# data[].attributes.body
Cyrus W. Field lays a transatlantic cable to Europe.

A transatlantic cable was a cable that ran along the ocean floor to carry electric signals to other continents. These cables are not the fiber optic cables capable of transmitting text messages or phone calls, but instead a far more rudimentary system that could send telegraph messages.

The first transatlantic cable was constructed by the Atlantic Telegraph Company, who operated a cable for around three weeks in an 1854 test. Though the cable did not last long, it showed the promise of cables as a technological advancement.

On July 27, 1866, the Great Eastern reached Newfoundland, connecting the third transatlantic cable in history, forever uniting the continents.

In the 1870s duplex and quadruplex cables would be invented and put into use, allowing for bidirectional control and transmission.

# data[].attributes.body
The typewriter was a device that could convert keystrokes into written letters. Though the device was invented in a far more rudimentary form in 1868, it would not see commercial use until 1874, and would have to wait until the mid 1880s for it to become widespread.

Though previous prototypes had been created by others, Christopher Sholes was the first person to make a typewriter well equipped enough to become a commercial success in the US.

The typewriter worked for writing and communications, but the technology was clearly still in its infancy. For example, the Sholes typewriter (like other typewriters at the time) had up-striking typebars, which meant the writer was incapable of seeing the letters they were typing.

Later inventors would improve on the design, and by 1897 the first typewriter with a visible typing area would come into circulation.

# data[].attributes.body
Alexander Graham Bell invents the telephone.

Bell was an inventor with a special interest in harmonics, as his wife was deaf. Backed by wealthy investors, Bell would collaborate with Thomas Watson to create a simple receiver that could translate electricity into sound waves.

By 1877 the Bell Telephone company made its first transcontinental phone call from NYC to San Francisco.

The telephone allowed American business owners to conduct business far more effectively. Phones made contactless meetings possible, and allowed for greater customer outreach, resulting in a refined business system incorporating more customers than ever before.

# data[].attributes.body
The cash register is invented, allowing for smoother exchanges of goods.

# data[].attributes.body
Electricity introduced to American cities. Electricity allowed factory lights to stay on well into the night, and revolutionized communication with faster connections.

# data[].attributes.body
Calculating machine invented.

# data[].attributes.body
1.35 million telephones.

# data[].attributes.body
13.3 million telephones. People are now more connected than ever. The beginnings of globalization have come and gone. Who's ready for a Great Depression?