THE ORIGIN OF DISAPPEARING INK
Alexander the Great communicated by couriers carrying written messages. These were often delayed by camp followers who accompanied his armies. Alexander applied to his advisors for a method of knowing whether a courier had dallied. Eventually one invented disappearing ink, and was able to formulate it for varying delay times. “Keep the formulas secret,” he said. “Dip a rag in the ink and tie it around the courier’s wrist. If the journey ought to take five hours, use six-hour ink. If it fades before the courier arrives, he has dallied. Behead him. If it never fades, he has switched for another rag. Behead him. In this way you can enforce promptness.”
This solved Alexander’s problem, and became known world-wide, one of the most famous inventions in history. Nearly everyone has heard of Alexander’s rag time-band.
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-- Carl
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