Leonardo da Vinci's "Mirror Writing"

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Science Story

Topics: Physics, Writing

Key Personalities: Leonardo da Vinci

Country: Italy

Time: 15th Century

What makes the story captivating?:
This interesting science story is about Leonardo Da Vinci & his unique style of mirror writing.

Story:

Leonardo da Vinci was born on April 15, 1452, in the small town of Vinci, Italy. He was a versatile genius, a polymath.

The world knows him mostly for his renowned paintings like Monalisa and Last Supper. But that's only a small part of the huge number of things he accomplished in his life. He made many discoveries during his lifetime, including the principles of aerodynamics and the nature of water flow. He also designed machines such as helicopters and tanks, which were centuries ahead of his time. Thus he was not only a painter, sculptor, architect, musician & scientist, but a prolific inventor as well, inspiring the creation of the modern airplane through his drawings contained in his famous notebooks that had notes on other subjects like anatomy, astronomy, botany, & cartography.

One lesser-known skill of Leonardo's was his ability to write in reverse - a trait that is often referred to as "mirror writing". This is a type of writing where the letters are reversed, so that they are legible when reflected in a mirror.
Like in the year 1508, Leonardo da Vinci completed a notebook now known as the "Codex Leicester". This 72-page document is a compilation of the artist's thoughts on a wide range of topics, from painting to science. One of the most curious features of the "Codex Leicester" is that Leonardo wrote in reverse, starting at the back of each page and moving forward.

There are several theories about why Leonardo wrote this way. Some say that he did it so that people couldn't read his notes and steal his ideas, while others believe that he wrote in mirror script because he found it easier to think and come up with ideas this way. Whatever the reason may be, mirror writing was an interesting quirk of Leonardo's character that provides us with a unique glimpse into his thinking process.

Topics
Writing