Secret Messages

Would you and your friends like to write secret messages to each other? If you read this article, you will soon know how to do it.

Secret codes have been used throughout history to send messages. A code
gives special meanings to symbols, words, or even a nod of the head. Codes
can be difficult to learn. Some codes can be used only by people who have
the same code book or computer program.

For secret messages that you write to your friends, it is best to use a cipher.
Unlike a code, a cipher uses the regular meanings of words. The words look
funny, though. Each letter has been changed to something else. It might be
another letter, a number, or a symbol. Words written in cipher are easy to
read once you know the key. Here is an example:

1) Write the alphabet in one row. Under it, write the alphabet backwards. Place each letter directly under a letter in the first row.
A B C D  E  F G H I  J  K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y  Z
Z Y X W V U  T S R Q P O N M L K J  I  H G F E  D C  B A
2) To write a message, use the letters in the second row to stand for the letters you really mean. For example, the word YOU would be BLF.
3) To read the message, change each letter back. If BLF is in the message, find B in the bottom row. You can see that it stands for Y.
4) People who want to know your secrets might try to figure out the key to your cipher. To make the cipher harder to figure out, change the spacing of the words. You can put letters in groups of five: HVXIV GNVHH ZTVHX ZMYVU FM. Using the key, it becomes SECRE TMESS AGESC ANBEF UN. Put the spaces in the right places. Now it says, “SECRET MESSAGES CAN BE FUN.”