Phonetic Alphabet

It is really important to be able toPhonetic Alphabet spell out something so others can understand you.  That is why the military uses the following words to make letters understandable.  Many letters in our alphabet sound similar, like “D” and “T” and “C” and “E” and “Z”,  but they don’t sound at all alike when you say DELTA and TANGO and CHARLIE and ECHO and ZEBRA.  Believe it or not, many people who work in offices use these on a regular basis to spell out things like e-mail address and when booking travel itineraries.

I shouldn’t laugh but just today I overheard someone spelling out a word and she said “Iguana” for the letter “I”.  Of course, the person on the other end ddidn’t even know what letter “Iguana” started with so there was a bit of confusion.  It sure would have been easier if she used the International Alphabet.  Give the International Alphabet a try while spelling out your name.

Invisible Ink

Top_secret

You can use lemon juice, whole milk, or cream to write (or paint) an invisible message on a piece of white paper.

To reveal the message you need to heat the paper up.  Get a grownup to help you by putting the paper in a hot frying pan and hold it down with a pot holder until the secret message appears.

Another method for revealing the secret message is to have an adult hold the paper over a hot incandescent light bulb and wait for the message to appear.

Pig Latin

Pig

This is a great way for kids to talk to each other without anyone knowing what they are saying (caution to kids, many parents used this secret language when they were kids so they will be able to pick up on what you are saying pretty quickly – so ask them. “Hey mom and dad, did you talk Pig Latin when you were kids?” If they look confused then you are safe.)

It is so easy to learn Pig Latin since it’s really just saying English words in a different way. Here is how it works. Pick a word, take the first letter off the word and put it on the end of the word and then add “ay” to it. That’s all you do. Simple (or implesay in Pig Latin). With a little practice you can be really fast at this. Give it a try with your name and the names of your friends. For example: Robert becomes Obertray, Paul becomes Aulpay, Nancy becomes Ancynay, you get the idea. Have fun practicing this one with your friends and then you can talk with them in secret code without anyone else knowing what you are saying. How cool is that?!?