Safety first.  That’s always a good rule to live by—sometimes it’s even the law.  Whenever you step on an airplane, buy a car, or even eat a candy bar, you can rest assured that someone is looking out for your safety.  A slew of government regulations demand that companies maintain a certain degree of testing and quality control before releasing any product to the public.

 

It hasn’t always been that way.  The United States used to have a much more “buyer beware” outlook.  As more products became available to the market, the population increased, and the size of the federal government grew, it became necessary to tighten the leash on public safety.  

 

Things started to change during the Progressive Era of the early 1900s.  That’s when the American people became more interested in the “common good,” and demanded that the government help protect it.  Safety improvements were made to consumer goods, transportation systems, public buildings, and so on.

 

One of the first goals of the Progressive Era was to get everyone on the same page.  Consider traveling by sea.   In the early 1900s, a ship that ran into trouble on the open waters had a number of different “Distress Signals” that they could choose from.  Operators using a radio system made by the Marconi Company transmitted the letters “CQD” in an emergency.  German ships, on the other hand, sent the signal “SOE.”  Americans, as if they were just trying to confuse the matter, preferred the signal “NE.” 

 

All of these different signals created a major problem.  A telegraph operator might recognize one of them immediately, but then be completely oblivious to the others.  The result was all too often a distressed ship left out at sea to fend for itself. 

 

To end this confusion, a 1906 conference was held about the international use of radio signals.  The delegates proposed that one international distress call should used by everyone.  They chose the signal “SOS.”  Next, they had to tell all of the ship captains, who had been using the other methods for years.  At first, the “SOS” signal was ignored and operators continued to use the more familiar distress signals.

 

Things changed in the summer of 1909.  An American steamer Arapahoe was traveling near Cape Hatteras when it lost a propeller.  Trying to get help, the ship sent the first world’s first “SOS” signal.   

           

The crew of the Aroapahoe lived to see another day.  A few years later, a more recognizable liner, named the Titanic, found itself in a little bit of trouble.  When the Titanic hit an iceburg on April 15, 1912, the radio operators sent both the traditional “CQD” distress signal and the new “SOS” signal.  Unfortunately, the Titanic didn’t fair so well, and many of the passengers went down with the ship.  

           

After the Titanic disaster, there was a serious push to make “SOS” an official and recognized distress signal around the world.  Over time, the traditional distress calls were dropped, and “SOS” became the most recognizable letters in Morse Code.  Contrary to urban legend, “SOS” does not stand for “Save Our Ship” or “Save Our Soul.”  Instead, it was chosen for its simplicity.  In Morse Code, “SOS” is transmitted by three dots, three dashes, and three dots.  Thus forming the easily distinguished pattern,  … — — — … .

 

Over the last century, numerous ships have called “SOS” during an emergency.  Only in the past few years has the traditional “SOS” distress signal been replaced by automated satellite systems.  Likewise, commercial airlines have their own distress calls and regulated safety procedures.  It is almost expected nowadays that some regulatory body is looking out for your safety—and it all stems from the Progressive Era.