SS Arapahoe
Did you know that on August 11, 1909, a milestone in maritime safety was reached when the first "SOS" distress signal in American history was sent?
The American passenger steamship SS Arapahoe suffered a severe breakdown when its propeller shaft broke, leaving it completely adrift in one of the most dangerous zones of the Atlantic Ocean: Cape Hatteras, an area known worldwide by sailors as the "Graveyard of the Atlantic[1]" due to its constant and devastating storms.
Theodore D. Haubner
Faced with the imminent danger of running aground, the ship's wireless operator, T. D. Haubner, turned on his transmitter and decided to use the new international combination adopted in Europe (three dots, three dashes, three dots) instead of the old British "CQD" signal. In an incredible twist of fate, months earlier Haubner himself had been the first to use the "CQD" signal in another rescue, making him the only person in telecommunications history to debut and successfully activate both emergency systems.
Despite the popular belief that "SOS" stands for "Save Our Souls" or "Save Our Ship", the letters have no hidden meaning or acronyms behind them. This combination was chosen strictly for technical reasons of the era, as in Morse code it formed a sequence so simple, symmetrical, and rhythmic that it was practically impossible to mistake for intense radio static or other commercial messages at sea.
Some 1,000 shipwrecks that loom like ghosts in the waters off the state of North Carolina, United States, give this stretch of coast the name of Atlantic Cemetery, ↩
Learned something new!!
If you look at the image of the Morse code alphabet, you'll see that SOS is quite easy to send, *** --- ***
Furthermore, 3 is the common number of requests for help, three clouds of smoke, three flashes of light, three whistles, they are all SOS messages. 3 becasue, as you said, is the simplest way to shout for help
Great to know that too
I have no idea, but I'll keep my yacht away from the Graveyard of the Atlantic.