The Messenger Pigeon

Amidst this pandemic, jokes are circulating online that schools are cancelled to give them time to switch out the birds. Where does this joke come from? The idea that the birds are spies! Or... CARRIER PIGEONS!

They are sometimes called homing pigeons or messenger pigeons, and the very first one was used by Noah! Early on, these birds were mainly used for delivering results of games in early Roman games, as well as to deliver news and stock prices in the 1800's. Now, I know I wouldn't want to be the "bird of bad news!" Then, the use of these tiny messengers expanded into more important things, like war. That is a lot of trust in a bird, huh? The French pioneered using messenger pigeons, but they weren't the only ones to catch on to the opportunities opened up with this technology.

So, how did it work? Well, pigeons are a homing bird, meaning they know where home is and always fly back to it. So, militia would sent the pigeon, often by train or personal escort, to a designated person that may need to send a message in the near future. Perhaps, bringing one of the birds to someone that was going on a secret mission and would need to let the base know the status, and fast. Then, that person would let it go and the pigeon would just, well, go home. They'd often have bells at their home base to let the recipient know they have a message. Sort of like when your phone rings. It is interesting how far we've come, yet how similar the whole idea is.