The idea behind the telegraph – sending electric signals across wires – originated in the early 1700s. Samuel Morse began working on his version in 1832; he developed Morse Code and by 1838 he had presented his concept to the U.S. Congress. He was not the first to think of the idea – 62 people had claimed to invent the first electrical telegraph by 1838 – but Morse beat everyone else by being the first to get political backing for his telegraph and a business model for making it work.

The Telegraph Cafe, Hezza Bin Zayed Stadium, Al Ain, U.A.E.