[Techlunch] FW: communications

richard.elliott@dfat.gov.au richard.elliott@dfat.gov.au
Tue, 24 Jul 2001 16:38:05 +1000


Communications-
After digging to a depth of 100m last year, Russian scientists found traces
of copper wiring dating back 1000 years And came to the conclusion that
their ancestors already had a telephone network one thousand years ago.

So as not to be outdone, in the weeks that followed, American scientists
dug
200m, and headlines in the US newspapers read:- "US scientists have found
traces of 2000 year old optical fibers, and have concluded that their
ancestors already had advanced high-tech digital telephone 1000 years
earlier than the Russians."

One week later, the Australian press reported the following:- "After
digging
as deep as 500m, Australian scientists have found absolutely nothing.
They have concluded that 5000 years ago, their ancestors were already using
mobile phones.