- Tom, can you really read what this sign says? 
- Of course I can. It says ...‘Li..bra..ry’ It’s written in Braille. 
  I’ll spell it for you. It’s B-R-A-I-L-L-E. Braille. 
  Blind people all over the world use this code to read. 
  It was invented by a blind 12-year-old boy like me, Louis Braille. 

- What do you know about him?
- Lots of things. Louis was born on January 4, 1809 in a small town near Paris. 
  Unfortunately, he became blind by accident when he was only 3.
- How terrible! And then?
- When he was 10, he was sent to the Royal Institution for Blind Youth in Paris. 
  At this school teachers of course talked to the students about lots of interesting things but for Louis, 
  listening wasn’t enough. He wanted to read books.
- So, how did he come up with the idea of his code?
- In 1821, a soldier called Charles Barbier visited the school and showed Louis and 
  the other students his invention: a code of 12 raised dots. 
  Soldiers used it to share top-secret information during a battle without having to speak. 
  Louis got really excited. Based on Barbier’s idea, he made his own cell. 
  You can see it in picture A. 
- There are six dots.
- Yes, it’s a 6-dot code.  Each dot has a numbered position on the Braille cell. 
  Each letter has its dots. Look at the Braille alphabet in picture B. 
  The letter D is written with dots 1, 4 and 5. Look at another one.... 
  How is letter I written?
- Let me see... with dots 2 and 4.
- That’s right! 
- I can’t see but I can read a sign or a book just by touching these dots with my fingers. 
  Braille readers can read 100-200 words in a minute!
- Amazing!  
- The first Braille book was published in 1829. 
  Later, in 1837, symbols for maths and music were added. 
  Today, every country in the world uses Braille. 
  You can see Braille signs in most public places. 
  I’ve read lots of teenage bestsellers in Braille.
- I’m sure you have. 
- And you know what? The asteroid 9969 Braille was named after him. 
  I know everything about Braille. He’s our hero!
- I’m really proud of you, Tom. Thanks to you, I’ll write a great article for our newspaper.