On April 15, 1912, telegrapher John G. Phillips sent out the following Morse code message: “CQD CQD SOS SOS CQD DE MGY MGY.” CQD stands for “Come Quick Disaster” and SOS stands for “Save Our Ship or Save Our Souls.” And DE MGY stands for “from the RMS Titanic.”

We are all familiar with the fate of the RMS Titanic, but many of us fail to recognize that this Morse code message (and the other messages sent as soon as the ship struck an iceberg) is what led to the rescue of more than 700 passengers.

According to The Atlantic, “When Titanic struck an iceberg in the early morning of April 15, 1912 (this despite many wirelessly transmitted warnings of icebergs from fellowships), it happened to be within contact range of twelve other vessels. The short transmissions sent among those ships' wireless operators, staccato bursts of information and emotion, tell the story of the Titanic's fate that night: the confusion, the chaos, the panic, the fear. The abbreviated transcript […] serves as a reminder not only of the many lives that were lost in the tragedy that would unfold but also of the many that were spared.”

At the time, Morse code was used in wireless telegraphy for ship-to-ship communications. Over time, more and more people recognized the usefulness of Morse code. It was a required language for the U.S. Navy and the U.S. Coast Guard until just a few years ago, and it was an ordinary survival skill taught to Boy Scouts.

Morse code is considered obsolete in today's world of satellites and smartphones. There is nothing more inaccurate than that. Morse code is still useful today - in disaster situations or survival situations, and for getting your message out as Big Tech and the government continue to censor the Internet. 

The History of Morse Code 

Samuel F.B. Morse invented the Morse code in the 1830s. During the 1837 era, he worked on an electric telegraph that was patented. However, he had to wait another 6 years to devise an alphabetized code to use on the telegraph (Morse code).

The first Morse code message was not sent and received until May 24, 1844. In this day's history, Morse sent dots and dashes from Washington, D.C., to Baltimore. The decoded message read, “What hath God wrought! “ (The Bible, Numbers 23:23). Communication had forever changed with the invention of the telegraph and Morse code.

In the beginning, Morse code was communicated by using telegraph machines with spring-loaded keys representing dots and dashes. The letters of the alphabet are represented by dots and dashes. Moreover, the numbers 0-9 have their sequences.

The American Morse Code and the Continental Morse Code were both used at the beginning for communication. Since Morse code is designed to facilitate communication across language barriers, International Morse Code was developed in 1912.

In many cases, groups that once used Morse code for communication have discontinued using it and now use more modern methods. The majority of the time, it is used by owners of ham radios and Morse code enthusiasts. 

The following are some powerful examples of how the Morse Code has saved lives

Even if Morse code isn't as popular as it used to be, that doesn't mean it should be forgotten. It only takes a glance at how Morse code has been used to save lives to see how useful and important it can be.

• Passing Military Intelligence against Impossible Odds. The most famous use of Morse code was made by Navy pilot Jeremiah Denton during his time as a prisoner of war in Vietnam. Denton was forced to participate in a video interview after being imprisoned in North Vietnam. Using Morse code, he bravely blinked the Morse code symbols for "torture" to make Americans understand what was happening to him. Here is a powerful video you can watch.

• Speedy Rescue at Sea. According to the Baltimore Sun, an early American rescue occurred when the Lloyd-Italiano liner Florida rammed the White Star liner Republic 26 miles southwest of Nantucket on Jan. 23, 1909. Jack Binns, the Republic's radio officer, blinked an urgent Morse message. A Marconi operator on Nantucket forwarded the message. Though the Republic sank, rescue boats responded and 1,650 survivors were protected from both ships.”

• Mexico Earthquake Rescue. When Mexico City was hit by an earthquake in 1985 and power was out, an amateur radio operator made calls for help using Morse code.

• Lifesaving Wilderness Vacation Rescue. Just a few years ago, army veteran Tim Robinson damaged his leg while vacationing in Dorset with his wife. She was not with him when he was injured, so he used a flashlight and Morse code to send SOS alerts to her. Here is part of his story as related to The Daily Mail:

Survival Situations When Morse Code Can Be Used

As shown, Morse code is especially helpful in disaster situations. According to How Stuff Works, “A universally recognized distress signal, SOS was first adopted as such by German telegraphers in the year 1905. Why'd they picked this letter combo? Because in International Morse Code, ‘S’ is three dots and ‘O’ is three dashes. See, ‘dot-dot-dot-dash-dash-dash-dot-dot-dot’ (...---...) is an easy sequence to remember — even when you're in grave peril.”

The thing to recognize about Morse code is that you can utilize it even without a telegraph. The series of dots and dashes can be communicated in several ways, such as how Tim Robinson used his flashlight and Jeremiah Denton used his blinking eyes. Boy Scouts used to teach their members how to use mirrors to reflect the sequences of dots and dashes using the sun. Many people have used SOS to get help when trapped in rubble or bars.

