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The All-Red Route 100 Years On

Posted by Hemos on from the stop-blast-from-the-past-stop dept.

An anonymous reader writes "On October 31, 1902, the first messages were sent along the All-Red Route -- a 5500km telegraph cable linking the whole of the British Empire. First envisioned in 1879, the long-decomissioned cable is still regarded as the longest single run of cable in the world."

11 of 158 comments (clear)

  1. Old news... by Distinguished+Hero · · Score: 5, Funny

    On October 31, 1902

    Why does it take slashdot so long to report these things?

    --
    Uttering logically derived and empirically supported truths to the disciples of the orthodox establishment.
    1. Re:Old news... by ebbomega · · Score: 5, Funny

      "Slashdot: News for Dead People. Stuff that Mattered"

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      Karma: Non-Heinous
  2. And the first flame war by TerryAtWork · · Score: 4, Funny

    burst out shortly afterward....

    --
    It's Christmas everyday with BitTorrent.
  3. Wow... by der_saeufer · · Score: 4, Funny

    100 years ago, you could call all over the British Empire. Today, you can't call next door because your phone company hosed your bill and you didn't pay them the $23,412 they think you owe.

    1. Re:Wow... by Loki_1929 · · Score: 4, Funny

      " 100 years ago, you could call all over the British Empire. Today, you can't call next door because your phone company hosed your bill and you didn't pay them the $23,412 they think you owe."

      I agree with you entirely, and invite you to check out my previous comment on the subject.

      Especially relevant for telecoms:

      19. Satisfaction is not guaranteed
      55. Always exaggerate your estimates.
      78. When the going gets tough, the tough change the Rules.
      87. Learn the customer's weaknesses so you can better take advantage of him.
      103. Fill a desparate need with your most expensive product, then mark it up 500%
      111. Treat people in your debt like family--exploit them [ruthlessly].
      189. Let others keep their reputation. You keep their money.
      266. When in doubt, lie.

      --
      -- "Government is the great fiction through which everybody endeavors to live at the expense of everybody else."
  4. My missus wouldn't agree by earthloop · · Score: 5, Funny

    cable is still regarded as the longest single run of cable in the world

    Obviously nobody has seen the mess under my desk!!!

  5. That is pretty long, and impressive... by cerebralsugar · · Score: 4, Funny

    ...but how quickly can this cable you speak of provide me with easily downloadable, electronic images of nudity?

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    Easy guys, I put my pants on one leg at a time. The difference is after I put on my pants I make gold records!
  6. Vulnerability by Mignon · · Score: 4, Funny
    [T]he ... cable is ... the longest single run of cable in the world.

    Amazing that it hasn't been hit by a backhoe in 100 years.

    1. Re:Vulnerability by Loki_1929 · · Score: 5, Funny

      "Amazing that it hasn't been hit by a backhoe in 100 years."

      See a lot of backhoes in the ocean, do you?

      --
      -- "Government is the great fiction through which everybody endeavors to live at the expense of everybody else."
  7. Good Thing They Remembered Where it Went by shoemakc · · Score: 5, Funny

    I'd be buggered if I had to break out the tone probe and trace the damn thing. I'd wager the batteries wouldn't even make it to the mainland.

    -Chris

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    --an unbreakable toy is useful for breaking other toys--
  8. Interesting fact by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 4, Funny

    The first message across the "All Red Route" telegraph cable was

    . _ _ . _ _ . _ _ _ _ . _ _ _ . _ _ . . . . _ . _ . _ . . _