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Morse code uses short dots and longer dashes to spell out different numbers and letters of the alphabet. For example, “A” is a dot followed by a dash and “S” is three dots. Morse code was invented in 1838 at a time when many long-distance messages were sent with people on horseback! Morse code can be sent through an electrical current, which is much, much faster.

The Ancient Greeks did invent a fire signalling code around 200 BCE… but it only needed 9 torches to communicate all 24 letters of their alphabet! The system signalled one letter at a time using two sets of torches. The first letter, alpha, was communicated by 1 lit torch on the left and 1 lit torch on the right. The last letter, omega, was 4 lit torches on the left and 5 lit torches on the right. All the letters in between had unique combinations of lit torches on either side.

In 1843, Ada Lovelace published detailed and precise instructions for a computer to calculate a special sequence of numbers. Historians consider this to be the first code for a computer algorithm, making Lovelace the first computer programmer. The other women are also pioneers in computer programming who came after Lovelace (Google them!).

To decode a Caeser cipher, it’s very helpful to know the “shift” or how many letters separate the original message and the coded message. We know that this is a Caeser cipher of 1. So, to get back to the original message then, we need to go back 1 letter: D becomes C, p becomes o, and so on. From this we can identify “Codes rule!” as the correct translation.

Binary uses only zeroes and ones to transmit information. For example, the letter “A” is 01000001. Barcodes convey binary information in a series of black and white lines. Similarly, QR codes convey binary in a grid of black and white squares. Your TV remote has a little red light that sends invisible infrared pulses in binary to communicate with your TV.