Morse Code of the Day
A street gadget / public art puzzle
You push the button and it flashes Morse Code! A different word every day. Check your answers using the Answer Checker Tool below. If you guess correct, it will reveal the meaning behind the word.
As featured on the BBC!
On 8th February 2021, John Darvall, presenter of Mid-morning on BBC Radio Bristol dedicated the prime slot (a phone call between 11:25 and 11:30am) to speaking live with Pelmo himself. The discussion went into some detail covering topics such as where it is.
The Sales Pitch
Don't know where to go for your daily government-permitted exercise? Sick of all your usual destinations?
POW! Now there's a new destination for puzzle fans... the Bedminster Morse Code of the Day Pedestrian Push-button Box (snappy title eh?).
The Morse Code Box was mounted on temporary public display for 37 days...
From 6th February until 12th March 2021
It was located in Bedminster, Bristol, BS3.
A different word every day!
Every day, work out what the word is and then phone a friend you haven't spoken to for years.
Hints & Tips
Morse code is tricky at first but with practice it quickly becomes a lot easier as your eyes "tune in" to the rhythm.
Here are Pelmo's Top Tips for solving the daily puzzle:
- Take a video of the flashes on your portable video camera and solve it in the comfort of your own home.
- 🖊️ Use a pen & paper to jot down the dots and dashes.
- Watch it through multiple times. In testing, people general had to watch it 5 times before they got the dots and dashes correct. See if you can get it in less.
- Look up the international morse code alphabet and familiarise yourself with the letters before you observe the flashes.
- 3 dots fit inside a dash. Letters are separated by long gaps.
- When watching the light flash, try and hear the sounds. Morse code naturally works over audio.
🙏 Thank yous to:
- Owen for wiring help and advice, you're a legend.
- Matt for gifting me the Raspberry Pi.
- The patient residents of the property for accommodating my project.
- Handsome Miguel for network crimpin' skills & tools.
Frequently Asked Questions:
- Where did you nick that from?
- I didn't steal it. In January 2020 they were upgrading the crossing by Gaol Ferry Bridge and I asked if I could have the old box that was going to be scrapped. These old ones don't have the spinning nob thing that blind people use so they are all being replaced.
- How does it work?
- There's an old Model B Raspberry Pi from 2011 inside. It's running a Python script which listens for the button push and then illuminates the LED accordingly.
- What is the word?
- You'll have to work that out for yourself!
- Is it a doorbell?
- No.
Reflections on the project
Written 12th March
People loved it. They sometimes needed a little encouragement to follow their curiosity but once they understood the challenge it brought joy. And that was the whole point.
The variety and unpredictability of reactions to street art is part of the fascination for me. Each day I would visit the box to solve the puzzle myself and standing near it I would chat to people about the project. One amusing response that many people would say was "I don't know morse code". Of course you don't! You're a 20-something civilian living in the year 2021. Others would immediately recognise it as a challenge.
One person didn't even understand the concept of morse code. They pushed the button and said "Only the letter A is lighting up". When I have that kind of realisation it's enlightening. You receive a stark reminder of just how much diversity there is in people's knowledge and experience. When I was developing the project I tweaked the difficulty and played with the level of instructional text I offered. At one point I was considering not even writing "Morse Code" on it but a friend convinced me that it was a minimum requirement that doesn't retract from the challenge.
During its time on public display I made several modifications. Hand-painting the morse code alphabet down the side so people didn't have to look it up on their phones. One enthusiastic participant insisted it needed a hash tag so people could engage. At the time of writing not a single Tweet or Instagram post has been made (by anyone other than me) that includes the #streetpuzzle tag. The final addition was to put an answer checker tool on this site. It not only confirmed that your answer was correct but also revealed the reason why that was word of the day. For example one word was hulahoop because on 10th March 1977, Astronomers discovered the rings of Uranus.
One initial expectation during the development stage was that children would love it. I expected the curious, competitive minds of the young to revel in the challenge. But during testing phase where I would send videos to friends with children I quickly learned it was of no interest to children, and yet the adults were highly enthusiastic about solving it. It was at this point I abandoned the idea of theming the aesthetics to appeal to children and just made it a puzzle for adults. I admit I found that decision a little depressing. It seemed to confirm another theory I had formed.
Observing the kind of computer games popular with children these days, they consist of endless repetition of mundane tasks with no jeapardy or penulty for error. No strategic thinking is required nor practice to perfect reactions and timing. Worst of all are the in-built delays to slow play and increase engagement time for on-screen advertisements. I find the whole industry deeply creepy. I attribute many of my own valued skills to my time spent playing those really tricky platform puzzler games of the 90s. Delayed gratification, problem solving, lateral thinking and learning to deal with the frustrations of failure were all present in the experience of early computer games but are mostly absent today. It troubles me to think what personalities are developing in children as a result. I think 90s children stopped being consumers after the point of purchasing the game, then they were players. Now, they are just consumers all the way.
The morse code box will now go into storage. I'll keep it in working condition, ready to exhibit again if anyone invites me to. I would love for it to become one part of a larger treasure hunt. Maybe I'll exhibit it at one of the street art festivals.