Most of you think very little of that thing in your dash which can be tuned to one of many broadcast stations. You simply turn it on and then get inundated with commercials. Occasionally the DJ shuts up and commercials stop long enough to play one whole song. That thing you take for granted now has saved millions of lives during its existence and will continue on to save many more. I suspect few reading this know that this little invention was credited with saving hundreds of lives when the Titanic went down.
There is some debate about just which date we should celebrate.
- June 2, 1896 – date of application for British patent “Improvements in Transmitting Electrical impulses and Signals, and in Apparatus therefor“
- July 2, 1897 – date previous application was accepted as British patent No. 12,039
- June 4, 1901 – date U.S. Re-issue patent U.S. Patent RE11,913
A true geek celebrates all 3 days.
You thumb tapping Millenials need to pull your heads out of your phones and take a look at actual life. Twitter ain’t going to save you and damned sure can kill you. Just keep playing the Russian Roulette of your generation, texting while driving. You will die and I will only feel sorry for those you took with you because obviously you needed to be cleansed from the gene pool. The others just happened to be there.
As many a skier and hiker have learned, your phone is useless on a mountainside when you actually need it. Cellular companies are all about making money not providing actual service, especially service in the remote area where you are about to die. Politicians did not see fit to make broadband and cellular services the same “infrastructure utility” the electrical grid and air travel are. What? You didn’t know that? When governments started building inland airports licensed airlines had to service each location with N-flights per day. It wasn’t all that long ago when you could choose the right flight at off-peak time and find only 5 passengers on your 747.
The day is not that far off when it will be federally mandated cellular service reach every square inch of rural America, especially in those mountainous regions where hikers and skiers tend to die. Until that day happens you will have to stick with a technology which does not require an infrastructure build out. The higher you transmit from the farther it goes. Some opt for guide tracker radios with built in emergency channels. Yes, hand held GPS can be nice, but, it is only good if it can acquire a satellite signal. Some people stick a hand held CB in their pack. Those who actually respect just how bad nature can screw them opt to either rent or purchase a satellite phone when they know they are at risk.
You never really know when you are at risk though. The cell phone I used to have on a big red carrier used to have a notification when it suddenly lost service. Hold up your hand, how many of you think as long as you stick to an Interstate highway you are covered? Well, you’re wrong. I forget the exact route I took, but on numerous occasions during my Thanksgiving weekend drive out to Portland, Oregon I heard my “you’re screwed” indicator go off. For those who live in hot and sultry climates, in America, Thanksgiving is always celebrated on the fourth Thursday in November. November in the mountains is winter and they aren’t much for salt out that way.
Think about it, did the people on the Titanic know they were screwed before they came aboard? Lots of stories and urban legends surround this accident. People who had tickets and then “decided not to go” at the last minute. Those stories even include Mr. Marconi himself, the father of radio. He came very close to being one of those people praying desperately someone would hear the signal and come for them.
While we are on the subject of premonitions and portents of things to come . . .
The SS Californian saw the rockets and did nothing to help even though they were the closest ship with the capacity to take on many of those who could not fit into the too few lifeboats. The SS Californian was part of the British Leyland line which was owned by J.P. Morgan. On November 9, 1915 the ship was sunk by a German U-boat. In the year 2000 J.P. Morgan was consumed by Chase Manhattan and the combined company engaged in the financial fraud which has been prettied up in the press and given the name “mortgage crisis” instead of the more accurate name it deserves “largest global financial fraud ever perpetrated on the human species.” Obviously they haven’t gained any humanity in the wake of the Titanic.
If you have any doubts about just how important radio is, read this article in the Atlantic.
Keep this article in mind the next time you are streaming music while driving instead of listening to the radio. Yes, it is commercial free, but, it is also Civil Defense free. You know, that annoying long tone usually followed by “this has been a test of the emergency broadcasting system . . .” Yes, even I have uttered both of the oft repeated jokes:
- Had this been an actual emergency you would have been told to put your head between your knees and kiss your ass good bye.
- Had this been an actual emergency you would have been told to steal a fast ride and shag your ass out of town at top speed.
Admittedly the first is uttered more than the second. I’m sure you’ve heard other variations. How many of you know this annoying thing has been deployed more than 20K times to save actual human lives? While you are driving along oblivious to the world that twister is moving from funnel cloud to ground contact and you are in its path. Perhaps you are driving across Kansas via I-70 on what appears to be a bright sunshiny day oblivious to the fact a wall of water is about to sweep I-70 clean?
Happy birthday radio and thank you Mr. Marconi. You are both still saving lives each and every day.