THEN & NOW: COMMUNICATION THROUGH THE AGES

Today, getting in contact with someone is hardly ever a problem. From calling, text message and email to Snapchat, Skype and Facebook, there are many ways to chat. People know that this generation communicates continuously, but it wasn’t always this easy. There’s been a lot of advancement in how we stay connected. It’s strange to think that there was once a time without even telephones — when the only way to talk to old friends used to be with pen and paper. Yet, it was once a reality. Here’s a look back at what it looked like.

Smoke signals

Used by Indigenous tribes in the 1500s Smoke signals are actually one of the oldest forms of long-distance communication. Native tribes used to have their own signalling systems and soldiers in Ancient China used to send smoke off the Great Wall during war. Even today, nothing quite says “help” like sending up some smoulder.

Pigeon post

Used by the Romans more than 2,000 years ago These squawking birds weren’t always just an accessory to cobblestone streets and street meat stands. Thousands of years ago, pigeons were used as a means of communication. Pigeons used to carry messages on tiny pieces of rolled up paper in a metal canister attached to their feet. People sent pigeons to a place, sometimes by train. Fun fact: pigeons actually have an internal compass so they can find their way home from thousands of kilometres away. Another fun fact: Nokia’s original text message — or rather, short message service — tone was actually “SMS” in Morse code.

Telephone

First telephone patented in 1876 The first long-distance phone call was made by Alexander Graham Bell to his assistant, Thomas Watson, on August 10, 1876, from Brantford to Paris, Ontario. Watson would also receive the first transcontinental phone call in 1915, where Bell said the same thing he said in 1876: “Mr. Watson, come here, I want to see you.” When Bell died in 1922, around 14 million telephones in the U.S. and Canada stopped ringing for one minute in his memory.