By Jon Lomberg

A random sampling of several hundred among the thousands of messages submitted to Hello to Earth tells us this: If Earthlings believe anything about aliens, it’s that they will like beer.

An amazing number of messages invite ET to have a brew. It’s an expression of humanity’s long love affair with the brewer’s art. And confidence that, while the aliens may be smarter than us, they won’t have a good lager on tap.

I’d like to invite you all back to my place for a few beers.
Luke, Brisbane, Australia

Hi, we are a race of humans from planet Earth. Our planet may be similar to yours in some ways. Feel free to drop in for a beer sometime.
Shan, Melbourne, Australia

Maybe there is a ‘being’ on Gliese 581D sitting at their communication device sending a message to Earth..to them, I say ‘Hi, what’s your favourite beer?”
Grant, Sydney, Australia

Hi, You don’t know me but I saw you from across the galaxy and wanted to come over to say hello. If you make it down my way, i’d love to buy you a beer.
Kempy, Adelaide, Australia

And they won’t have English either, a fact not lost on many responders:

Some people on earth don´t speak English
Zona Leste da Periferia de São Bernardo, Brazil

You’re expected to know English. I find this funny. Come here and help explain some stuff we cant. I’ll give you a fiver.
Norwich, United Kingdom

Probably you don’t know english, so all these messages are completely and insanely useless!

Maak Buedkyy Gremio Abda Porto Alegre, Brazil

Limitations and ambiguities of English were pointed out:

HELL OF ROME ARTH!!! THINK THIS! HELLO FROM EARTH…
Astana, Australia

Hope you’re an languages-other-then-English-speaking aliens!! Funny this site banned all other languages!! I bet you speak Chinese so a ‘WEI from earth’ here!!
Melbourne, Australia

hoka toka noka ,soka looka looka earthona mantora ,comea toa earthona withona peaceana ,weana areanoa a freindlyana peopleatona ..good day my alien friend
Cairo, Australia

Some  thought that if it’s English we were sending, we should send the very best, such as this from Shakespeare:

“We are such stuff as dreams are made on, and our little life is rounded by a sleep…” How about you?
Philadelphia, United States

Beyond that, the range of messages is astounding. This may have been intended as a message from Australians, but submissions poured in from all over the world. The same ideas occurred simultaneously among people from different parts of the planet. No nation had a monopoly on humor or creativity.

Some took a purist approach and tried to create messages which might actually be decodable, based on mathematics:

1 = *, 2 = **, 3 = ***, 4 = ****, 5 = *****, 6 = ******, 7 = *******, 8 = ********, 9 = *********, 10 = **********.
Flagstaff, United States

1 I 2 II 3 III 4 IIII 5 IIIII 6 IIIIII 7 IIIIIII 8 IIIIIIII 9 IIIIIIIII 10 IIIIIIIIII 11 IIIIIIIIIII 20 IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII
Innisfail, Australia

1+1+1+1+1+1+1+1+1+1 = 10 10 * 1 = 10 10 + 0 = 10 10 / 1 = 10  H—-O  H  O /|  |  / / See You Soon
Como, Australia

I + I = II II + II = IIII IIII + IIII = IIIIIIII
Sydney, Australia

1+2=3.+..=… 2*5=10..*…..=………. 7-6=1…….-……=. 8/4=2……../….=.. 9/3=3………/…=… 2+0=2..+=.. 2-0=2..-=.. 10+1=11……….. 10*10=100
cologno monzese, Italy

Hello from Earth, and have a good day! Earth’s numbers: 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 Earth’s math: 1+1=2 5+5=10 10+30=40 10-10=0 10-20=-10
Paris, Australia

Prime numbers were a popular choice for the math-minded:

Is anyone getting this message? What do you call your planet? Here are some prime numbers.  2,3,5,7,11,13,17,19,23,29,31,37, 41,43,47,53,59,61,67,71,73
Detroit, United States

1 2 3 5 7 11 13 17 19 23 29 31 37 39 41 43 47… We call it prime numbers. We are really happy about the opportunity of sending a message for you. PEACE LOVE.
São Luís Maranhão, Brazil

Presenting numbers as dots seemed to be an even more basic approach:

