A closer look
Before the era of tragic international roaming charges, broke travelers had to rely on cryptic, spy-level telegram codes to beg for cash. Because telegraph companies charged exorbitantly by the word, the Cooke's Tourist's Telegraph Code book offered compressed cipher words. Sending the random word 'Abaft' to your father essentially translated to: 'I missed my train, lost my luggage, and am entirely out of funds.' It was the 19th-century equivalent of a panicked text message from a European train station.
