In An Age Of Communication Options History Tells Us There Will Always Be Secret Codes
Friday, 27. November 2009
The means of exchanging ideas have never been more prolific. Modern communication includes television, radio, newspaper, telephone, cellular phone, twitter accounts, face book, you tube, IM, personal blogs, bumper stickers and many other options. Clothing has also become a form of communication, with shirts, pants, ribbons, message buttons, silicone wristbands or a silicone bracelet. It seems everyone has a message and a way to communicate it. It hasn’t always been that way, and in some parts of the world it still remains difficult to freely express an opinion. There have been many methods of communicating secretlyduring the course of history. Some of these methods are very simple some are very complex.
In ancient times there are accounts of messages being sent by slaves bearing tattoos under their hair. This required the shaving of the head, the tattooing of the message and then waiting for the hair to grow back. There are stories about the Greeks being warned of a planned Persian invasion by a slave with a message inked into his scalp. This was not a great method for sending important information. Slaves didn’t have dry erase scalps, so they could only be used once. They also used wax tablets to conceal messages. These tablets were a bit like dry erase boards. A communication could be sent, and then the tablet could be smoothed out and used again. Hidden messages would be covered on the wood backing that held the wax.