.. … ….. ……. ……….. Prime numbers in dots that’s means Hello we are here, Are you there? We’ll continue searching and hoping for answers.
Buenos Aires, Australia

1st 10 prime numbers ..-…-…..-…….-………..-………….-……………..-……………….-…………………..-………………………..
Asheville, United States

We exist. Please respond.  . .. … …. ….. …. … .. .
Salt Lake City, United States

. . .. .. .. …. …. …. …….. …….. …….. ……………. You are not alone
Edison, United States

Pi was a popular choice as well:

– Max

Got wheels? Pi=11.001001000=3.1415926535=3.243F6A8885=mathematical constant whose value is the ratio of any circle’s circumference to its diameter.
Hobart, Australia

3.1415926535897932384626433832795 instead of cake please. thanks -JetCityOrange
Seattle, United States

As was the so-called Golden Section, expressed as the Fibonacci number series beloved by Leonardo da Vinci:

* * ** *** ***** ******** ************* ********************* ********************************** *******************************************************
Palmas, Brazil

1, 2, 3, 5, 8, 13, 21, 34, … I’m sure YOU understand this language.
Jaworzyna Slaska, Australia

0 1 1 2 3 5 8 13 21 34 55 89 144 233 377 610 987 1597 2584 4181 6765 10946 17711 28657 46368 75025 121393 196418 317811 514229 832040 1346269 2178309 3524578
Espoo, Finland

Or expressed as the ratio known as phi 1,6180339887
Taranto, Italy

Some sought common ground in other basic science:

Phi = 1.6180339  Pi = 3.1415926535  t=rxF=rFsinQ t=ia  L=rxp=rxmv L=IW Hope this helps you jumpstart your science (if you need it =D).
Minneapolis, United States

H = 1, O = 8, H2O = H + H + O. H2O = WATER. C = 7. C = Carbon. Carbon based lifeforms requiring water live here. We welcome you in peace. We are curious.
Flagstaff, United States

Speed of light:300000km.s-1 Planck constant:6.626×10-34J.s Fine-structure constant:7.297×10-3 Newtonian constant of gravitation:6.674×10-11m3kg-1s-2
São Luís, Brazil

Fans of TV series Lost had their own suggestion of what cosmic numbers would be:

Please tell me the significance of this sequence: 4, 8, 15, 16, 23 and 42. No land knew me explain.
Brotas, Brazil

4 8 15 16 23 42. What do you know about these numbers?
Auri, veneto, Australia

Some offered interstellar gambling advice:

Your lucky numbers are: 12, 17, 23, 39, 44, 45
Boise, ID, United States

Some of the most intriguing messages were in some kind of private code. At least I couldn’t figure them out. Can you?

1 = Beep 0 = Stop 1 = Beep 0 = Stop Electricity.Binary Code.Processor.Operating System.Input.Output.Antennas 1 = Beep 0 = Stop 1 = Beep 0 = Stop
Byron Bay, Australia

hi there! i’m a v-maker on earth let’s make v-sign together  . V LA_ . . (’_') . . [ ? ] . . | | . . n’ ‘n .
ondiraitbob
nantes, France

HELLO  __&__  / | |  | (o)(o)  c .—_)  | |.___|  | \__/  /_____  /_____/ _  >’ )  ( ( ”| ESTEBAN BYE
Buenos Aires, Argentina

.-|-.  / | ; /| ;  / | /  ‘—’  PEACE -jgs
Atlanta, GA, United States

0)—( 0(—( 0)—( 0(—(  8)(—( 8))—( 8)(—(  8))===( 8)(===( 8))===(
Sidney, Australia

:] =] =) (= [= [:
Recife, Brazil

Hello ~^-^~
Juiz de Fora, Brazil

...---...
Earthling
Brasilia, Brazil

:] O_O
bangkok, Thailand

Hello_World… ☺ _♥_♦_♣_♠_•_◘_○_◙_♂_♀_♪_♫_☼_►_◄_↕ _”"”"”"” __~~_~~__ q O O p  1  ___  W
cali, Australia

Others were more eager to get on to more substantial questions:

Hello. Did you knew that 1+1=2 ? Do you know how to have eternal Life ? If you do, can you share with others consciousness people please ? Hurry. Thank you.
Paris, France

