Aquila Children's Magazine AQUILA Magazine Best Bits | Page 13

ITCHING POWDER Added to the life vests of U-Boat crews through the French company that made them. Utter genius. *itch, itch, scratch* WHICH WAY? Paper laced with a magnesium compound that bursts into flames and disappears completely? Check. Paper that can be eaten to destroy all evidence? Check. Indestructible paper that can be written on while damp? Check, and it’s a wrap. HIDEY HOLES FEELING A BIT PECKISH? We wouldn’t normally recommend this, but tuck into this tube of toothpaste. It’s not about minty fresh breath but instead about the high-calorie food that’s in there. Perfect for prisoners of war to carry with them during an escape attempt. We couldn’t even begin to list all of Fraser- Smith’s ideas, but here are a few of his best hiding stuff inventions: chess pieces and playing card packs with secret compartments, shaving brushes with the thread the wrong way round so you had to open it clockwise rather than anti-clockwise, torches with one fake batter y as a secret compartment, pens containing a compass and so on and so on. What a brilliant mind! PAPER CHASE Lost? Well you could always consult that used match of yours. You know, the one containing a magnetised needle to find north? Just let it float in a puddle and follow its lead.