February 13th is World Radio Day! Radio waves were first discovered in 1886 by German physicist Heinrich Hertzin. The first practical transmitters and receivers were developed around a decade later with radio starting to be used commercially around 1900. It wasn't until 1920 that radio became more widespread with FM signal being introduced in 1939. Check out more facts below:
- AM stands for Amplitude Modulation and was the first method developed for making audio radio transmission.
- FM stands for Frequency Modulation and was first invented in 1933 by American engineer Edwin Armstrong, in 1939 the first two radio stations signed on using FM signal.
- KDKA in Pittsburgh was the first commercial radio station to go on air on November 2nd, 1920. That date was chosen due to it being an election day, the power of radio was proven when people could hear the results for the Harding-Cox presidential race before they could read about it in the newspaper
- In the United States, the first letter in a call sign is K if the station is west of the Mississippi River and a W if the station is on the eastern side. That's why in Huntsville we're WDRM, WTAK, WQRV, & WBHP here locally.
- The most powerful commercial station ever was WLW out of Cincinnati, Ohio. Though it ran mostly at 500,000 watts, it was capable of producing one million watts shortly after World War II. At night, WLW could be heard across the entire country. The transmitter was so strong, people in the area reported picking up WLW radio on the metal coils of mattress and boxed bedsprings.
- The first time the Japanese people heard the Emperor's voice on the radio was when he announced Japan's surrender in WWII.
- The number one most played song on U.S. radio of the 200s decade (2000-2009) was 'How You Remind Me' by Nickelback with over 1.2 million spins
- The first instance of telephone hold music was caused due to a loose piece of wiring. The wire touched a metal girder at a factory next to a radio station. This turned the building into a giant radio antenna that would play music from next door when people were put on hold.
- One of the most popular radio acts of the 1930s was a ventriloquist. Yes, a ventriloquist.
- France banned mentions of Twitter & Facebook on Radio and TV because they were deemed as promotion and unfair to other sites. (EX. Follow us on Twitter/Like us on Facebook.)