Passwords are a fixture of our modern digital world that cause no end of frustration and angst. I am sure this scenario is a familiar one: ‘Incorrect password, please try again’<forgot password>‘Please enter a new password’<input incorrect password (because, hey, it wasn’t the right one anyway)>‘The password you have entered has already been used, please try again’<head desk> Passwords can be traced back to ancient times, both in history and literature. Biblical times—In the 12th chapter of the biblical Book of Judges, during the chaos of battle between the tribes of Gilead and Ephraim, Gileadite soldiers used the word “shibboleth” to detect their enemies, knowing that the Ephraimites pronounced it slightly differently in their dialect. Literary history—The classic tale “Ali Baba and the Forty Thieves,” was invented in the 18th century by the French Orientalist Antoine Galland. The invocation “Open.