5 household essentials that could make super cool spy gadgets

Inspired by Johnny English’s covert escapades and his arsenal of spy gadgets from the spy spoof movie? With a little bit of imagination and creativity, you too can have your own slew of do-it-yourself, yet cool and functional spy tools. They might not help you save the world, but at least you could look the part without spending a dime. All you need are some daily household items.

1. PERFUME / COLOGNE

Photo: 2018 Universal Studios

Always thought that perfume and cologne are nothing more than just fragrances to mask or enhance your own odour, and to complement your style or personality? Think again. The essential oils and alcohol compositions in these aerosols could actually double up as self-defence tools to fend off villains in times of desperation. ; When aimed directly at the eyes, the mist particles purportedly make the eyes sting a whole lot, and could affect your vision instantly. Still not convinced? Invest in the most heavy-duty perfume – if the sting is not strong enough to fend off your villain, at least the overpowering odour would work.

2. BOOKS

Stash your top-secret documents, million-dollar jewels or the keys to your safe in a hollow book. A highly popular strategy used to smuggle items such as weapons and tools to help prisoners escape, the use of this spy tool was re-enacted in the popular TV series Prison Break, where the show’s protagonist, Michael Scofield hides a screw in a bible and later used it to break out of prison. We would suggest you go for a thick tome, preferably one with a hard cover and wedge it in the middle of a crowded bookcase. Your enemy will probably just think that you are a massive bookworm.

3. SUNGLASSES

From spying on cheating spouses and prospective criminals, to gathering information, spy-camera spectacles or sunglasses are common spy tools used by private investigators and detectives in their line of work. Similarly, your everyday sunglasses can disguise a discreet pinhole camera that connects to a recording device. But cameras are, well, so passe, when you think about the augmented reality capabilities some of the largest technology companies are working on. Google’s image recognition mobile app Google Lens, for example, gives a sneak preview of what advanced spy eyewear could be. Bake that into your favourite pair of sunglasses and immediately navigate strange environments and understand every language. ; Did anyone say super spy?

4. COINS

Think USB drives look too obvious? Consider storing your top-secret files in a micro SD card lodged within a coin instead. In fact, during the Cold War, spies used hollow coins to carry messages, poisons and microfilms undetected. Just make sure you are able to tell the coin apart from the rest of your money, or you might inadvertently end up spending your secrets!

5. PAPER AND LEMON (FOR INVISIBLE INK)

A widely popular spy gadget made with specialised gel formula and used during the Cold War period by the Russian KGB intelligence. Now you can make your own invisible ink to hide and send confidential information quickly and easily. To make your own invisible ink, cut a lemon in half and squeeze the juice into a small cup. Dip a fine-pointed paint brush to the juice and write your secret message on a piece of paper, then scribble something else on the paper with a real pen as a distraction. To read the hidden message, hold it above a candle flame to heat up the paper a little. Voilà! Whatever you wrote will show up as brown writing on the paper.

Johnny English Strikes Again opens in cinemas on Sept 20. @media screen and (min-width: 769px){ .article-detail_body img { width: 600px; } } @media screen and (max-width: 767px){ .sponsor.sponsor_layout .col-md-5:nth-child(2) { margin-left: 70px; } .sponsor.sponsor_layout .col-md-5:nth-child(3) { margin-top: -20px; margin-left: 40px; max-width: 70%; } }