In 1906, the International Radio Telegraphic Convention in Berlin adopted the SOS distress signal.

Morse code, the language developed by Samuel Morse and Alfred Vail to be used over the telegraph, is a series of dots and dashes that form each letter of the alphabet. The code was the only way to effectively and rapidly communicate over long distances before telephones and two-way radios were available.

One of the most famous words in the Morse code is SOS—the international distress signal. The series of letters was chosen not because it stood for Save Our Ship or Save Our Souls, but because the three dots for S and the three dashes for O made a clear and distinct signal.

Other combinations were initially suggested, but those were abandoned either because the signal got lost in the static or could not be sent as rapidly as SOS. So the International Radio Telegraphic Convention in Berlin adopted the SOS distress signal in 1906. The U.S. did not adopt it until after the sinking of the Titanic in 1912.

Over the years, the public has associated SOS with Save Our Ship or Save Our Souls because that is what often occurred when the signal was sent out. Once the signal went out over the airwaves, the hope was that someone somewhere would respond and come to the rescue.

Thankfully, we don’t need any special code or equipment such as a telegraph to send out a distress signal to Jesus. Jesus is in the business of SOS—saving our souls. And he does so whenever and wherever anyone is ready to call on his name and seek him. All it takes is a prayer that can be said at anytime, and Jesus will respond.

For he wants everyone to be saved and to understand the truth. For there is only one God and one Mediator who can reconcile God and people. He is the man Christ Jesus (1 Timothy 2:4, 5).

To Do

Find a copy of the Morse code. Learn how to tap out “Jesus Saves.”

Also on this day

1934—”Santa Claus is Comin’ to Town” was first heard on the radio.

1963—President John F. Kennedy was assassinated in Dallas, Texas.

1985—38,648 immigrants became citizens of the United States in the largest ever swearing-in ceremony.

From Betsy Schmitt and Dave Veerman, 365 Trivia Twist Devotions: An Almanac of Fun Facts and Spiritual Truth for Every Day of the Year (Cincinnati: Standard, 2005). Scripture quotations are from the New Living Translation unless otherwise noted.