Spies and Secret Messaging

spy1The very idea of “spies” conjures up sleek daredevils ready to jump from a plane at any given moment or masterminds creating innovative spy technologies used to listen in on an enemy’s secret conversations.

Movie spies like James Bond have plenty of interesting spy gadgets at their disposal. Spy gadgets are not just the things of movies; some such gadgets actually did (and do) exist! Let’s take a look back and find out some old school tools spies used to gather intel and send their own secret messages.

Lipstick Pistol: Used in the 1960s by the KGB, these lipstick cases delivered a “kiss of death.” The case contained a 4.5mm single shot weapon. Sure to help any lady spy find a quick way to deliver some real lip service.

More Ways to Pack a Pistol: Packing hidden heat came in many other interesting forms including gloves, tobacco pipes, and mobile phones.

Spy-Coins: Not a form of payment accepted only by spies, instead spy-coins provided an ingenious way to send secret messages, hold suicide poisons and transfer microfilms.

Transmitter Shoes: Get Smart fans will immediately think of Maxwell Smart’s shoe phone, but transmitters in shoes were a real “heel” deal. A conversation could be transmitted to a monitoring station, leaving the shoe-wearing spy to walk all over his enemies.

Spy Umbrella: It’s sure to be a rainy day for the target that meets up with this umbrella. AKA the Bulgarian Umbrella, the shaft of the umbrella was modified to deliver poison via a tiny pellet. One was used to assassinate Georgi Markov, a Bulgarian dissident.

Enigma Cipher Machine: Invented by the Germans, the Enigma Cipher Machine was essentially used to create secret messages through letter substitution; another letter would be substituted as each letter was typed – the one who knew the deciphering code could retrieve the resulting message, leaving the rest to only imagine.

During World War II, and quite possibly the event that finally helped to end the war, the Enigma Code was cracked by a mathematician named Alan Turing. You can get your own taste of creating coded messages – then challenge your friends to crack the code.

A Snotes Premium Account provides users with themed animations that offer a special twist – your Snote message will be automatically scrambled so that the individual you’re sending it to will have to type in the letters shown on each line and use our Secret Decoder to unscramble it for them! Get started creating your own secret messages today!