Do you also have only one GOD?
Roma, Italy

What do you know about the origin of the Universe? Does God exist? Are there other civilizations? What should we do to live in peace and prosperity?
Ricardone, Argentina

Some offered answers rather than questions:

Jesus loves you
Pittsburgh, United States

Salam Alauikom, By the named of Quran you are kindly invited to convert to ISLAM and share the real life with earth citizen who believe in Allah and ISLAM.
Makkah, Australia

“…every fixed star hath its own planets, and every planet its own creatures, whose number no man can compute.” Baha’u'llah, Founder of the Baha’i Faith
Las Vegas, United States

May I be free from suffering. May all living beings in all realms, in all directions, extending to infinity, with none excepted, be free from suffering.Buddho08
Endeavour Hills, Victoria, Australia

Hello, I’m GOD (Yeah, the creator of all) and I don’t exist. 16|3|19|19|9
Santiago, Chile

Other submissions read like personal ads:

I like Pina Coladas, getting caught in the rain, and the feel of the ocean, and the taste of champagne
Canberra, Australia

Some felt moved to name some favorite thing, as this fan of author Ambrose Bierce:

Lawrence here, hoping that you support Chivalry and Honor, Valor as well. Ai Ai Nyarlathotep in case you folks know of Cthulhu or Nyarlathotep. Good Luck.
Little Rock, United States

hello, I’m from Brazil and Blink-182 is back!!!
São Paulo, Brazil

Hi! This is Ozkhar I’m sending this message from Canada. I would like to know if you like Rock Music, do you know The Beatles? is the most famous Rock band ever
Vancouver, Australia

Have you guys seen Indiana Jones 3 ?
Albi, France

Sports and games were often invoked:

Planet Earth’s favorite sport is soccer, and the best soccer team in the world is called Sociedade Esportiva Palmeiras!!!
Eduardo Y M, Sao Paulo, Brazil

Halo is the best video game ever!
mystic, United States

Let´s play Chess. I will use whites. My move is 1.e4 I think this will be a very long game.
Buenos Aires, Australia

As well as stranger suggestions:

There are 3 things to do here for you: 1)to stroke the cat 2)to see the sea 3)to shake eternal russian president Putin by the hand. Just for fun!
Ryazan, Russian Federation

Some tried to educate the aliens:

Um, hi. If you want to know more about us, there’s this thing called Wikipedia. It’s like the sum of all human knowledge.
Pleasanton, United States

A = 1 9 5 12 12 15 Hello there. Carbon based – water loving – up-right monkeys here, trying not to destroy ourselves too much. How are you? Love.
bogota, Colombia

;;Human: Head: 2 eyes, nose, 2 ears; body: 2 arms, 2 hands, 10 fingers; 2 Legs; 2 feet, 10 toes; 1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8,9,10; 1+1=2; NICO; ,- x; EARTH; MILKYWAY;;
Graz, Australia

Being is. Non-being is not
Italy, Italy

Some people’s messages revealed genuine suffering:

God, tell me why you did this to me and where should I go? What should I do?
yangquan, China

please SAVE me from the death!!!!!
leofreni, Italy

Others had more prosaic requests:
Will you do my math homework for me?
Hopedale, United States

Hi I am Lenaya. I live in the USA. I have 2 little dogs that I love very much. Please help find a way to double their life span. Thank you.Peace to your planet.
Temecula, United States

Many hoped for alien help:

SEND HOPE PLEASE
Paris, Australia

Hello Galaxy!. We need your help. The things in this world are wrong. Please. Your friend.
WE NEED YOUR HELP
LAS PALMAS, Spain

To me the majority of messages could be summed up by this one:

Please exist.
Salt Lake City, UT, United States

Or expressed more poetically:

I drove 200 miles to get a glimpse of the recent meteor shower..I would drive 200,000 to get a response from you. I shall marry the stars one day. Love, Sasha.
Chandler, AZ, United States

And to many, it was not really the aliens they were thinking about at all:

Rafaela, I love YOU, I always loved you and i’ll always love you. And i’d like everyone, include aliens, knew that. Rodrigo
Campinas, Brazil

Tags: aliens, Hello from Earth, Messages to space

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