Magic Appearing Secret Message

This message seems invisible, but things aren't always what they
appear

At one time or another, we've all had secrets. Secret handshakes, secret knocks, or secret crushes have probably
been a part of everyone's lives. What if you could write a secret invisible message that could only be revealed
through magic? Well, we're not going to suggest something magical and not teach you how it's possible. This
experiment may seem like magic, but it's really just some "hot" science.

Materials

 Lemon juice
 Plate, small cup, or bowl
 Cotton swab
 Paper
 Toaster or open flame
 Adult supervision

1. You'll need to create an ink well for your magical ink.  Use a small plate, bowl, or cup as a container and
put some lemon juice in it. You don't need a lot of lemon juice, just enough to wet the end of a cotton
swab.
2. It's impossible to write an invisible message without a quill.  Dip one end of a cotton swab into your
lemon juice ink.
3. Using the end of the cotton swab you've dipped in lemon juice, write a secret message on a plain white
piece of paper.
4. You might notice that your secret message is visible while the lemon juice is still wet.  Not to worry, just
be sure that your top secret note remains in your sight until it's dry.  You can speed up the drying
process using a hair dryer, sunlight, or something similar.
5. Once your message has dried, it should be completely invisible.  But how in the world do you make it
magically appear?
6. The magic of your secret message happens with the application of heat.  For this step, you can use a
toaster or an open flame. Place the heat source under the area of paper where you wrote your secret
message.  If you are using a toaster, you can set the paper just above the burner vents.  DO NOT PUT
YOUR PAPER IN THE TOASTER!  Using an open flame like a lighter or a candle works the same
way.  Hold the flame underneath your note.  Be careful not to put the flame too close to the paper
because it may catch fire.
7. As you hold your secret message over the heat source, you'll begin to see your secret message appear
just how you wrote it... but brown!  

How does it work?

Citrus fruits like oranges, limes, kiwis, grapefruits, and... you guessed it... lemons all contain an acid known as
citric acid.  Citric acid is completely safe and nonhazardous.  In fact, it is an important part of metabolism in the
human body.  Although citric acid is a weak acid (much weaker than, say, hydrochloric or sulfuric acid), it is
strong enough to weaken paper.

When you write your secret message on the paper, you are weakening the paper in those specific areas.  With
the application of your chosen heat source, these weakened areas turn brown.  This is actually the weakened
areas of the paper burning while the unaltered areas of paper do not burn.

Additional Info

Now that you know the magic behind the Magic Appearing Secret Message, see if you can find other weak
acids that you can write with.  I'll give you a hint: try a popular caffeinated beverage, breakfast beverage, or
something you put in your cereal.  Can you guess which liquids will work?