11 January is National Learn Your Name In Morse Code Day.
Morse code was invented by three people – Samuel FB Morse, physicist Joseph Henry and Alfred Vail. They wanted to create a mode of communication that could transmit information via electric telegraph, but the only way this could be done was through electric impulses. After a lot of thought and consideration, they came up with Morse code, which was intended to be a lot more efficient than it actually was at the time. In 1841 a system was developed that would have allowed for Morse code to be translated directly into letters at the receiving end, but, oddly enough, it never caught on.
National Learn Your Name in Morse Code Day was created by someone only known as Brownielocks in an attempt to revitalise the love and recognition of this fading communication method, which he felt was very important to pass on so that it doesn’t disappear.
To celebrate today, learn how to send your name in Morse code. It can serve as an excellent way to reintroduce yourself to the language and help add it to the number of ways you can share information with family and friends. You can even share information over a great distance by using nothing more than a mirror, flashlight or any device that can make sounds of varying duration, mimicking the long and short pulses of the Morse code alphabet.
The value of having one more piece of communication in your tool kit should never be underestimated. This day can be used to broaden your linguistic horizons, as we would never have been here without it.
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