Flag semaphore

Flag semaphore originated in 1866 as a handheld version of the optical telegraph system of Home Riggs Popham used on land, and its later improvement by Charles Pasley.

The land system consisted of lines of fixed stations (substantial buildings) with two large, moveable arms pivoted on an upright member.

Field of Santa Clara University, "there is evidence" that Popham based his telegraph on the French coastal stations used for ship-to-shore communication.

For example, the character for "O" [オ], which is drawn first with a horizontal line from left to right, then a vertical one from top to bottom, and finally a slant between the two; follows that form and order of the arm extensions.

[citation needed] Some surf-side rescue companies, such as the Ocean City, Maryland Beach Patrol, use semaphore flags to communicate between lifeguards.

On 4 April 1958, the march left Trafalgar Square for rural Berkshire, carrying Ban the Bomb placards made by Holtom's children making it the first use of the symbol.

[9] Along with Morse code, flag semaphore is currently used by the US Navy and also continues to be a subject of study and training for young people of Scouts.

[11] In the 1960s poet Hannah Weiner composed poems using flag semaphore and the International Code of Signals,[12] including a version of William Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet titled "R+J.

[14] The second episode in the second series of Monty Python's Flying Circus depicted the Emily Brontë novel Wuthering Heights enacted in semaphore.