The Youngest Code-Makers

Kids love secrets. There’s something deeply exciting about trying to keep information from others—especially adults—whether it’s with a code from a cereal box or one invented by a group of friends.

We asked our readers whether they had used any codes in their childhood. Here are a few that people can remember. Did you communicate in code in your youth? Tell us about your early adventures in encryption in the comments.

Dara Monasch and Meaghan Colleran: “The Code”

We wanted something quick and easy our groupgeeks to this day), others were borrowed from the Japanese alphabet, and some just made sense in other weird ways. This is how I can remember most of it; we wrote it to be logical to us.