![carrier pigeon carrier pigeon](https://static.wikia.nocookie.net/battlefield/images/4/45/Carrier_PIgeon_IRL.jpg)
People were connected, not online, but it was still possible to send messages to each other. So, here is a taste of the Networked Society from a hundred years ago and more. One of the very last carrier pigeons lines went to Auckland, New Zealand from nearby Great Barrier Island. The carrier pigeon business slowed sharply after the invention and spread of the telegraph. However, by placing their food at one location and their home at another location, pigeons have been trained to fly back and forth up to twice a day reliably, covering round-trip flights up to 160km. They had to be transported manually before another flight. Historically, pigeons carried messages only one way, to their home. Here is a picture of British carrier pigeons transported by bus during the World War I: Despite the injury, the bird was still able to deliver the message to its destination. With microfilm, it ws possible to transfer up to 30,000 letters to very thin sheets that were tied to a bird’s tail feathers. Carrier pigeons often flew through heavy artillery fire and risked injury, This pigeon was shot in left eye whilst carrying message from a British seaplane attacked in the North Sea. Of those 302, 59 managed to return to their sender in Paris. 381 pigeons were sent from Paris during the siege, and 302 of these reached the French forces and were returned with messages. Pigeons were then also used to send messages back to Paris. During the siege of Paris in 1870-1871, beleaguered residents sent messages by pigeons and balloons. From the Middle Ages to the 1800s, carrier pigeons were used for commerce, navigation and especially in the armed forces.