I fondly the remember the times when your python2 script could start with # encoding: rot-13 and your source code be completely rot13 encoded. More on my blog at https://frederik-braun.com/rot13-encoding-in-python.html

Python is really a shit language for obfuscating things. In the Perl community, obfuscated scripts that print “Just another Perl hacker” have been a tradition for decades, and the richness of the language really pays off when you’re trying to be a jerk.

Fresh from 2009 or so, here’s my best take on the genre – this produces a rendering of my email sig at the time. I’m particularly proud of the base 26 conversion :)

$q=q((pete gamache));$_=fpeoiaglclivdlcgglvqhcbwclemhcbwflclvqivcrgqhcbwafak
;sub A{for(($a=1)..pop){$a*=$a*=$a+$a*$a;$a%=999999}$a%128}sub b{@A=a..pop}$
qq.=chr A(uc b($1))while s/(..)//;$qq="($qq)";&z;print"$q $qq 14 /Courier ";
sub c{$x=$_[0];$x-=6.28until$x<6.28;my$a;for(0..10){$a+=($x**(2*$_)*(-1)**$_
)/_(2*$_)}$a*2**(-$_[0]/8)}sub _{$_[0]<1?1:$_[0]*_($_[0]-1)}print join (' ',
'66 666 translate 510 0 moveto 0 dup dup lineto 50 moveto',map{$_,c($_/8)*50
,'lineto'}(0..444)),' stroke findfont exch scalefont setfont 222 -30 moveto'
,' show 222 20 moveto show showpage';sub z{$q=~s/(g.+E)/$1, $1\@gmail.com/i}

My favourite. Much smaller, in C, but IMHO more confusing instead of obsfucating:

#include <unistd.h>

int main() {
  uint32_t b = 0x0a646c72;
  uint64_t a = 0x6f77206f6c6c6548;

  return !write(1, &a, 12);
}

If you dive into the C++ hello world, follow every header, every overload and trace every iostream class that is instantiated, it feels like you are sitting on a giant complex structure that was obfuscated by the deceptively simple looking abstraction which causes hello world to be flushed to stdout.

This has had a python 3 update since it was last posted.