Hacker Newsnew | past | comments | ask | show | jobs | submitlogin

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.




Guidelines | FAQ | Lists | API | Security | Legal | Apply to YC | Contact

Search: