From 1890: The First Text Messages | Hacker News Reader

From 1890: The First Text Messages

sundaymagazine.org

74 pointsdmor16 comments

Along similar lines (geddit?) but a little later was "cablese": http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,786319,00.h...

Which, if you don't want to click through, looked like this: Wales Parisward smorning omnistation cheered stop he said friendship proFrance unceasing.

.-- .... .- - .- -. .. -. - . .-. . ... - .. -. --. ... - --- .-. -.-- .-.-.- .. - .- .-.. ... --- -- .- -.. . -- . - .... .. -. -.- --- ..-. .... --- .-- .... .- -- .-. .- -.. .. --- --- .--. . .-. .- - --- .-. ... .. -. - . .-. .- -.-. - .-.-.- .. -. .-- --- .-. .-.. -.. --- ..-. .-- .- .-. -.-. .-. .- ..-. - .- -... -... .-. . ...- .. .- - .. --- -. ... .- .-. . .- .-.. ... --- -.-. --- -- -- --- -. .-.. -.-- ..- ... . -.. --..-- .-.. .. -.- . .-..-. .. -. -.-. .--. .- - .-..-. .. ..-. .- .--. .-.. .- -.-- . .-. ... . . ... .- -. .. -. -.-. --- -- .. -. --. .--. .- - .-. --- .-.. --- ..-. -- --- -. ... - . .-. ... .- -. -.. -. --- - .. -.-. . ... - .... .- - .... . .. ... - .... . --- -. .-.. -.-- --- -. . .-- .... --- .----. ...- . ... . . -. - .... . -- .-.-.-

-..- --- -..- ---

.... ..- .... ..--.. .-- .... .- - -.. --- . ... .----. -..- --- -..- --- .----. -- . .- -. ..--..

Some great background reading here:

http://distantwriting.co.uk/howthecompaniesworked.aspx

The idea that management would disapprove of the informal exchanges between operators is strangely familiar today.

A nice reminder that many things have already been done. Often the best question isn't: "why hasn't this been done yet?", but rather "Why did it fail the previous times?".

Yes, that means, even current popular web services such as twitter can still be out-invented.

I've always had a bizarre nostalgia for telegraph operators. When I was a Boy Scout as a kid, we had to learn both morse code and semaphores. I wonder if they still learn them today (I suspect not).

Edit: Yay, it looks like that merit badge still exists: http://meritbadge.org/wiki/index.php/Signaling

I had no idea a "semaphore" meant something other than how it's used in programming.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Semaphore_line

Amusingly, that's even a different definition for what I was referring to: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flag_semaphore (although principally the same thing).

I only learned about semaphores from Monty Python.

Coincidentally, that's the same place I learned about Wuthering Heights.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6oHw6niE9e8

I think that was Palish's point?

As a Venturer Scout, about a decade ago, I got my advanced amateur radio license and, for a while, started working on Morse code. Never did get the 5wpm Morse qualification, and I forget the code now.

It sms tht omttng crtn vwls mks ths tlgrph-spk. (Does one hve to typ lss thn 140 chrctrs?)

full stop

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