How did people talk before cell phones? | History Remade with Sabrina

How did a simple series of dots and dashes transform worldwide communication? To find out, Sabrina recreates the telegraph, Samuel Morse's groundbreaking 1832 invention (and your cell phone's cool great-grandparent). Learn more in this episode of History Remade with Sabrina. Watch new episodes of The Engineering That Built the World on Sundays at 9/8c, and stay up to date on all of your favorite The HISTORY Channel shows at http://history.com/schedule. Chapters: 0:00 Introduction & History of the Telegraph 2:31 Building the Telegraph Key (The Switch) 7:00 Building the Telegraph Sounder (The Receiver) 10:57 Explaining the Battery & Circuit 12:06 Connecting the Circuit & Telegraph Expansion 15:47 Sending a Message & The Impact of the Telegraph #HISTORY #HistoryRemadeWithSabrina CREDITS Executive Producer Sabrina Cruz Melissa Fernandes Taha Khan Producer Molly Williams Researcher George Lawson Craft Engineer Jade Codinera Writer Sabrina Cruz Host Sabrina Cruz Director Melissa Fernandes B-Cam / DIT River Shepperd Production Assistant Gabrielle Augustin Varman Nava Story Editor Stephanie Castillo Editor Chase Madsen Animators Krisztina Varga Olivér Varga Executive Producers Sarah Walker Brian Huffman Executive Creative Director, A+E Networks Tim Nolan VP, Marketing Production, A+E Networks Kate Leonard VP, Brand Creative, History Matt Neary Music Courtesy of Audio Network Additional Footage and Photos Provided By Wikimedia Commons Pexels.com Freepik.com Metmuseum.org Library of Congress Produced by Answer in Progress for HISTORY® ©2021 A&E TELEVISION NETWORKS, LLC ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. SOURCES Dot-Dash to Dot.Com How Modern Telecommunications Evolved from the Telegraph, (2011) A. Wheen, Springer New York. “Essay on the development of Morse telegraphy by Werner von Siemens 'induction telegraphy and enhanced magnetic systems’” (2021) in Elektrotechnik und Informationstechnik, Vol.138 (4-5). ReMaking History, Volume 2: Industrial Revolutionaries (2016) W. Gurstelle, Maker Media. Samuel F. B. Morse and the Dawn of the Age of Electricity, (2015) G. Botjer, Lexington Books. “The Influence of the Telegraph in the United States Society in the 19th Century” (2010) by F. Saez de Adana in 2010 Second Region 8 IEEE Conference on the History of Communications available at DOI: 10.1109/HISTELCON.2010.5735291 http://www.samuelmorse.net/ https://www.loc.gov/collections/samue... http://w1tp.com/perbuild.htm https://www.loc.gov/item/today-in-his... Wiring the World: the Social and Cultural Creation of Global Telegraph Networks (2016) S. Muller, Colombia University Press. “The Transatlantic Telegraph Cable” (2000) by G. Cookson, in History Today, Vol.50 (3). ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Welcome to the joke under the fold! When I was a kid, I really wanted to learn Morse Code... My hopes were dashed. Don't miss a video! Subscribe NOW:    / @history   ABOUT THE HISTORY CHANNEL: The HISTORY® Channel, a division of A+E Global Media, is the premier destination for historical storytelling. From best-in-class documentary events, to a signature slate of industry leading nonfiction series and premium fact-based scripted programming, The HISTORY® Channel serves as the most trustworthy source of informational entertainment in media. FOLLOW HISTORY CHANNEL: Watch Full Episodes: https://www.history.com/videos Sign Up For History Emails: https://www.history.com/emails/sign-up Browse Topical Videos: https://www.history.com/topics Facebook:   / history   Instagram:   / history   TikTok:   / history   X:   / history   YouTube:    / @history   Copyright Notice: This video and my YouTube channel contain dialog, music, and images that are property of The HISTORY® Channel. You are authorized to share the video link and channel, and embed this video in your website or others as long as a link back to our YouTube Channel is provided. © 2025 The HISTORY® Channel How did people talk before cell phones? | History Remade with Sabrina    / @history