Today, you can even use the light of your smartphone screen to signify you require help. You can repeat the sequence until you get someone's attention as long as you know the basic sequences. 

A recent Morse Code example has beaten censorship

It is useful in survival situations to know Morse code. It is also helpful in combating censorship. There's no doubt that Big Tech has censorship issues. There are many instances of social media sites blocking articles or quelling information they disagree with. It was reported earlier this year that Google, Apple, and Amazon took down Parler, a conservative social media platform. As things progress, they will only get worse.   

It is not just the United States that is experiencing online censorship. People in China are using Morse code (or other types of code) to communicate to avoid detection by the People's Communist Party.  

The following are examples of how citizens have made their voices heard: 

• Political activism. The BBC reports that a popular mobile game was taken offline in mainland China for 'rectification' after users discovered the song's musical director had used Morse code to convey a pro-democracy message hidden in Hong Kong. [...] It included in Morse code the word ‘Liberate Hong Kong, the revolution of our times.’”
• Providing information about Coronaviruses. An article about a new virus in Wuhan was deleted from the internet in China in March 2020. Coda Story reports, “Almost immediately after the Ren Wu piece was blocked, people began to repost versions of it on the social media platforms Weibo and WeChat, using Morse code, QR codes, and ancient Chinese symbols. The article was translated into Korean, Japanese, English, and German, while others peppered it with emojis, making it harder to track down by censorship programs."
• Protecting Chinese Christians. Christian persecution in China led them to use social media to communicate undetected. According to The Times of Israel, “In the face of China’s growing government crackdown on Christians over the past years, the Chinese Christian movement Back to Jerusalem has created a new social media platform to counter Big Tech censorship in both U.S. and China. com is based on the idea of the Morse Code, a system of dots and dashes [...] although Dingdash is created by a Christian organization to bypass censorship and For privacy reasons, it is not a Christian platform and is open to all, similar to other platforms like WeChat, Weibo, Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.

In a telephone interview with Coda story, King-Wa Fu, a professor at the Journalism and Media Research Centre of the College of Hong Kong, explains, “these are very innovative approaches being used to circumvent the censorship gadget [...] even though on the end of the day you'll be censored, those posts increase the survival time of the article.”

How to Use Morse Code to talk Undetected

According to the citizens of China, Morse Code is not only useful for survival, but also a strategic weapon against censorship. Morse code can be used in a variety of ways once you learn how to use it. 

• Instead of using the standard alphabet to compose text messages or emails, use Morse code.
• Social media should be treated the same way.
• Morse code is used in China, along with other codes (emoji, Klingon, etc.) to rewrite articles that have been censored. It's possible for you as well.
• Morse code can be used to communicate with viewers when you are recording videos (even on YouTube), just as POW Jeremiah Denton did. By blinking his message, he communicated with the cameras in Morse code. 

The Morse code has been incorporated into music by several musicians, sometimes as a silly effect and sometimes as a way to express unpopular views. 

Rush famously created the odd rhythm of the song "YYZ" by using Morse Code characters. (“YYZ” refers to the Morse Code signal for the Lester B. Pearson International Airport in Toronto, and the idea for using the code came from Rush's guitarist Alex Lifeson, who is a licensed pilot.)” 

The same article claims that Oldfield used the same epithet to send an insult to Richard Branson, owner of Oldfield's record label, Virgin Records, on his track, "Amarok." 

Even though Morse code has been the focus, it is important to keep in mind that the key to communication is undetected. Using Morse code may not be effective, so try using another code instead. When POWs were in a German camp during WWII, they used a tap code to communicate with fellow prisoners. 

The best way to learn Morse Code

You can learn Morse code more easily than you think. In Morse code, you do not use syntax, vocabulary words, etc., but you use an alphabet. Here are some tips on learning it.

1. Become familiar with the International Morse Code. Let's begin by reviewing the alphabet's different sequences. You can study a chart online by downloading it.
2. Listen to Recordings of Morse Code. Several Morse code enthusiasts believe listening to the language is easier than reading it. Spend some time listening to the archives of the American Radio Relay League or tuning in to ham radio frequencies.
3. Practice Writing in Morse Code. One way to memorize short Morse code messages, such as SOS, is to practice writing the sequences out.
4. Use Morse Code Apps. You can practice Morse code and translate text into Morse code using mobile apps for mobile devices.
5. Take a Morse Code Course. Take a Morse code course from the American Radio Relay League if you want to learn more than what's taught in the basic course.
6. Master SOS. If you don’t have time to commit to fully understanding Morse code, at least master SOS and introduce it to your loved ones.

Morse Code isn’t a thing of the past, friends. Learn it today for survival tomorrow.