An encyclopedia of once-common things passing us by.

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In the 1800s, there was no wireless Internet. Full stop. So how did people communicate with customer support in India? The Atlantic tells the story of the Atlantic Telegraph Submarine Cable, which the US Steam Frigate Niagra dropped to the bottom of the ocean in 1858. The US ship met up half way with a British ship, which was also towing a cable. The two met up and spliced that baby together! Magic! Sadly, Alexis Madrigal informs us that it stopped working after just three weeks. But the cable lived on in the living rooms of the wealthy, thanks to the fact that Tiffany’s sold off chunks as souvenirs. Before Underwater Internet Cables: The First Submarine Telegraph Line: The Atlantic

In the 1800s, there was no wireless Internet. Full stop.

So how did people communicate with customer support in India? The Atlantic tells the story of the Atlantic Telegraph Submarine Cable, which the US Steam Frigate Niagra dropped to the bottom of the ocean in 1858. The US ship met up half way with a British ship, which was also towing a cable. The two met up and spliced that baby together! Magic!

Sadly, Alexis Madrigal informs us that it stopped working after just three weeks. But the cable lived on in the living rooms of the wealthy, thanks to the fact that Tiffany’s sold off chunks as souvenirs.

Before Underwater Internet Cables: The First Submarine Telegraph Line: The Atlantic

Notes

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