Coded messages, that began in 1928 in Icelandic waters, were outlawed in 1936. About twenty years after the adoption of wireless.
From the book Cod by Mark Kurlanski:
The British [used] the new wireless on thier trawlers to alert each other to Coast Guard activities. Most famous were the so-called Grandmother messages of 1928. Three messages - "Grandmother is well," then "Grandmother is still well," and finally "Grandmother is beginning to feel bad" - were used to indicate when a Coast Guard vessel was leaving its harbor. Finally, in 1936, coded wireless messages were outlawed in Icelandic waters. But the Grandmother messages continued, with code systems often organized by British seafood companies.
I'm sure there are examples of coded wireless messages from WWI. But it is interesting to see companies using new technology to dodge responsibility from foreign governments.
As an aside, 'radio' was the first wireless (I think). Today wireless refers to cell phones and wireless networking. I'd be interested in knowing what wireless will refer to in a fifty or hundred years. Sex and travel, respectively??
Leave a comment