Issue link: https://read.dmtmag.com/i/322467
But the Germans then came up with a simple counter-measure; after inscrib- ing a secret message, they would wet the entire paper by steaming it, thus altering all of the paper's fibers. After the paper was allowed to dry, it was sent on to its destination. Both sides had to come up with sneaky ways to hide their inks as well. American agents were advised to impregnate their shirt collars and handkerchiefs with a solution of sodium nitrate; these items could later be soaked in water to create an ink. German spies employed a similar tactic by soaking their ties in chemicals that were later reconstituted. Ready-made inks were often placed inside of shaving sticks and hollowed out soap cakes and hair brushes. Agents also dipped match- sticks into the inks and let them dry; the matches could then be carried without arousing suspicion and used as writing utensils when it came time to inscribe a secret message. American spies also wrote secret mes- sages on their body which could only be developed when sprayed by an atomizer. Messages were even engraved on toenails; a dusting with powdered charcoal re- vealed the etchings. World War II During WWII both the Allies and the Axis powers worked hard on developing their own invisible inks and discovering the inks used by the enemy. This battle between laboratories became a veri- table arms race, with each side trying to outdo the other and come up with that holy grail of invisible inks: one that was odorless, could be developed by as few reagents as possible, and could not be exposed by heat, detected with iodine, or revealed by ultraviolet light. The Abwehr, Germany's military intel- ligence agency, had five levels of inks, and gave the most complicated ones to its best agents (less trusted spies could have possibly been double-agents who would have turned the secrets over to the Allies). To develop one of the inks, the recipient had to moisten the paper, sprinkle it with a red powder containing naphthalene, heat it to 140 degrees Fahrenheit, and ex- pose it to ultraviolet light. Another crafty ink required activation by blood–the agent pricked his finger and added a drop to the mix before writing. The Allies and Axis powers also tried to outdo each other when it came to re- vealing the secret inks used by the other side. As it did during WWI, the American government vigorously screened mail coming in and out of the country. 14,462 censors opened a million pieces of mail a day; correspondence that aroused the censors' suspicions was sent on to the FBI for further test- ing. 4,600 pieces of mail were forwarded to the government's labs, and 400 of these items turned out to contain secret writing and codes. Censors would expose suspicious pa- pers to heat, ultraviolet light, and iodine vapors. They would also stripe them with a tool that consisted of multiple brushes wired together. Each brush had been dipped in a different reagent, and the tool was swept across the page to check for reactions. The Germans then counteracted this detection method by formulating an ink that required three applications of a reagent spaced three hours apart. The Art of Manliness Continued JOBS for TEAMS | 18 www.jobsfor teams.com JobsForTeams0614_manliness.indd 3 5/6/14 4:29 PM