What does ...---... mean in international morse code?
... is S; --- is O. So, the message reads "SOS", the standard distress message.
Though some people believe this sequence of letters means "Save Our Ship" or even a romantic "Save Our Souls", the truth is that the famous abbreviation doesn't have any literary meaning. It is used because such a sequence of dots and dashes is simple enough and easily recognizable.
Have you known about this fact? Tell us in the comments!
More Info:
en.wikipedia.org
What are your thoughts on this subject?
67 Comments
Douglas Germond
Actually, SOS has no literal translation. It does NOT stand for Save Our Ship, nor does it stand for Save Our Souls, or anything else that is abbreviated. Like the question states, it literally is a distress call, and that's it.
Frank Cowell
Exactly! I believe that this letter sequence was used because it is very easy to send when you are under stress (dit-dit-dit, da-da-da, dit-dit-dit) and very easily recognzed.
Cujo
In my case, it means, "Same old ****".
wandajaneburlinson
Overshadowed it had worked for the Titanic.
Speedy
...only Morse message I know...
Lia Maiava
Yes I knew this, my uncle was a radio Operater and gave me the alphabet morse code when I was young. He was quite pleased with himself that he would always remember it
Cliff Occomore
The Titanic's radio man used the signal to indicate the ship was in distress. Sadly, although it was picked up, it wasn't acted upon quickly as it had only been introduced to replace an older code (which I forget)
Chrissie
Richard D. Boyle, surely it starts
...- ...-
?
Chrissie
Linda Whiting, I was often in distress at school too. As a teacher; seldom as a pupil.
Irene Townsend
Douglas Germond, But even people that have never been to sea or flown in an plane or had a ham radio, knows that SOS is known world wide as the distress signal.
aaustin
Yes, I knew it was the standard meaning for stress. Learned it from reading and then from Captain's school.
Susan Comeaux
As a HAM radio operator, I most definitely know what the code meant as is universal in any spoken language
Donna Smith
Got the correct answer
Cheryl McMeekin
Got it
sutter
my dad and chartered sailboats in SAN Diego I was trained as a radio operator using that signal in stressful moments
wylafreedy
Learned this in Boy Scouts.
cigar
What can I say? I have known SOS to be the standard emergency since Samuel Morse crated the Code back in the nineteenth century.