🌱 Various first words

The first words sent by tachygraphe (optical telegraph, or Chappe telegraph), by Claude Chappe, 1791:

If you succeed, you will bask in glory.

The first words sent by electrical telegraph, by Samuel Morse, 1844:

What hath God wrought!

– however, this was the first telegraph using the repeater system. The actual first message, on the demonstration system, was sent with no repeaters, for just 2 miles, and was received by Samuel Morse but was sent by Alfred Vail in 1838:

A patient waiter is no loser.

The first words spoken on the telephone, by Alexander Graham Bell, 1876:

Mr. Watson – Come here – I want to see you.

The first characters sent on ARPANET, the predecessor to the internet, by Charley Kline, 1969:

lo

– for “login,” but it crashed.

The first words sent by text message (SMS), by Neil Papworth, 1992:

merry Christmas

Here’s a good one, from this BBC article on various first words. The first words spoken on YouTube, 2005:

Alright, so here we are in front of the elephants.

Related: fictional first words spoken on Mars, a list. The one I always remember is from Red Mars by Kim Stanley Robinson, the words of John Boone, 2020:

Well, here we are.

Strangely similar to YouTube. Though no elephants.