From around 1800 there became available a device known as the optic telegraph or semaphore: three bars or arms placed in an elevated position so that they were visible from several points. With a chain of these telegraphs, the first Internet in history was built.
When the information on something eventually reached its destination, either that something had already been solved, or there was no longer anything that could be done about it. In Europe, W.F. Cooke picked up on this need and in 1836 gave up his job as a cook, studied physics, and patented his first electrical telegraph with the help of physics professor Charles Wheatstone. Something similar happened in America, where Samuel Morse, aided by Joseph Henry, patented his own telegraph.