Eavesdropping Name Eavesdropping Named
   My Ph.D. Thesis “Spies & Private Lives – The Evolution of Eavesdropping from 1656 – 1982” was published in 1982. That is a long time ago. It was hard work, hours of research, and the realization
of how little I knew about eavesdropping. My Mentor had a vicious sense of humor and often said that most of us were as dumb as doorknobs on the subject. Looking back on it now I have to agree.
   I found where the name “eavesdropping” came from early in my research. One of the old Spy Masters in England said he knew what people were saying against the Crown in every country inn in the Kingdom, especially those within 50 miles of London. The inns had thatched roofs at that time with a gap up under the eaves to let the smoke out. Spies could duck up under the eaves at night and hear what was being said on the other side of the wall. Bits and pieces, loose talk, plotting. Enough to take a dissident to the headman’s block.