Nuts and Bolts: semaphore.

Here's something useful in these times of social distancing:

semaphore.

This chart, below, is from marvellous Wikipedia, and shows the person who's sending the message (so if you want to send a message yourself then you have to do it in mirror image (or else stand with your back to the person to whom you're sending the message)).

All you need is two arms, and some other idiot who knows semaphore, and you're away.

• 

  A or 1
 
• 

  B or 2
 
• 

  C or 3
  Acknowledge / Correct
 
• 

  D or 4
 
• 

  E or 5
  Error (if signaled 8 times)
 
• 

  F or 6
 
• 

  G or 7
 
• 

  H or 8
 
• 

  I or 9
 
• 

  J
  Letters to follow
 
• 

  K or 0
 
• 

  L
 
• 

  M
 
• 

  N
 
• 

  O
 
• 

  P
 
• 

  Q
 
• 

  R
 
• 

  S
 
• 

  T
 
• 

  U
 
• 

  V
 
• 

  W
 
• 

  X
 
• 

  Y
 
• 

  Z
 
• 

  Rest / Space
 
• 

  Numerals (#)
 
• 

  Error / Attention
 
• 

  Cancel / Annul
  Disregard previous signal

If you're on land then the flags should be white and blue, and if you're on sea they should be read and yellow. But there's no need flags at all, of course, unless you're considerably more than two metres apart.

The signals which represent the roman alphabet don't have anything to do with the shape of the letters they represent, but the Japanese system of semaphore tends to mimic the shape of the Japanese characters. 

This is really cool, but does tend to require six arms (or three people).

Is semaphore still used in these times of the mobile phone? Well, it's still handy where there's no reception, as, for instance, in remote mountainous areas; or where phones aren't practical, as on a beach.

Is there anything more romantic than a love poem conveyed via semaphore?

Um, yes, probably. 

But still, it might be worth a try, don't you think?

Word To Use Today: semaphore. This word comes from the French, from the Greek sēma, signal, and -phore, which comes from the Greek pherein, to bear.