Secret codes are all around us, making it easier to communicate information quickly to the people who are looking for it. CB Radio codes, for example, aren’t exactly mysterious—if you’re old enough, you might even remember when they were quite a fad—and you probably know that hospitals have several color codes for specific emergency situations. And a lot of people use secret codes in their everyday lives, whether to keep their kids safe or to find movies on Netflix.
But there are some secret codes that aren’t so well known. They fly under the radar, and unless you know what you’re looking for, you’ve probably encountered them and never even noticed. Secret codes aren’t the sole province of spies and criminal gangs, after all—they’re used in all walks of life any time someone needs to communicate without attracting attention or raising an alarm. Here are some of the secret codes you might not be aware of.
Dating app disclosure
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On a dating profile, it’s expected that people will share information about themselves, like their interests, hobbies, and dating goals. Some people also use coded language to subtly communicate various things about themselves—in this case, details about their sexual health. According to the Washington Post, people who have herpes will sometimes use a simple, discrete secret code in their dating profiles to give a heads up to their potential partners: The number 437737, which spells out HERPES on a phone’s keypad.
Disney snark
Anywhere large groups of people gather to compete over limited resources, bad behavior will follow—and Disney’s theme parks are no exception. Disney has an image to protect, however, and has strict rules concerning how staff can speak to and interact with guests. As you might imagine, calling someone an “entitled dick” would violate those rules, so Disney has a secret code for referring to assholes in their park: Treasured Guest. This code has terrific “bless your heart” energy.
Disney also has codes for other mishaps—a kid peeing in a water ride is a “Code Winnie,” someone vomiting is called a “protein spill,” and when folks scatter a loved one’s ashes—a frequent and forbidden practice—it’s referred to with the ominous-sounding phrase, “white powder alert.”
Pirate scientists
You might not think that scientists would be particularly rebellious folks, but they can be when they perceive anything as being detrimental to the spread of knowledge—like when corporate-owned scientific journals lock papers behind paywalls. This has not only sparked the Open Access movement that seeks to make it easier to swap papers and articles, it’s also driven many scientists to become low-key pirates, and they use a secret code to do their dirty work.
Well, it’s a “secret” code in that you might not know what it means when you see it: When a researcher or scientist needs access to a paper, they’ll post a link to social media or a forum and add the phrase “I Can Haz PDF,” a reference to the old cheeseburger-cat meme. When a colleague who has access to that paper sees it, they’ll email a PDF over pronto.
Bar assistance
It is a sad fact of modern life that the very places you’re supposed to be able to unwind, relax, and have a good time—bars and taverns—are often the exact places women don’t feel safe. When an aggressive or creepy dude latches on to you in a bar, the result runs the gamut from a ruined evening to a dangerous situation.
Depending on where your local bar is, though, there might be a secret code you can use in those situations: The Angel Shot or Ask for Angela. They’re both secret codes that alert the bar staff that you need assistance without forcing you to point out the person bothering you (thus alerting them that you’ve accused them of something) or having to explain a sticky situation. Some bars post signs in the women’s bathroom promoting the code, and some places add extra phrases, like asking for an “Angel Shot on the rocks” when you need someone to call you an Uber.
Swinger rings
Wedding bands are like anything else: While most people choose traditional looks, some folks want to stand out and be more unique. If you see someone wearing a black wedding ring, it might simply be a stylistic choice. But it might also be a secret code that tells people in the know that they’re swingers—you know, people who like to swap sexual partners and engage in group sexual encounters.
Black rings aren’t just for married folks—unmarried swingers can wear black rings to signal their openness to a liaison, too.
Bread code
A very wholesome—and useful!—secret code is right in front of you every time you buy a bag of bread at the grocery store. The twist tie or plastic clip that holds the plastic closed is probably one of five colors, and that color is a code telling you the day of the week that loaf of bread was baked:
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Blue: Monday
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Green: Tuesday
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Red: Thursday
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White: Friday
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Yellow: Saturday
Bakers typically don’t work Sundays and Wednesdays, so apparently there’s no color code for those days. So if you go into the store on Friday and see loaves with yellow tags or ties, you know they’re a few days old, so you might want to look for something fresher.
IT snark
If computers and gadgets are a mystery to you, you’ve no doubt experienced the withering disdain of an IT professional—or a geeky friend or relative—when they have to do something extremely simple to resolve your computer difficulty. You simply haven’t lived until you demand IT assistance only to have a grumbling nerd power-cycle your laptop and walk away.
Well, you should know that IT pros have a whole set of secret codes to refer to you without triggering you:
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ID 10-T Error. This sounds technical, but they’re actually calling you an “ID10T.”
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PEBKAC/PICNIC. If your friendly IT pro is chatting about your trouble ticket and refers to PICNIC or PEBKAC, they’re letting their colleagues know the problem is you. PEBKAC = Problem Exists Between Keyboard and Chair, and PICNIC = Problem In Chair Not In Computer.
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CODE 18. Another technical-sounding phrase that is instead suggesting that the problem is sitting about 18 inches from the computer monitor (pssst, they’re talking about you).
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EEOC. This stands for Equipment Exceeds Operator Capabilities. It’s another way of calling you a big ole’ dummy.
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IBM Error. You might think this is a reference to some portion of your setup made by IBM. Nope, it stands for “idiot behind machine.”
Central Park navigation
If you’ve ever been to Central Park in New York City, you know that it’s huge and sprawling and doesn’t follow the same grid-like layout that Midtown does. It’s not unusual for native New Yorkers to get turned around and disoriented in there once they lose sight of the streets.
But there’s a secret code in plain sight that makes getting lost almost impossible. On every lamppost throughout the park is a simple, four- or five-digit numerical code. The first two or three digits tell you which cross street you’re closest to, and the last two numbers stand for West Side (odd) or East Side (even). A lamppost with 6104 on it means you’re closest to 61st Street on the East Side.
Hazmat codes
You’ve probably seen tanker trucks with hazmat signs on them, and you probably know that those signs mean something dangerous is in the tank. But there are all sorts of codes on those placards that tell you exactly what’s in that tanker. These codes are called UN Numbers, and they can be found either directly on the hazmat symbol or next to them.
There are even more codes that tell you whether you’re dealing with explosives, flammable gases, combustible liquids, radioactive materials, poisons, corrosives (like acids), oxidizers, flammable solids, or something else. And the colors used on the hazmat placard also tell you something about what’s in there—for example, a blue placard indicates that the substance is flammable when exposed to water.
Retail SOS
You might know that hospitals, airports, and other public places will often use codes in the public address system to alert police or employees to a situation without alarming the public. But retail stores and malls do this, too—and one of the most universal is to use the name Nora, which is actually the acronym NORA, which stands for “Need Officer Right Away.” If an employee is having trouble with a violent or disruptive person—or if they want to spread the word that someone is shoplifting without tipping their hand—they can discretely request that someone call the cops without escalating the situation.
Escort codes
It shouldn’t be surprising that escorts and sex workers can be found on various dating apps—a lot of these apps are pretty much marketed as hookup apps, after all. But of course no sex worker is going to simply say so in their profile and list a price sheet. Instead, some apparently use the code “roses” or “bring roses.” Roses are dollars (it’s a 1:1 exchange rate), so when someone instructs you to bring roses, they’re saying you should be prepared to pay them for the date. And if they list specific numbers of roses, they’re essentially giving you their rate card.