Asecret decoder ring(orsecret decoder) is a device that allows one to decode a simplesubstitution cipher—or to encrypt a message by working in the opposite direction.[1]
As inexpensive toys, secret decoders have often been used as promotional items by retailers, as well as radio and television programs, from the 1930s through to the current day. Decoders, whether badges or rings, are an entertaining way for children to tap into a common fascination withencryption,ciphers,andsecret codes,and are used to send hidden messages back and forth to one another.
History
editSecret decoders are generally circular scales, descendants of thecipher diskdeveloped in the 15th century byLeon Battista Alberti.Rather than the complex poly Alpha beticAlberti ciphermethod, the decoders for children invariably use simpleCaesar ciphersubstitutions.
The most well-known example started in 1934 with theOvaltinecompany's sponsored radio programLittle Orphan Annie.[2]The show's fan club, "Radio Orphan Annie's Secret Society", distributed a member's handbook that included a simple substitution cipher with a resulting numeric cipher text. This was followed the next year with a membership pin that included a cipher disk—enciphering the letters A–Z to numbers 1–26. From 1935 to 1940, metal decoders were produced for the promotion. From 1941 on, paper decoders were produced. Similar metal badges and pocket decoders continued with theCaptain Midnightradio and television programs.
None of these early decoders were in the form offinger rings;however, "secret compartment" rings were common radio program premiums.[2]In the early 1960s, secret decoder rings appeared—notably in conjunction with theJonny Questtelevision program sponsored byPF Shoes.A later, less ornate, decoder ring was offered by Kix Cereals.[3]
Today, high quality, stainless steel decoder rings for children and adults are being produced by companies such as Retroworks[4]andThinkGeek.[5]
Messages
editOvaltine and other companies that marketed early decoders to children often included "secret messages" on theirradioshows aimed at children. These could be decoded for a preview of the next episode of the show.
Film references
editThe filmA Christmas Story(1983) depicts theLittle Orphan Annieradio show transmitting a secret message that deciphered to: "Be sure to drink yourOvaltine",unlike the actual broadcasts' secret code segments, which usually previewed the upcoming episode.[6]
Decoder rings are mentioned by Arnold Schwarzenegger's character inLast Action Hero.
A "Drogan's Decoder Wheel" is mentioned in the 1985 comedy movieSpies Like Usby characters played by Stephen Hoye andDan Aykroyd.[7]
Laura Petrie mentions her husband Rob's "Captain Midnight Decoder Ring," in Season 5, episode 27 ofThe Dick Van Dyke Show.
Kevin Pollakcharacter Moishe Maisel finds a toy decoder ring in the cereal box of his grandson Ethan onYom Kippurin season 2, episode 7 of "The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel"(" Look, She Made a Hat ").
See also
edit- Caesar cipher– Simple and widely known encryption technique
- Cipher disk– Encryption and decryption tool consisting of two metal plates with Alpha bets
- Jefferson disk– Cipher system invented by Thomas Jefferson
- Radio premium– Advertising gimmick
References
edit- ^Hipschman, Ron (1995),The Secret Language,retrieved2011-01-10
- ^abCAPTAIN MIDNIGHT AND DECODER RINGS,Stephen A. Kallis, Jr.
- ^The Ovaltine "Secret Decoder Ring",John Olsen
- ^"Retroworks - Secret Decoder Rings".shopretroworks.
- ^Cloninger, Janet (15 March 2011)."Encode Your Messages with the ThinkGeek Secret Decoder Ring".The Gadgeteer.Retrieved8 September2022.
- ^Olsen, John,"A short history of Radio's Orphan Annie and her Decoder Badges",Radio Archives,retrieved2012-01-09
- ^Spies Like Us,Wikiquote, 8 April 2020,retrieved2012-01-09