How did the pigeons in the early days know where to deliver the message? Just curious. Weren’t there times were pigeonsost their way or got caught? How did that not create chaos? Somebody please answer
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Some pigeon breeds imprint on their birth location by around six weeks. They develop a *strong* instinct to return there for safety/mating and can fly up to 700 miles in a single day, which is pretty amazing. Take some pigeons with you on a journey, tie a note to its leg, and boom: one way telegram with unbeatable speed prior to the actual telegram.
Pigeons, in generally, are a pretty remarkable species that we used to raise for food (taste like a less gamey pheasant), keep as pets (they’re very sweet and snuggly), and in some places/times used as status symbols.
Their current bad reputation (“rats with wings”) is very recent (circa 1960s for the US). The book “A Pocket Guide to Pigeon Watching” is a great primer on these sweet little guys.
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