A secret decoder ring (or secret decoder) is a device which allows one to decode a simple substitution cipher - or to encrypt a message by working in the opposite direction.
As inexpensive toys, they have been often used as promotional items by retailers, radio and television programs from the 1930s through to the current day. Decoders, whether badges or rings, are a fun way for children to tap into a common fascination with encryption, ciphers, and secret codes, and are used to send hidden messages back and forth to one another.
Read more about Secret Decoder Ring: History, Messages, Current Producer
Famous quotes containing the words secret and/or ring:
“Nor even thy virtues, tyrant, shall avail
To save thy secret soul from nightly fears,
From Cambria’s curse, from Cambria’s tears!’”
—Thomas Gray (1716–1771)
“There is no magic decoding ring that will help us read our young adolescent’s feelings. Rather, what we need to do is hold out our antennae in the hope that we’ll pick up the right signals.”
—The Lions Clubs International and the Quest Nation. The Surprising Years, III, ch.4 (1985)