6 ms·

This just seems like a silly hoax... Carrier pigeons don't go to arbitrary destinations, they're capable of going to 2 places that they've already been familiar

This just seems like a silly hoax... Carrier pigeons don't go to arbitrary destinations, they're capable of going to 2 places that they've already been familiarized with, maximum.

pigtailgirl 4y ago
-- https://www.marketplace.org/2015/09/30/mail-wing-and-prayer/ https://www.marketplace.org/2015/09/30/mail-wing-and-prayer/ - link from their twitter that is mostly weird tweets about trying to get into YC --
- timr 4y ago
  pigeons don't tweet.
  - mxuribe 4y ago
    Yes, and in fact, pigeons coo! See: https://pigeonpedia.com/what-sound-does-a-pigeon-make/ https://pigeonpedia.com/what-sound-does-a-pigeon-make/ Side-note: When i looked up what sound pigeons make, i was pleasantly surprised to learn that there exists a Pigeonpedia! :-)
    - ksaj 4y ago
      Good find. I have a pet pigeon. This looks like a good resource.
divbzero 4y ago
Perhaps they can pivot to avian delivery of one-time passwords — turn the inability to access arbitrary destinations from a bug to a feature.
tombert 4y ago
I was about to write exactly this; I thought that the way messenger pigeon delivery worked basically boiled down to "pigeons are obscenely good at finding their way back 'home' from an arbitrary distance." I didn't think you could just tell them a latitude and longitude or address and have them go there.
- earleybird 4y ago
  However topology may be restricted. "Connection oriented service is available in some cities, usually based upon a central hub topology."[0] [0] https://www.rfc-editor.org/rfc/rfc1149 https://www.rfc-editor.org/rfc/rfc1149
- pram 4y ago
  They can, but you need to speak pigeon.
  - nephanth 4y ago
    Or embed a microchip in their brains
andrewjmyers 4y ago
Pigeons are smarter than you realize.
- poopsmithe 4y ago
  Go on
UncleEntity 4y ago
Actually, pigeons go multiple places each day and keep a schedule. I used to have this neighbor who would feed a bunch of wild pigeons and they would be there all lined up on the roof over his door waiting for him to get home from work. After he moved they quit coming around, probably because these other neighbors were feeding about a dozen feral cats at the same time (who all mysteriously disappeared). So, yeah, train the pigeons well enough and they can set up delivery routes.
- ksaj 4y ago
  This is true. I have a pet pigeon, and you can pretty much set your watch by some of his behaviours.
c3534l 4y ago
I suppose you could set up a network of pigeons. After all, an ethernet cable merely connects two points. Maybe you could train additional pigeons to route the messages somehow.

This just seems like a silly hoax... Carrier pigeons don't go to arbitrary destinations, they're capable of going to 2 places that they've already been familiarized with, maximum.

pigtailgirl 4y ago

-- https://www.marketplace.org/2015/09/30/mail-wing-and-prayer/ https://www.marketplace.org/2015/09/30/mail-wing-and-prayer/ - link from their twitter that is mostly weird tweets about trying to get into YC --

timr 4y ago
pigeons don't tweet.
- mxuribe 4y ago
  Yes, and in fact, pigeons coo! See: https://pigeonpedia.com/what-sound-does-a-pigeon-make/ https://pigeonpedia.com/what-sound-does-a-pigeon-make/ Side-note: When i looked up what sound pigeons make, i was pleasantly surprised to learn that there exists a Pigeonpedia! :-)
  - ksaj 4y ago
    Good find. I have a pet pigeon. This looks like a good resource.

divbzero 4y ago

Perhaps they can pivot to avian delivery of one-time passwords — turn the inability to access arbitrary destinations from a bug to a feature.

tombert 4y ago

I was about to write exactly this; I thought that the way messenger pigeon delivery worked basically boiled down to "pigeons are obscenely good at finding their way back 'home' from an arbitrary distance." I didn't think you could just tell them a latitude and longitude or address and have them go there.

earleybird 4y ago
However topology may be restricted. "Connection oriented service is available in some cities, usually based upon a central hub topology."[0] [0] https://www.rfc-editor.org/rfc/rfc1149 https://www.rfc-editor.org/rfc/rfc1149
pram 4y ago
They can, but you need to speak pigeon.
- nephanth 4y ago
  Or embed a microchip in their brains

andrewjmyers 4y ago

Pigeons are smarter than you realize.

poopsmithe 4y ago
Go on

UncleEntity 4y ago

Actually, pigeons go multiple places each day and keep a schedule. I used to have this neighbor who would feed a bunch of wild pigeons and they would be there all lined up on the roof over his door waiting for him to get home from work. After he moved they quit coming around, probably because these other neighbors were feeding about a dozen feral cats at the same time (who all mysteriously disappeared). So, yeah, train the pigeons well enough and they can set up delivery routes.

ksaj 4y ago
This is true. I have a pet pigeon, and you can pretty much set your watch by some of his behaviours.

c3534l 4y ago

I suppose you could set up a network of pigeons. After all, an ethernet cable merely connects two points. Maybe you could train additional pigeons to route the messages somehow.