SOS Doesn’t Stand for What You Think | Smartest Year Ever (Mar 27, 2025)
About this episode
Most people think SOS means “Save Our Ship” or “Save Our Souls.” It doesn’t. In fact, it doesn’t stand for anything at all.The famous SOS distress signal was chosen in 1908 simply because it was the easiest Morse code pattern to recognize:“… — — — …” (dot dot dot, dash dash dash, dot dot dot)Over time, people made up meanings for SOS because they couldn’t believe the most famous distress call in history was just a pattern of beeps.🔍 Sources:
- Howeth, L.S. History of Communications-Electronics in the United States Navy. U.S. Government Printing Office, 1963.
- International Telecommunication Union (ITU). Radiotelegraph Conference Proceedings, 1908.
- Smithsonian National Museum of American History. The Evolution of Maritime Distress Signals.
- British Journal of Maritime History. The Standardization of SOS: How a Simple Signal Changed Global Communication.
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