An vital a part of manhood has all the time been about having the competence to be efficient on the earth — having the breadth of expertise, the savoir-faire, to deal with any state of affairs you end up in. With that in thoughts, every Sunday we’ll be republishing one of many illustrated guides from our archives, so you may hone your manly know-how week by week
Doing all this, inspecting these minute burglar-alarms, didn’t make him really feel silly or self-conscious. He was a undercover agent, and nonetheless alive due to his precise consideration to the element of his career. Routine precautions had been to him no extra unreasonable than they might be to a deep-sea diver or a check pilot, or to any man incomes danger-money. Happy that his room had not been searched whereas he was on the on line casino, Bond undressed and took a chilly bathe. —On line casino Royale, by Ian Fleming
When James Bond was out on project around the globe, he typically stayed in good, swanky inns. But whereas 007 all the time bought some pleasure out of those stays, he couldn’t afford to loosen up and drop his guard; when on the job, Bond was in fixed hazard of being counter-spied on and ambushed. Thus, when he stepped out of his room, the vigilant undercover agent all the time left “minute burglar alarms” that will detect the intrusion of his antagonists and alert him to the truth that somebody had gone by means of his belongings whereas he was away. A hair (plucked from his head; you may use skinny thread or lint) right here, a faint dusting of talcum powder there, left telltale proof of a disturbance.
Whether or not you’re at house or in a resort, within the enterprise of incomes “danger-money” or simply an adolescent who desires to know in case your mother and father have been snooping in your room, the ways above — all drawn from Bond’s varied adventures — will assist you already know if somebody’s been poking by means of your issues.
Illustration by Ted Slampyak