According to foreign media reports, as one of the few spy museums in the world, the International Spy Museum has collected the widest range of spy tools. Below, let's take a look at the ten most ingeniously designed spy tools in the collection of the International Spy Museum. In the past century, these technologies that we may consider strange today were indispensable for covert operations.
1. Lipstick Pistol
Speaking about this single-shot 4.5mm caliber pistol, Bogart said: "It is a classic." The "lipstick gun" was probably seized from KGB agents in the mid-1960s. Although it is unclear whether this dangerous "kiss of death" was ever used, cyanide guns were indeed used for assassinations during that era. These secret weapons are surviving examples of the "active measures" taken by Soviet and American intelligence agencies during the Cold War.
2. Buttonhole Camera
This miniature Model F-21 camera was invented by the KGB around 1970 and could be hidden in a buttonhole with a mechanism that the user could trigger from their pocket. By squeezing the shutter cord and the fake buttonhole, photos could be taken unnoticed. This miniature camera hidden in a buttonhole could be used stealthily at public events like gatherings of politicians. Bogart pointed out that Peter Earnest, the director of the International Spy Museum who worked in the CIA intelligence department for many years, once used such a spy camera.
3. Microdot Camera
In the 1960s, the East German foreign intelligence agency HVA invented this microdot camera, which could photograph documents and shrink the text through a chemical process, making a large amount of text smaller than a period. Through this method, agents could openly hide secret information. Bogart also mentioned a notorious incident involving the microdot camera: During World War II, double agent Dusko Popov handed over intelligence photographed by a microdot camera to the FBI, indicating Germany's interest in Pearl Harbor. However, then-FBI Director Edgar Hoover did not trust Popov, so he did not pass on this intelligence to President Franklin Roosevelt.
4. Shoe Transmitter
In the 1960s and 70s, Western diplomats stationed in Eastern Europe avoided buying clothing locally and preferred ordering clothes and shoes from the West by mail. In Romania, the intelligence department took advantage of this habit of Western diplomats by collaborating with the postal service to install transmitters in shoe heels. Bogart said that servants accidentally discovered such recording devices while cleaning rooms. When the diplomats returned to their rooms, the signal would appear, and when they all left, the signal would disappear.
5. Enigma Cipher Machine
During World War II, intelligence transmitted via radio had the possibility of being intercepted by the Allies, so the Germans invented the cipher machine known as the Enigma. The Enigma looked like a common typewriter but functioned very differently from a printer. Its keyboard was connected to electrically driven rotors that could change the numbers with each keypress multiple times. Corresponding information was output in Morse code and required a key, which was modified daily. However, the Allies eventually broke the German Enigma code, which they believed to be unbreakable.
6. Cipher Disk
People tend to think that spy tools aren't all that ancient, but in fact, as early as the Roman era, Caesar used cryptography to encode messages. This cipher disk dates back to the American Civil War and was used by the Confederate side—the letters CSA represent the Confederate States of America. The principle of how it works is straightforward: rotate the inner wheel to substitute letters, such as M=G, P=J. Is the cipher easy to break? Not if the message isn't written in a language you're familiar with. The issue is that spies are cunning and wouldn't encode in a language you're familiar with.
7. Poison Umbrella
In 1978, a Bulgarian agent used an umbrella like this one to assassinate Bulgarian dissident Georgi Markov on the streets of London. Technicians modified the internal structure of an ordinary umbrella so that pressing a button could shoot poison at the target. In Markov's case, the umbrella shot out a small ball containing ricin, which was almost invisible to the naked eye. The International Spy Museum displays a replica of a poison umbrella specially made in Moscow. Bogart said that in 1991, someone found a room full of similar lethal umbrellas in Bulgaria.
8. Pigeon Camera
This is a pigeon, more like a "spy satellite." Before the age of aerial photography, pigeons carried the responsibility of taking aerial shots. Tying an automatic camera to a pigeon and flying it over enemy territory provided important intelligence without getting lost. Besides photography, in an era when radio communication still had many flaws, pigeons occasionally delivered messages. Before the 1950s, pigeons had a success rate of 95% crossing enemy fire lines, and due to their significant contributions to the final victory, they received many medals of honor.
9. Stump Listening Device
In the early 1970s, this stump listening device relied on solar power to continuously eavesdrop in forests near Moscow. It intercepted communications signals between Soviet airbases in the area, sent them to a satellite, and then forwarded the intelligence to analysis centers within the United States. Since it was powered by solar energy, there was no need to replace batteries. Despite this, the KGB still discovered this stump listening device, so the International Spy Museum only displays a replica.
10. Dog Poop Intelligence Transfer Device
Dog poop? Don't be surprised, it really is dog poop. Bogart said that this small device was hollow inside and could hide intelligence, allowing intelligence officers and informants to easily exchange information without arousing suspicion. Bogart pointed out that feces are often left alone in some place, which is why signal stations disguised as tiger droppings were used in the Vietnam War to indicate targets. One risk with the dog poop intelligence transfer device is that it might occasionally be discarded or discovered. Bogart said: "Accidents always happen in life, and this is just one of the many challenges faced by spies or intelligence personnel."
Related thematic articles: 32 seafood recipes