Deny Everything

There are more spies in Washington, DC than in any other city on earth.

And, according to Peter Earnest, director of the International Spy Museum and former member of the CIA, one method of information transfer they use is to "switch carts at the Safeway in Georgetown". So grocery shopping just became a lot more fun.

This morning, before entering the International Spy Museum, Mr. Earnest spoke with us about spies and national security, answering, as best he could, our questions. He debriefed us on the Russian spies recently discovered within the U.S., and on various other topics - such as cyber-war and CIA recruitment techniques.

When I asked him about what they don't want in an agent (though "agent" is apparently not the pc term for a CIA member), Mr. Earnest, in a matter of words said that ego and material gains are what separate one type of spy/informant from another. [Really, even if he claimed to not be  "sidestepping my question", ... he totally was].

After he spoke with our class, we proceeded to enter the museum, where we first were asked to choose an "identity" from a host of possible fake personalities. I was Angelena Falcone - 21 - born in Milano, Italy and destined for Hanoi, Vietnam. I was told that I would be tested on my ability to memorize this identity. spoiler alert : I was not.

Even so, the museum was "hella-cool", as my new west coast friends would say. There were all sorts of spy gadgets that I would have never imagined.

Especially appealing was the wool trench coat with a camera hidden behind the middle-right button. I'm not sure if I thought it was so cool because of the sneaky spyware, or because literally all I could think about for a large portion of the hour visit was how COLD the place was. Seriously, I don't know if it's the whole spy-adrenaline rush or if museum curators are just terrifically toasty people - but that museum was fah-reezing.

Bring a sweater.

With that behind us, let me move on to the second coolest thing I saw today - the Dog Doo Transmitter; "Effectively camouflaged (I'd say), this homing beacon transmitted a radio signal that directed aircraft to locations for strikes or reconnaissance."

Yes, it was the second coolest thing in the whole spy museum, and, Yes, I am 20 years old.

All in all, I'd say the museum was worth the $12 discounted class rate. It covered a TON - every war, major scandal, big spy celeb (and non-spy, or seemingly non-spy, celeb), national disaster, old spy technique ... I could go on. It was awesomely decorated, and it had a pretty extensive gift shop (though with the $12 entrance fee in a city of free museums I don't see why that was such a necessity).

Also - a pigeon is never just a pigeon. Keep that in mind.

Peter Earnest