Transposition cipher

Okay kiddo, let me teach you about transposition ciphers!

Imagine you want to write a secret message to your friend that no one else can read. One way to do that is by using a transposition cipher.

Here's how it works: first, you need a keyword. A keyword is a special word that you and your friend agreed on beforehand. Let's say your keyword is "CAT."

Now, write out your secret message but instead of writing it in order, write it out in columns based on the letters of your keyword. So, the first letter of your message goes under the "C" column, the second letter goes under the "A" column, and the third letter goes under the "T" column.

If you run out of letters in your keyword while writing your message out in columns, just go back to the beginning of the keyword and continue.

Now, take each column of letters and write them out in a new order based on the letters of your keyword. So, in our example, "C" comes first, so the first column stays the same. "A" comes second, so the second column gets moved to the front. And "T" comes last, so the third column gets moved to the middle.

Once you've rearranged all the columns based on the keyword, you now have your secret message!

To read it, your friend just needs to follow the same process in reverse. Start by writing out the columns based on the keyword, then rearranging them based on the letters of the keyword to reveal the original message.

And that's how a transposition cipher works! It's a fun way to keep your secrets safe and make your messages extra sneaky.