13th January: Public Radio Broadcasting Day

Imagine life without the internet. This may not be all that hard for everyone, as there are many people who grew up without the internet and managed quite well. So now, try to imagine life without television. A little worse, right?

But many people are not fans of sitting in front of the TV, so having so television may seem perfectly bearable as well. Now for the hardest part: imagine life without either of the aforementioned things and now without radio, either. You come home after a long day at work and are greeted by silence. Complete and utter silence. Even if you do like to read, you have to admit that life without any kind of broadcasting whatsoever. And that’s what life was like just one hundred years ago.

I think by now we can all agree that all forms of broadcasting have contributed to making our lives happier and more interesting, and have provided plenty of entertainment on cold dark nights that would have otherwise been spent, well, sleeping. Public Radio Broadcasting Day is a day dedicated to appreciating technology and how much it has improved our lives.

On January 13, 1910, tenor Enrico Caruso prepared to perform an entirely new activity: sing opera over the airwaves, broadcasting his voice from the Metropolitan Opera House to locations throughout New York City. Inventor Lee deForest had suspended microphones above the Opera House stage and in the wings and set up a transmitter and antenna. A flip of a switch magically sent forth sound.