Ridiculous History — "CLASSIC: The Tragic Origin Story of Morse Code" (February 7, 2026)

Episode Overview

In this engaging "classic" episode, hosts Ben Bowlin and Noel Brown explore the surprisingly tragic personal history behind Morse code and the development of the telegraph, focusing on the inventor Samuel Morse. The pair take listeners through Morse's early life, his career as a painter, the heartbreaking event that inspired his communication breakthrough, and the collaborative, sometimes contentious process that gave rise to one of history’s most influential communication systems.

The episode’s tone balances the show’s signature lighthearted banter with moments of genuine emotion and historical insight, making the human context behind technological developments as fascinating as the inventions themselves.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Personal Connections to Morse Code

• Both Ben and Noel briefly reminisce about (not) learning Morse code in Scouts, using this as a segue into the topic.
  • “When you turn 11, you get your first big boy bike and you learn Morse code.” — Ben [03:09]
• They highlight how foundational Morse code and the telegraph were to revolutionary advances in global communication.

2. Samuel Morse’s Unexpected Beginnings

• Background: Samuel Morse, born 1791, is now known for his eponymous code, but began life as a painter.
  • “Upon graduating from Yale, he became a quite well-regarded portrait painter... His work is pretty breathtaking.” — Noel [06:26-07:13]
• Morse’s early masterpiece, Dying Hercules, is discussed, including his technique of sculpting before painting.

3. The Tragedy That Sparked Innovation

• While Morse was away painting a commission of the Marquis de Lafayette, his wife Lucretia became fatally ill and died at 25. Due to the delay in receiving the news by post, he learned about her death only after she was already buried.
  • “He wrote to his wife two days after she had died, unaware that she had passed…” — Ben [08:37]
  • Quote (from Morse’s letter to his daughter):
    “You cannot know the depth of the wound that was inflicted when I was deprived of your dear mother, nor in how many ways that wound has been kept open.” — Ben quoting Morse [11:02]
• This personal disaster drove Morse’s mission to create a system for faster, reliable long-distance communication.
  • “When he learned of her death, he vowed to find some way to deliver important messages in a timely manner.” — Ben [11:19]

4. Early Collaborations & Technical Development

• Inspired on a sea voyage by Charles Thomas Jackson’s electromagnet, Morse conceived the idea for sending coded messages via electric signals.
  • “What if I could send a message along a wire by opening and closing an electrical circuit?” — Ben paraphrasing Morse [12:13-12:34]
• Joseph Henry, a key figure in electromagnetism, influenced Morse's technical understanding and design (although a lawsuit would follow over credit).
  • “...the experimental electromagnets that he has built… He's well, you don't wanna call it plagiarism, but he's riffing.” — Ben [14:29]
• Morse's first prototype used an artist’s canvas stretcher as a telegraph receiver—a poetic symbol of his shift from art to science.
  • “He took an artist canvas stretcher and made it into a telegraph receiver…” — Ben [16:20]

5. Getting Morse’s System Off the Ground

• Morse, Leonard Gale, and especially Alfred Vail (who contributed the famous “key” transmitter) improved the system and code.
• Facing skepticism and infrastructure challenges (lack of long wires), they convinced the U.S. government to fund a demonstration with $30,000 (≈$1 million today).
  • “They gave Morse Co. $30,000 to build a 38 mile wire line from Baltimore, Maryland to Washington D.C.” — Ben [19:57]
• The successful transmission of the Whig Party’s presidential nomination fundamentally changed how the nation viewed communication technology.

6. Morse Code: Attribution and Evolution

• The code’s development was collaborative; some historians argue “Vail code” would be a more accurate name, though Vail himself credited Morse.
  • “However, people who say that Morse invented it himself will point out that Vail, in public and private, never claimed he invented the code.” — Ben [25:24]
• “International Morse code” (not original to Morse) incorporated new symbols and characters for global standardization.

7. Understanding Morse Code

• Morse code is explained as a system based on units: dots (dits) and dashes (dahs), with variable spacing to indicate letters and words.
  • “A dit or a dot…that's one unit…a dash is three units…” — Ben [26:51]
• The system’s logic is compared to Braille, but for the ears.

