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Article: Tap-tap-tap of Morse code is slowly going silent at sea: Satellites make telegraphic system nearly obsolete.(Culture, Et Cetera)
- Article from:
- The Washington Times (Washington, DC)
- Article date:
- October 7, 1998
- Author:
CopyrightCOPYRIGHT 1998 News World Communications, Inc. This material is published under license from the publisher through the Gale Group, Farmington Hills, Michigan. All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Gale Group. (Hide copyright information)
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Twenty minutes after the Titanic hit the fatal iceberg, wireless operator Jack Phillips desperately tapped out the universal distress call: "*** - - -
***."
It was just after midnight on April 15, 1912.
The Californian, a ship that at one point was close enough to see the Titanic on the horizon, did not respond. Its wireless operator is believed to have been asleep.
The next closest vessel was the Carpathia, four hours away. By the time the first lifeboat was rescued, 1,513 passengers and crew had either drowned or frozen to death in the icy Atlantic.
Since the Titanic tragedy, vessels carrying more than 50 passengers ...