Welcome to our series sharing Unique Holidays: January 11th, 2022. Did you know today is Learn Your Name in Morse Code? Which could be a fun lesson for Charlie to study this morning in Homeschool. Would you like to join us as we learn to spell our names in Morse Code this morning?
Learn Your Name in Morse Code Day– always January 11th.
Morse Code Day is always April 27
Here are two Holidays, that we celebrate for similar, yet slightly different reasons. These Holidays center around Samuel Morse, the Morse Code, and the Magnetic Telegraph Machine that was first used to transmit this revolutionary means of communication from one distant location to another. In 1836, Samuel Morse and his compatriots, Alford Vail and Joseph Henry developed Morse Code. On January 11th, 1838, Samuel Morse and Alford Vail demonstrated the use of the electric Telegraph to transmit a message in Morse Code for the first time.
SOS signals were often sent in Morse Code. While SOS had no specific translation, it was said to mean “save our souls” or “save our ship”.
Morse Code uses a unique series of dots and dashes, called “dii and dah”, for each letter of the alphabet, and the numbers 0 thru 9. Long before the invention of Radios and Cell Phones, operators used Telegraph Machines to send messages in Morse Code. On the receiving end, the Morse Code is translated back into Alphabetic characters and numbers to form the message. The message allowed for instant, coast to coast communication of information over telegraph lines. Once radios arrived, Morse Code continued to be a major means of communications. Morse Code was in use in the Military, Ham Radios and other means of communication for decades.
Morse Code is in danger of disappearing as a means of communications. As of 2007, knowledge of Morse Code is no longer a requirement for a Ham Radio License.
Morse Code Day celebrates the invention of Morse Code and the Electric Telegraph Machine. This event was established on this date to honor Samuel Morse, who was born on April 27th, 1791.
Learn Your Name in Morse Code Day was created to stir up interest in Morse Code. As a communication tool, Morse Code is being replaced by modern technology. This Holiday was created to encourage people to use Morse Code and learn more about Morse Code, by learning to communicate your name in Morse Code.
History and Origin of “Morse Code Day” and “Learn Your Name in Morse Code Day”:
Learn Your Name in Morse Code Day was created in 2015 by Sheila Cicchi from Virginia and she is the owner and creator of Brownielocks.com. According to Chcchi “I figured if people started with their name, and thought it was fun, it would encourage them to learn the alphabet and numbers.” She chose this date, as Morse Code and the Telegraph were first demonstrated on this day in 1838.
Step in a Puddle and Splash Your Friend’s Day– Always January 11th.
Despite extensive research, we did not find any information on this Holiday. Step in a Puddle and Splash Your Friends Day is a day just for mischievous fun. After all, any kid knows that splashing and jumping into Puddles is fun. When that results in splashing a friend, your joy is complete.
We sure would like to find the creators of this Holiday, to better understand why the Holiday is observed in January. In mid-January, many puddles are frozen!
We don’t encourage you to splash your friends. It’s a quick way to lose a friend and get two moms angry at you. We’re just reporting and describing the Holiday!
Thank you,
Glenda, Charlie and David Cates
