Self-destructing messages are old. In fact, they were used as early as in ancient Egypt, four thousand years ago. The convenient way of clearing a person’s memory stored on a piece of paper is currently updated and changed to fit the expectations of our time. In this experiment you will answer questions about the history of self-destructing messages and learn how they are still used today.
The History Of Self-Destructing Messages
Self-destructing messages have been around for thousands of years. They were first used in Egypt, approximately four-thousand years ago. The Egyptians would write extremely important documents on their papyrus scrolls. These documents contained information like: religious scriptures, details about the construction of the Egyptian pyramids, and writing related to Egyptian warfare strategies.
The Egyptians saved these important documents in a special vault called the tomb. However, to protect these documents from damage and theft, the Egyptians had a special way of clearing their memory when they were no longer needed. This idea of self-destruction was never written down. Throughout history, ancient Egyptians would burn the scrolls to destroy their memories.
In 1896, Englishman Samuel Morse invented the telegraph. The telegraph allowed private note messages to be sent from one place to another instantly through electricity. It is now a part of everyday life because of modern technology such as cell phones, computers, and email.
How Self-Destructing Messages Work
All self-destructing messages today work the same way as it did thousands of years ago. The ancient Egyptians would write their important information on a piece of paper, then take a little clay tablet and put it inside their papyrus scroll. If the clay tablet was in the right place, it would break into pieces when the papyrus scroll was burned. The clay tablet pieces would reveal all the important information on it. The pieces contained information about the construction of the pyramids, religious scriptures, and poetry.
Today, self-destructing messages are used for less important purposes. Like the ancient Egyptians, we use them to protect private information from thieves and other people who want to find out personal information about us. Self-destructing messages on cell phones can be deleted by taking a picture of it with another mobile phone.
Modern Uses Of Self-Destruction Messages
What type of self-destructing messages are used today? Can you imagine how easy it would be to steal information if there were no self-destructing messages on our phones or computers? In fact, we use these messages all the time when we share private information with others.
Self-destructing messages are used to protect our privacy in many different ways. Text messages are one of the primary ways people share personal information.