The Death of the Telegram

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@@!!!!1111

it means "love and kisses," teeny

― Tracer Hand (tracerhand), Wednesday, 1 February 2006 16:55 (eighteen years ago) link

apptly telegraph work, esp in rural areas, was a big pink-collar job. the numbers of women operating them led to at least a few confirmed stories of "romance over the wires" which led to massive rumorage about the occupation and of course moralizing health-crisis bs. the "victorian internet" indeed

― geoff (gcannon), Thursday, 2 February 2006 01:34 (eighteen years ago) link

the fast little stabs at the end of almost every news theme tune (which often continue indefinitely, or for at least 30 seconds or so, so that the engineer can fade it down whenever he pleases) almost certainly derive from the sound of morse code . "dant! danna-dunt! dant! dant! dant! dunna dant!"

I always associate those with Zombie scores for Argento/Romero films &c. The evening news theme makes me think of fake blood.

― Abbott (Abbott), Thursday, 2 February 2006 01:47 (eighteen years ago) link

four months pass...

NYT piece on famous telegrams. Includes FLEE AT ONCE — ALL IS DISCOVERED.

― Alba (Alba), Tuesday, 27 June 2006 22:32 (seventeen years ago) link

These are great! I love this one:

Mark Twain, like most writers, found it easier to write long than short. He received this telegram from a publisher:

NEED 2-PAGE SHORT STORY TWO DAYS.

Twain replied:

NO CAN DO 2 PAGES TWO DAYS. CAN DO 30 PAGES 2 DAYS. NEED 30 DAYS TO DO 2 PAGES.

― Trayce (trayce), Wednesday, 28 June 2006 04:25 (seventeen years ago) link

I've posted this elsewhere, but what the hell. Irate telegram my (gay) Uncle Winsor received after writing something unflattering about a performance of Ms. Bennett's. He framed it. I seem to have inherited it.

― Beth Parker (Beth Parker), Wednesday, 28 June 2006 23:58 (seventeen years ago) link

Thats fabulous! Its like the rude random email of the thirties =) I love it.

― Trayce (trayce), Thursday, 29 June 2006 00:09 (seventeen years ago) link

The people lamenting the passing of the telegram at the start of the thread are funny. What, do they have nostalgia for the 1890s?

― chap who would dare to be a nerd, not a geek (chap), Thursday, 29 June 2006 00:17 (seventeen years ago) link

amirite?

― j blount (papa la bas), Thursday, 29 June 2006 00:22 (seventeen years ago) link

joan bennett was a goddess.

― aimee semple mcmansion (Jody Beth Rosen), Thursday, 29 June 2006 01:56 (seventeen years ago) link

you bet it's great to be a movie star!

― tokyo nursery school: afternoon session (rosemary), Thursday, 29 June 2006 22:27 (seventeen years ago) link

That's my motto.

― Beth Parker (Beth Parker), Friday, 30 June 2006 00:39 (seventeen years ago) link

what's with all the random small caps?

― you bet it's great to be a movie star. (Jody Beth Rosen), Friday, 30 June 2006 00:43 (seventeen years ago) link

YR BOI WZ MSSNG BLVD DED WTF LOL!!1! LUV DA ARMY WTF
-- Onimo (gerry.wat...), January 31st, 2006.

oh my god this is great

― lf (lfam), Friday, 30 June 2006 01:01 (seventeen years ago) link

Looks like a Mark E Smith outtake...

― Jack Battery-Pack (Jack Battery-Pack), Friday, 30 June 2006 06:04 (seventeen years ago) link

A lot of postcard printers have shut down here as well.

― Nathalie (stevie nixed), Friday, 30 June 2006 06:11 (seventeen years ago) link

I sent a telegram once to a mate who had borrowed a PC from me to finish his album, but never returned it, I didn't know his address so I sent it to the pub that he drank at.

I was very drunk at the time.

― Jarlr'mai (jarlrmai), Friday, 30 June 2006 07:58 (seventeen years ago) link

Some years ago the South African mother of a friend of mine received a telegram from the Queen on her 100th birthday. She became agitated, thinking the telegram was a fake, because the Queen was not VICTORIA.

― Beth Parker (Beth Parker), Friday, 30 June 2006 12:59 (seventeen years ago) link

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