21 April 2019 - A CIA-Issued Rectal Tool Kit for Spies

A CIA-Issued 

Rectal Tool Kit for Spies

G'day folks,

I bet you already knew about these devices, but here goes.

 This imaginative gadget was designed to get operatives out of difficult situations. 

 

  
Among the espionage artifacts on display at the International Spy Museum in Washington, D.C., is the rectal tool kit: a tightly sealed, pill-shaped container full of tools that could aid an escape from various sticky situations. This gadget was issued to CIA operatives during the height of the Cold War, according to museum curator and historian Vince Houghton. The tools inside the kit include drill bits, saws and knives.

“What I see when I look at the rectal tool kit is a great example of problem solving in the intelligence world,” Houghton says. It had to be made with materials that could not splinter or create sharp edges that could injure users. Additionally, it had to seal tightly to not let anything seep in or poke out. According to Houghton, the kits supplied spies with all the tools to break out of a jail cell, and “sometimes this was a matter of life and death.”

Clancy's comment: Not surprised in the slightest. Back in the days when I had dealings with prisoners in all of our major gaols, I saw some amazing items stashed in all orifices to avoid detection. Trust me. You would not believe me.

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