The Cryptographic Capability of the Barbie Typewriter

In 1998, Mattel began selling the electronic Barbie Typewriter to replace the earlier mechanical typewriter in the Barbie line, thus continuing the toy industry habit of introducing young children to technology that is 30 years out of date. Nonetheless, it could keep children busy learning to read and write away from your word processor. But the typewriter had a secret. It was manufactured by Mehano in Slovenia, which already made other children's typewriters. Mehano took an older model and made it pink and purple for Mattel. The base model they used had a wonderful secret capability that was sadly never included in Mattel's marketing.    

Apart from a range of typesetting features, such as letter-spacing and underline, this children's toy was capable of encoding and decoding secret messages, using one of 4 built-in cipher modes. These modes were activated by entering a special key sequence on the keyboard, and was explained only in the original documentation.            

When the E-115 was adopted by Mattel as an addition to the Barbie™ product line, it was aimed mainly at girls with a minimum age of 5 years. For this reason the product was given a pink-and-purple case and the Barbie logo and image were printed on the body. As it was probably thought that secret writing would not appeal to girls, the coding/decoding facilities were omitted from the manual. Nevertheless, these facilities can still be accessed if you know how to activate them.

As a former girl, I can assure you that secret writing would have been the main draw of this toy if customers had known about it. If you happen to have one of these typewriters sitting around, you can find the instructions for using the crypto codes at Crypto Museum. -via Metafilter


Comments (1)

Newest 1
Newest 1 Comment

I'm not sure what liphttam is talking about... blank one? huh? It works for me...

Anyhow, I'm a huge fan of old non-fiction and Google Books is one of my favorite spots to peruse.

It really is a GREAT deal to have all these classic PopSci issues available for easy browsing! For years both my father and I were Popular Science subscribers. I finally canned it about 10 years ago when the magazine really degenerated and adopted a "jam anything & everything green down your throat editorial policy" ... They've basically morphed into Popular One-Sided Left Wing Science and the science is particulary weak these days. Of course, they were never as egg-heady as Scientific American (itself a disaster today for the same reasons... quite a shame) but they did focus on emerging technology and generally presented a neutral political stance and objective editorial policy. Well, those days are long gone.

But at least we can look back on these old classics that aimed to teach people and present alternate views on future technology. Good stuff, but sad how far things have fallen with them.
Abusive comment hidden. (Show it anyway.)
Science Probe, of which I was lucky enough to start with premier issue, was great in my opinon but it lasted a very short time. Reason stated : "Too many other publications to keep that one going." Rats....
Abusive comment hidden. (Show it anyway.)
I am hunting for the issue of your magazine that did an article on 'HOW-TO' build SOLAR PANELS. Do you know which issue that was? I would appreciate it if you would e-mail me that information.
sincerely, Norma E. Mizer
Abusive comment hidden. (Show it anyway.)
For some reason I can't register to your website. I get a message that that my E-mail address is invalid. Please advise.

I'm trying to find the issue that had the plans for a gas engine powered model airplane called "Miss Sicence" or "Miss Scientific" Around 1941,1942 or 1943.

Thanks

Charlie Calvert
Abusive comment hidden. (Show it anyway.)
Login to comment.
Email This Post to a Friend
"The Cryptographic Capability of the Barbie Typewriter"

Separate multiple emails with a comma. Limit 5.

 

Success! Your email has been sent!

close window
X

This website uses cookies.

This website uses cookies to improve user experience. By using this website you consent to all cookies in accordance with our Privacy Policy.

I agree
 
Learn More