This article was taken from the February 2013 issue of Wired magazine. Be the first to read Wired's articles in print before they're posted online, and get your hands on loads of additional content by <span class="s1">subscribing online.
Wondering how to introduce your children to 8-bit ASCII binary without sending them into a ones-and-zeros-induced coma? Break out the beaded jewellery and get creative. Using just two colours and some simple translation, they can spell out their name or a secret message on a badge or necklace.
You'll need
Pencil and paper
Small beads in two colours
Medium safety pins (one for each letter)
Large safety pin or necklace cord
Translate your name into code Draw a grid with nine vertical columns. In the first, going down, fill in your name or message. Using the chart below, which details the eight-digit binary ASCII code equivalent for every letter in the alphabet, write each letter's code in the adjoining spaces in that row.
Make the letters Pick one colour bead for "zero" and another for "one".
Pour a few beads of each colour on to a paper plate to corral them.
Referring to your grid, open the first pin and use the point to pick up each bead in order. Close the pin. For a name pin, pry apart the coil at the end of the larger pin a bit and slide the point through the coil at the bottom of the beaded pin; repeat for each letter. For a necklace, string the beaded pin on to a piece of cord. Doing this as you finish each letter will help to keep them in order. For a variation, add clues to your code using alphabet beads.
Here are the ASCII characters (letters and binary code):
A: 01000001
B: 01000010
C: 01000011
D: 01000100
E: 01000101
F: 01000110
G: 01000111
H: 01001000
I: 01001001
J: 01001010
K: 01001011
L: 01001100
M: 01001101
N: 01001110
O: 01001111
P: 01010000
Q: 01010001
R: 01010010
S: 01010011
T: 01010100
U: 01010101
V: 01010110
W: 01010111
X: 01011000
Y: 01011001
Z: 01011010
This article was originally published by WIRED UK
