How the first ever telecoms scam worked

In the 1830s, two French brothers, François and Joseph Blanc, pulled off the first telecoms scam in history. The optical telegraph, a line of semaphore towers stretching from hilltop to hilltop, was for government use only: but something as simple as the law wasn't going to get in their way.

(you can find contact details and social links there too)

[TomScottGo]

Quick tip if you ever go to France: don't let the rental car company give you a free upgrade to an SUV. SUVs do not fit well on tiny rural French roads.

[SkillsWithPhil]

I never know what to expect with any of these videos, I just know I'm going to learn something really cool on a random subject.

[iplaywhatiwant]

"I hired a French translator to read the original source to me." You, sir, are backbone of integraty in journalism.

[BrandtRedd]

Alexandre Dumas' _The Count of Monte Cristo_ includes an episode where the count ruins one of his adversaries by sending a false message about the stock market through the telegraph system. Published in 1844 it was about a decade after the escapade by the brothers Blanc. No doubt Dumas was inspired by the story when it came out.

[briangarrow]

"The beacon fires from Gondor have been lit! Will Rohan ride to her aid?"
Or will Theoden short trade a major monetary deal with the dwarves of the Iron Hills?- check back next week for part 2 of The Monetary Scams of Middle Earth...

[catfish]

Other Youtubers: Make video about thing you found online and spent half an hour googling for research.

Tom Scott: Film on location, in two different countries, and hire a researcher to check original sources in an archive.

[AirborneSurfer]

I mean *technically* they transmitted at the speed of light. The lag was just caused by the individual nodes' switching speeds.

[fifebielby]

Tom Scott isn't just a professional youtuber he's a professional professional youtuber.

[ImSquiggs]

From this channel I've learned so much that I didn't know that I wanted to know.

[dXXPacmanXXb]

so much work for a 5 minute video, Tom is so great. What did we do to deserve him?

[aapjeaaron]

This was happening even before. When the Dutch just started trading stocks in Indian charter company boats you had spotters looking at ships off the coast of Portugal to then rush back to Amsterdam selling the information that certain ships made it past the dangerous parts of the journey and were likely to arrive in some weeks time.

[sirrliv]

So this is basically a real life equivalent to the "Clacks Towers" from the late Sir Terry Pratchett's Discworld series? Wow! I had no idea such a concept had ever been used for real, even if this is a different form of the idea, using hinged arms instead of shuttered lamps. Thanks so much for sharing this with us, Tom! My creative mind is flowing.

[nl]

“Semaphore message incoming. They want to know about your car’s extended warranty.”
“What the hell is a car?”

[timothymclean]

The idea of banning private semaphore towers, without providing any public alternatives, probably made perfect sense in the 19th century; nobody knew what that sort of rapid communication network could do for the civilian sector that would be worth anything. (Of course, the low bandwidth limits what could be done with it, but there were absolutely still possibilities.) To someone in the 21st century, that idea sounds ludicrous; we've built so much on a publically-available high-speed communication system that we can't imagine anyone being so foolish as to throw all that aside.

[zappawoman]

Sounds like the Clacks! GNU Sir Terry Pratchett.

[Hoffmanmannen]

In Dumas "The count of Monte Christo", the count bribes a semaphore worker to send faulty messages down the line which manipulates the bond market and quickly destroys a large portion of Danglars' fortune.

[calledsomething]

I just love Tom’s dedication to giving the absolute best information he can, he always goes the extra mile to make sure the things he shares are reliable, and is so willing to be honest when he can’t give a 100%. No lies, no overhyping anything, just accessible, trustworthy information.

[Necrotoxin]

I'm impressed you paid a translator. It adds a lot of credibility to your story, and the fact that you care enough to seek out the more definite source encourages me greatly to keep watching your content. Thanks for all your hard work!

[SnowDemonAkuma]

Liked for the audio/visual synch clap being left in~

[AngeloMichel]

Hey Tom Scott. It has to be said.. just on this random video. You make awesome stuff. You didn't change all that much, and I mean that in a good way. A lot of channels I followed have changed to a point that I no longer van enjoy them. But you didn't. Keep sharing (also your fanbase/community ofc!). Cheers