Website of the Day

What a fabulous resource this must have been! In 1853 when the telegraph was the equivalent of e-mail they came up with this handy numerical way to shorten and even encrypt messages sent by telegram or through the mail. Just as users of Twitter today can communicate in a form of shorthand this guide allowed users to send fairly complex messages with just a few strings of numbers and key words. I doubt that it ever caught on but it was a brilliant idea at the time. Technology that was cutting edge in 1853; the telegraph, would have been greatly enhanced by this shorthand instant messaging guide. And some of the messages are hilarious.