The Prediction Graveyard
Made with ❤️ by Aniruddh Jangid
Unmarked Graves / Western Union / William Orton / Chauncey Depew

unmarked · Unscored / disputed

Attributed memo: the telephone had no practical communication value for Western Union.

Source-backed summary; not presented as a verbatim quotation.

Western Union / William Orton / Chauncey Depew
Telegraph company leadership, identities vary · United States

Made: Not establishedExamined: See evidence
Original conceptual trajectory diagram illustrating Provenance unresolved
Reasoning and outcomes. Original illustration for The Prediction Graveyard. Aniruddh Jangid, 2026. Original digital diagram. CC BY 4.0. Changes: none. This is a conceptual diagram, not an archival image.

The popular version and its context.

The alleged 1876 memorandum circulates in several incompatible versions. A historical investigation traces a related embellished story to much later publication.

True stuff from old books: telephone memo investigation

What the archive supports.

The quoted memo lacks a reliable contemporary source. Its attributed executives and wording vary across retellings.

True stuff from old books: telephone memo investigation
Popular attribution

Attributed memo: the telephone had no practical communication value for Western Union.

Source check

unsubstantiated_attribution

Current finding

Unsubstantiated memo; this does not establish that every underlying business decision was wise.

Evidence against the attribution.

The supposed Depew presidency conflicts with his documented career. Investigation of the memo distinguishes real patent/business decisions from invented dialogue.

True stuff from old books: telephone memo investigation

Verdict.

Reasoning: Not assessed · Outcome: Not assessed

Unsubstantiated memo; this does not establish that every underlying business decision was wise.

Wondermark reproduces and independently investigates the memo story, crediting Phil Lapsley. Do not label Western Union’s historical behaviour entirely fictitious merely because the circulating memo is unsupported.

The lesson.

Does a fabricated quotation turn an ambiguous commercial decision into a simple morality tale?

Sources.

  1. True stuff from old books: telephone memo investigationquote_investigation · Date not established · primary-source investigation and links to Phil Lapsley

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