gömböc

    The largest statue of this convex, homogeneous object with just one stable and one unstable equilibrium point.

Aerial image of Vietnam, displaying the picturesque rice terraces, characterized by their layered, verdant fields.
Atlas Obscura Membership

Become an Atlas Obscura Member


Join our community of curious explorers.

Become a Member

Get Our Email Newsletter

Follow Us

Facebook YouTube TikTok Instagram Pinterest RSS Feed

Get the app

Download the App
Download on the Apple App Store Get it on Google Play
  • All Places
  • Latest Places
  • Most Popular
  • Places to Eat
  • Random
  • Nearby
  • Add a Place
  • Stories
  • Food & Drink
  • Itineraries
  • Lists
  • Video
  • Podcast
  • Newsletters
  • All Trips
  • Family Trip
  • Food & Drink
  • History & Culture
  • Wildlife & Nature
  • FAQ
  • Membership
  • Feedback & Ideas
  • Community Guidelines
  • Product Blog
  • Unique Gifts
  • Work With Us
  • About
  • FAQ
  • Advertise With Us
  • Advertising Guidelines
  • Privacy Policy
  • Cookie Policy
  • Terms of Use
Atlas Obscura

© 2025 Atlas Obscura. All Rights Reserved.