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.
Thanks to Victoria Harrison for all her research and translation skills! Pictures of the original documents are uploaded here: https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1xik-sJZMUf9GRNCAu7m7amQMZ7Mos1HM?usp=sharing
CG effects by Mat Hill: http://mat-hill.xyz/
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@TomScottGo
April 1, 2026 at 7:38 am
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.
@nunkiwolf6016
April 1, 2026 at 7:38 am
jay: it was the beginning of the internet
@esilvacurious
April 1, 2026 at 7:38 am
Just learned about these towers from Count of Monte Cristo on PBS Masterpiece ❤
@SargonRose
April 1, 2026 at 7:38 am
GNU Terry Pratchett
@MaisieSqueak
April 1, 2026 at 7:38 am
Actual Real Life Clacks from Terry Pratchett's Going Postal??
Wild!
@Robert-b1u1x
April 1, 2026 at 7:38 am
, So that‘s where Terry Pratchett got it from
@yannikoloff7659
April 1, 2026 at 7:38 am
This story made in Count Monte Cristo book
@robinhammond4446
April 1, 2026 at 7:38 am
Winnowing
@thatbillguy5211
April 1, 2026 at 7:38 am
That is definitely not a scam, but it is quite the scheme and legal to this day, true pioneers. Unfortunate that they weren't inventors or something.
@howdeedoodee6603
April 1, 2026 at 7:38 am
nice story
@davidpile2576
April 1, 2026 at 7:38 am
Never heard of the optical telegraph. Fascinating!
@fp6343
April 1, 2026 at 7:38 am
4:30 Telegraph managers, who checked the signals at important cities would have prevented the codes that broke the Clacks towers to be sent all the way down the line. A section of the network could have been disabled, for example between Überwald and Genua, but the communication between Ankh Morpork and Überwald could have continued uninterrupted.
@TheRandomGamezz
April 1, 2026 at 7:38 am
The video has exactly 100 000 likes, I guess I’m one in a million to experience that…
@eregoldamite8739
April 1, 2026 at 7:38 am
It's in the count of Monte Cristo
@dayrush5721
April 1, 2026 at 7:38 am
So Pterry was writing a historical fiction? Who knew?
@wydua
April 1, 2026 at 7:38 am
This video took 6 years to go from england all the way to me
@cyberteque
April 1, 2026 at 7:38 am
is this related to the Rothschild's delaying the news of Napoleans defeat at Waterloo?
look how that turned out…
@andyklyon
April 1, 2026 at 7:38 am
ah the clacks
@geeksdo1tbetter
April 1, 2026 at 7:38 am
0:40 this view is amazing
@svihl666
April 1, 2026 at 7:38 am
smart idea
@Gilgwathir
April 1, 2026 at 7:38 am
Gondor lit the beacons to scam Sauron out of a victory!
Comments are closed.