Alexander Graham Bell is famous for the telephone, but what did he originally set out to invent when he began his experiments?
A harmonic telegraph to send multiple messages over one wire
The answer was A harmonic telegraph to send multiple messages over one wire. Here's the why, the decoys, and the source trail.
Know someone who'd pause on this one? Send them the question.
Try today's live question, or browse previous answers when you want another quick dive.
Like this answer? Get tomorrow's question around 8 AM.
Bell was working on a "harmonic telegraph" — a device that could transmit multiple telegraph messages simultaneously over a single wire using different audio frequencies. His experiments with sound vibrations and electrical signals led him to discover that voice itself could be transmitted, which became the telephone.
This answer is checked against Library of Congress — Alexander Graham Bell Papers.
A good trivia question makes the wrong answers feel close. Here is the clean read on the set.
- A hearing aid for the deaf - a decoy; it may live near the same topic, but it does not answer this exact clue.
- A harmonic telegraph to send multiple messages over one wire - correct answer.
- A phonograph for recording music - a decoy; it may live near the same topic, but it does not answer this exact clue.
- An electric doorbell - a decoy; it may live near the same topic, but it does not answer this exact clue.
A harmonic telegraph to send multiple messages over one wire is the one to remember. Bell was working on a "harmonic telegraph" — a device that could transmit multiple telegraph messages simultaneously over a single wire using different audio frequencies. Bell's mother and wife were both deaf, which deeply influenced his lifelong interest in acoustics and the science of speech — work that ultimately led to the telephone.
We may earn a commission.