Cluckminster is my real name but in the spy community I am sometimes known as Agent Phantom Poultry. Why do spies need special code names anyway? Spies sometimes need a way to identify themselves to the people they deal with without revealing their real identities which could lead to them being captured or jailed.
Virginia Hall, an American spy during World War 2, assisted the French resistance under code names that included Germaine, Marie of Lyon, and Artemis. She even had an artificial leg with its own code name Cuthbert. She once reported to her superiors that she hoped Cuthbert would not give her trouble during her escape from France. Their response? “If Cuthbert troublesome, eliminate him.”
Celebrities have been known to use code names to allow them to travel discretely. Tom Hanks has reportedly traveled as “Johnny Madrid”, Natalie Portman as “Lauren Brown”, and Jessica Alba as “Cash Money.”
Bodyguards often use code names when guarding political figures to disguise who they are referring to. In his youth, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau was known as Maple Three. Recent US President code names include:
- Renegade - Barack Obama
- Tumbler (later Trailblazer) – George W Bush
- Eagle – Bill Clinton
So when you’re up to covert activities remember: A spy by any other name is that much harder to catch.
— Cluckminster, a.k.a. Agent Phantom Poultry.
This week’s challenge:
Generate your spy name using the following chart:
Day Of The Month You Were Born | First Letter Your First Name | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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So if your real name was Fiona and you were born on July 19, your spy name would be: Mysterious Bunny.
Share your spy name with the hashtag #swTopSecret.