  Mystery
This week: Edited by: Tehanu  
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“The invisible and the non-existent look very much alike.”
~ Delo McKown
“O divine art of subtlety and secrecy! Through you we learn to be invisible, through you inaudible and hence we can hold the enemy's fate in our hands.”
~ Sun Tzu
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The last section of my handy Martin Gardner book* contains information I would have loved to have gotten my hands on around the age of twelve. Of course, it could be useful now as well. Let's say I was kidnapped and needed to send a message...or, maybe I just want to pass a note to another coworker during a meeting...or, hey, maybe I decided to write about a secret agent who found seemingly blank sheets of paper at various crime scenes...
In these instances, I may have to use detailed information on invisible writing.
It's easier than you think. Possibly cheaper than you may imagine, as well.
Of course, you could probably find an invisible ink pen at a toy or gag store. I had one as a kid. But, again, let's say you (or your character) are unable to obtain one of these pens. You could always open a refrigerator and use a lemon or an orange.
Or some milk.
Interested? Here are a few ways to go about producing invisible writing:
1) Get some lemon, orange, grapefruit, or onion juice. You'll also need some soft, uncoated paper so that the juice can soak into the paper's fibers instead of leaving visible streaks.
The book suggests using a "tiny paint brush" or an inkless pen and dipping it in the juice to write. I bet you could also just use your fingers.
Draw your message on the paper and wait for it to dry. Once sent, whomever receives the message simply needs to heat the ink. Gardner suggests holding the paper close to a 150-watt lightbulb. Using an open fire will most likely overheat the paper and char it.
Once heated, the writing will then turn a visible brown shade.
2) Don't feel queasy about using laxatives - they usually contain phenolphtalein, a white powder that turns red when mixed with an alkaline, like household ammonia.
If you happen to have an Ex-Lax tablet and some rubbing alcohol, crush the tablet and mix it with about half an ounce of the alcohol. After the tablet dissolves fully, use a brush to print your message.
To see the message, you just have to moisten some cotton or a rag with household ammonia. Dab at the paper and the writing will turn a deep red.
When the ammonia dries, the letters will go invisible once more.
3) What goes best with a plate of chocolate chip cookies? I'd say more chocolate chip cookies, but most people like a frothy cold glass of milk.
Milk is also a good way to send a secret message. For this, you'll need thick paper, or light carboard, like an index card. After writing the note in milk and letting it dry, you can see the message again by rubbing a dark powdery substance - like ash or charcoal - over the note.
Pretty cool, huh? Even cooler is if you encode the invisible message, just in case some smartypants intercepts the paper before it reaches its destination. If your message becomes visible on the paper, the person will still have to decipher it.
Also, to make a blank piece of paper look less suspicious, write a visible, innocent message - or another cipher! - on it after you have placed the invisible note on there. Most people will not suspect there is another message waiting to be found on the same paper.
This NL edition wraps up the cryptology/secret writing portion of my mystery escapades...for now.  Please send any questions or comments regarding ciphers or invisible ink my way.
See you in March...
* - Codes, Ciphers, and Secret Writing |
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These members cracked my polyalphabetic code:
Davy Kraken 
janellecharon
Edward Gravis
That's only one-third the amount of members who suceeded at cracking the monoalphabetic code. CONGRATULATIONS to these cipher hounds! 
Readers' Feedback:
janellecharon:
Answer: Beware the man of one book.
Sorry about the last thing I sent you about the answer to the old riddle. I only just got around to reading all these newsletters and I didn't expect the answer would be in the very next one! In any case, thanks for the brain stretch, can't wait for your next newsletter!
Cheers,
Janelle
I am glad you found it to be a brain stretch and I am delighted that you read both of my cryptology issues. 
mommasgirlps29 :
how do you do codes well decipher them?
That is a broad question! Each code may be deciphered differently. Generally, I can answer your question by stating that it takes time, trial and error, and experience to crack most codes. There is no one skeleton key that can unlock all codes...but computers programmed to decipher codes can come pretty close to a universal skeleton key, I suppose.
Edward Gravis :
I'm not sure if you wanted the answer sent in the submission box here or by email so i'm toing BEWARE THE MAN OF ONE BOOK
Very interesting news letter, great work
Thanks! I am very happy to hear you have enjoyed my polyalphabetic cipher newsletter.
kiyasama:
Wow, pretty interesting stuff here, Tehanu. I might take a crack at this one...no pun intended. Great job!
Thanks, Kiya! |
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Mystery: February 07, 2007 Issue [#1534]
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