Invisible Ink Recipes

Spies often need to send secret messages. Now you can too, with this Invisible Ink recipe and a little top-secret know how!

Getting information and communicating are the two of the most important skills of any spy. If you must communicate by means of paper, you basically have two choices: coding and concealing.

Coding has one problem. Anyone who comes across an encoded message, knows it is a secret message... ...and that you are (most likely) a spy. Your cover could be blown. Not good!

Another possibility is to conceal your message. In other words, make it invisible to the naked eye. But how? You can make invisible ink, and write with that!

******************HOT TIPS!******************

Don't write your message on an empty page. An empty page is strange... why would you want to send an empty page to someone? When people start asking such questions, they may investigate further. So make sure you write a message on it. Something harmless, that anybody may read. Another idea is to write a message with loads of clues that lead nowhere, throwing your enemy off track.

Even better: encode your message first, THEN write it in invisible ink on the harmless message. When it comes to secrecy, there's no such thing as doing too much!

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Invisible Ink Recipes

Recipe #1 - Material Needed:

• Baking Soda
• Water
• A toothpick , fountain pen, or even just a Q-Tip
• A piece of paper
• A source of heat (light bulb etc)

Recipe # 1 - The Method

Step 1 - Mix one table spoon of baking Soda to two tablespoon of water. This is your ink solution.

Step 2 - Now take your Q-tip, toothpick or fountain pen and dip it in your solution and write your message on the paper.

Step 3 - Let it dry

Step 4 - To read your message: Hold the paper with the secret writing near a light bulb*
(or other heat source). You will soon see the message appear in a brown color.

*CHILDREN: Be sure to ask your parents for help, as paper + heat can = FIRE!

Recipe #2 - Material Needed:

• Lemon Juice
• A toothpick , fountain pen, or even just a Q-Tip
• A piece of paper
• A source of heat (light bulb etc)

Step 1 - Pour or squeeze some lemon juice into a small dish. This is your ink solution.

Step 2 - Now take your Q-tip, toothpick or fountain pen and dip it in your solution and write your message on the paper.

Step 3 - Let it dry

Step 4 - To read your message: Hold the paper with the secret writing near a light bulb*
(or other heat source). You will soon see the message appear in a brown color.

*CHILDREN: Be sure to ask your parents for help, as paper + heat can = FIRE!

NOTE: Lemon juice invisible ink, while quick and handy, isn't completely invisible. It's a good idea to write on paper that's not bright white. Recycle paper (as used by newspapers) is ideal for this!