what does S.O.S. stand for?

Answer 1

Save Our Ship

Answer 2

Common belief is that SOS stands for "Save Our Ship" or "Save Our Souls" or "Stop Other Signals" or "Stomp Out Stupidity" or "Sale on Socks." (Not really, I made those last two up.) In fact, SOS in not an acronym and it doesn't represent anything at all.

Samuel Morse devised his telegraph code in 1835, using combinations of dots and dashes that he thought would be easy to memorize. The first distress signal was CQD, the "CQ" for a general notice that a message is coming, and "D" for "danger" or "distress." However, this was cumbersome. In Morse Code, CQD was: -.-. --.- -..

So CQD was dropped.

In 1908, an international committee tried to come up with a distress signal that would be easy to remember during a crisis, and could be transmitted by an amateur with only rudimentary knowledge of Morse Code. They decided a simple combination of threes: three letters, each represented by three marks, since three is a universally favored number. Well, at least in Western cultures.

In Morse Code, the only letters represented by three identical marks are O (three dashes) and S (three dots). The committee toyed with OSO, but dashes are longer electrical signals to transmit than dots. An urgent message needed to be broadcast as quickly as possible and use as little power as possible, and so SOS became international standard.

During WWII, the signal "SSS" was adopted when the source of the emergency was a submarine attack, presumably so that potential rescue ships would know there was an enemy sub in the area.

In 1917, Edwin Cox of San Francisco dipped a small square steel-wool pad into a soap solution, and let it dry, and found this product sold well to housewives. His wife referred to the pads as "S.O.S" for "Save Our Saucepans" believing (incorrectly) that the universal distress signal SOS meant "Save Our Ships." Mr Cox took on S.O.S (with the periods) as the name of his new product. The distress signal SOS has no periods in it, for obvious telegraphic reasons.

Answer 3

Save Our Ship

Answer 4

It's old Morse code used originally as a short distress call from a sinking ship. It stood for Save Our Ship. It worked so well and was so easy to remember and quick to use that it became a universal distress signal. Of course if you're talking about that bane of school and other institutional cafeteria lines, it stood for S**T on a Shingle, because sausage gravy on toast just wasn't as interesting to say.

Answer 5

SOS is the commonly used description for the International Morse code distress signal (· · · - - - · · ·). This distress signal was first adopted by the German government in radio regulations effective April 1, 1905, and became the worldwide standard when it was included in the second International Radiotelegraphic Convention, which was signed on November 3, 1906, and became effective on July 1, 1908.

From the beginning, the SOS distress signal has actually consisted of a continuous sequence of three-dots/three-dashes/three-dots, all run together without letter spacing. In International Morse Code, three dots form the letter S, and three dashes make the letter O, so "SOS" became an easy way to remember the correct order of the dots and dashes. In modern terminology, SOS is a "procedural signal" or "prosign", and the formal way to show that there are no internal spaces when it is sent is to write it with a bar above the letters, i.e. SOS.

In popular usage, SOS became associated with phrases such as "Save Our Ship," "Save Our Souls," "Survivors On Ship," "Save Our Sailors" "Stop Other Signals" and "Send Out Sailors". However, these phrases were a later development, most likely used to help remember the correct letters—something known as a backronym.

Answer 6

Actually you asked a good question, most people know what SOS means but don't know what it stanIn popular usage, SOS became associated with phrases such as "Save Our Ship," "Save Our Souls," "Survivors On Ship," "Save Our Sailors" "Stop Other Signals" and "Send Out Sailors". However, these phrases were a later development, most likely used to help remember the correct letter it's an a backronym.

ds for. SOS is the international distress signal.

Answer 7

Save Our Souls, Save Our Ship, etc. Nobody really knows the exact meaning, just that the first time it was used, it worked. If I remember correctly, they tried the usually phrases over the air of "Mayday" and "Help." It wasn't until SOS was tried that someone responded.

Answer 8

The otherwise meaningless string of letters was selected because it is easily recognizable and can be sent rapidly. In popular usage, SOS became associated with phrases such as "Save Our Ship," "Save Our Souls," "Survivors On Ship," "Save Our Sailors" "Stop Other Signals" and "Send Out Sailors". However, these phrases were a later development, most likely used to help remember the correct letters—something known as a backronym.

Answer 9

Nothing. Contrary to popular notion, the letters SOS do not stand for "Save Our Ship" or "Save Our Souls". They were selected to indicate a distress because, in Morse code, these letters and their combination create an unmistakeable sound pattern.

Answer 10

Save Our Ship!