8. Wider Historical Impact and Later Developments

• The telegraph system rapidly spread, enabling over 23,000 miles of wire within a decade and fundamentally reshaping business and railroads.
  • The U.S. used “American Morse” (“railroad Morse”), while Europe adopted “Continental Morse,” giving rise to efforts at international standardization.
• The episode connects Morse code’s legacy to podcasts and modern broadcasting:
  • “...the spark of an idea: ‘Hey, what if I could communicate an idea…from point A to point B?’ That’s literally what podcasting and broadcasting…is.” — Noel [34:20]

9. The Lasting Legacy & Modern Echoes

• Although replaced by telephone and radio, Morse code persisted in aviation and military circles well into the late 20th century, and is still treasured by amateur radio enthusiasts and even Civil War reenactors.
  • “Civil War reenactors keep American Morse code alive.” — Ben [32:45]
• Morse code’s flexibility: It can be transmitted via sound, light, and even blinks—for example, POWs have flashed Morse in propaganda videos.
  • “Military personnel, POWs have used Morse code through blinking…” — Ben [33:08]

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On Personal Loss & Innovation:
  “You cannot know the depth of the wound that was inflicted when I was deprived of your dear mother, nor in how many ways that wound has been kept open.” — Samuel Morse (via Ben) [11:02]

• On the Significance of the First Message:
  “That first telegraph message that Morse sent…a little heavy, isn't it? ‘What hath God wrought?’ That sounds sinister to me.” — Noel [05:40]

• On Tech Evolution:
  “It’s first to the patent office sometimes. That’s the way it works.” — Ben [23:09]

• On Morse Code’s Place in History:
  “We couldn’t have had a podcast if things like Morse code and telegraphs and later radio never existed.” — Ben [34:20]

• On the Code’s Practical Structure:
  “A dit or a dot…that’s one unit…a dash is three units…” — Ben [26:51]

• On Collaborative Invention:
  “Most inventions that we think of as the huge game changing innovations…are not gonna be made up by one person working in isolation.” — Ben [04:39]

Key Timestamps

• [03:09] — Scout memories; the phrase “When you turn 11...”
• [06:26–07:13] — Samuel Morse’s career as a painter
• [08:37–09:59] — The tragedy of Morse’s wife and its aftermath
• [11:02] — Morse’s letter to his daughter (emotional pivot)
• [12:13–12:59] — The ‘aha’ moment: electromagnets and message transmission
• [14:29–14:41] — Morse’s “riffing” on Joseph Henry’s designs and ensuing lawsuit
• [16:20] — Prototype: using a canvas stretcher as the first telegraph receiver
• [19:57–20:44] — U.S. government funding; calculating historic value ($30k ≈ $1M)
• [23:09] — The “first to the patent office” quip
• [25:24–25:56] — The debate over who truly invented “Morse code”
• [26:51–28:43] — How Morse code works, “dits and dahs” explained
• [32:45] — Civil War reenactors preserving American Morse code
• [33:08] — Code’s use in visual and POW contexts
• [34:20] — Morse code’s influence on the evolution of broadcast communication

Final Thoughts

The episode skillfully paints Morse code as not just a technical achievement but also a deeply human story, born of grief and perseverance. Samuel Morse’s personal tragedy—his inability to receive urgent news in time—became the driving force behind pioneering rapid long-distance communication. The hosts highlight Morse’s journey from painter to inventor, the collaborative (and sometimes contentious) nature of breakthroughs, and Morse code’s long shadow over the worlds of military, amateur radio, and even pop culture.

Banter about Morse’s painterly past, joking asides about T-shirts, and genuine awe at the endurance of “dits and dahs” keep the tone buoyant. At the same time, the episode leaves listeners with a sense of how technological progress often springs not just from genius, but from heartbreak and the urgent desire to prevent future suffering.

For listeners unfamiliar with either Morse code or the history behind it, this episode provides a thorough, entertaining, and unexpectedly moving introduction to a system that underpins much of our modern communication.