Carrier Pigetons
Carrier Pigeons also known as homer pigeons date all the way back to Ancient Egypt about 4,000 years ago and are referred to as the 'Swiss army knife' of ancient eras.
Quite frankly, I find the Carrier Pigeons are the 'Swiss army knife' of history.
Not only were Carrier Pigeons first used to deliver messages relating to the Nile River flooding they were also used in the ancient Greek olympic games.
Athletes competing in the olympics brought pigeons, sending updates to their villages and countries to update their loved ones and communities.
As an athlete if I won an event at the olympics the mere act of physically hand writing a letter to my village and parents saying I won and experiencing the pigeon taking flight would leave me in awe.
I would find this victory to add a grounding pride and appreciation of representing where I lived. This would also be a memento for my family and village to keep for centuries to come, allowing an opportunity for everyone to gather and celebrate.
Also many literary icons reference using carrier pigeons such as William Shakespeare metaphorically in Part 1 (Act 1, Scene 4) and Edgar Allen Poe.
The Carrier Pigeons were the closest form to sending a modern day text message. They were used to bring timely news in times of disaster by saving the lives of many people while, being used as a medium to relay some of the most exuberant moments in peoples lifetime.
Carrier Pigeons were the most timely and reliable way of communication because they were faster than a man riding by horse.
Society relied on pigeons so heavily that many remote islands such as New Zealand even had their own postage system called 'The Great Barrier Island Pigeon Post' that was entirely ran by Carrier Pigeons.
Carrier Pigeons founded the idea of air mail.
They helped make the world and people become more connected regardless of distance.
It did not matter if you lived in a rural secluded or even inhabited area because people can still communicate, interact, and most importantly connect.
But, in the eighteenth century and through the end of World War 2 Carrier Pigeons were used on the front lines during a multitude of wars.
For example in the Franco Prussian War Carrier Pigeons had cameras strapped to them so the opposing side could devise a tactical strategy and have actual arial images to develop into microfilm.
I also found it interesting that the press used Carrier Pigeons to provide and serve as a medium to create propaganda surrounding the war.
Essentially, leaving Carrier Pigeons to serve as the late eighteenth century version of drones.
They served the media and the people on the tactical lines and front lines.
World War 2 is still considered to be the deathliest military conflict to date with 75 million casualties but, imagine how many more casualties would have occurred if it were not for the Carrier Pigeons.
Likewise, with any invention there are repercussions in how people decided to use Carrier Pigeons.
I am personally a little torn because I find it unethical to put these poor pigeons through so much distress and cruelty from war but they saved many lives.
However, there are other uses of Carrier Pigeons that I find to be absolutely horrid.
Following World War 2 there were unethical experimental procedures conducted on Carrier Pigeons such as putting electrodes on the animals as well as putting frosted lenses in the pigeons eyes in 1949 by the Germans.
They were and are still used to smuggle substances such as narcotics and other drugs over international borders to this day.
I think with any medium used to connect society there is going to be ethical gray areas but, it is up to the users morals to decide how they want to use the medium such as a Carrier Pigeon.
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