An Actual Spy Cat
Using animals for spy work isn’t new – back in the 1960s, the CIA surgically implanted a cat with a microphone and transmitters. The cat was either a $25 million failure (and died when it was hit by a car immediately upon being released) or had the items removed after it was found to be difficult to train.
Cigarette Pack-Sized Camera
Tech’s been miniaturized for a lot longer than we think – this highly concealable camera is a great example of that.
The Elephant Counter
Monitoring the Ho Chi Minh Trail required outside help (that often couldn’t speak English) – the Laotian trail watchers hired to track what was moving along the trail used these to count people, materiel, and (as the name suggests) even elephants.
Bone Conduction Pipe Radio
As the name suggests: this was just a radio concealed in what looks to be a simple wooden smoking pipe, but the way it transmitted was revolutionary: bone conduction. Bite the pipe and you could hear what was being said.
Hollow Silver Dollar
A tiny compartment is hidden within a single silver dollar. It can’t hold much, but information comes in all sizes.
The “Belly Buster”
Used during the 50s and 60s, this drill kit was designed to make drilling into masonry easier so that agents could conceal microphones. It got its name from how you had to hold it against your stomach as you turned it for leverage. Not fun.
Pigeon Cameras
Everyone knows that holidays exist so that the CIA can change the batteries on the birds. Except in this case, it’s much truer than you think – these pigeons had cameras strapped to them and took photos using a tiny camera operating on a timer.
Charlie The Robot Fish
Drones aren’t just for the air. Charlie was an underwater drone shaped like a fish deisgned to accurately navigate underwater and continuously collect water samples without being detected.
Dragonfly Robot
Deployed in the 70s, this dragonfly drone was designed to facilitate easier intelligence gathering (obviously.) However, it was supposedly never actually deployed. Despite flying well in tests, it allegedly couldn’t deal with any kind of crosswind.
Covert Letter Removal Device
Forget using tricks to open an envelope without making it look like you did that – just roll the letter up and pull it out with a single device, all without leaving a mark or needing to set up a steamer.
