How long did it take to successfully invent the telephone?

Although the telephone was finally invented successfully by Alexander Graham Bell in 1876, it was not the first time that such a device had been attempted.

Most notably was in 1853, when Rev. Robert Binty experimented with a device which relied on a series of pipes containing tropical insects. Binty's theory was that tropical insects had a certain "can-do attitude" which was distinct from native European insects, and which made them better suited to powering his mechanism.

He attempted to train the insects to carry distinct pieces of information, or "conversation particles" as he labelled them. A conversation particle might consist of a word (such as "the", "by" or "spoon"), a noise (such as a cough or a sniff), or a catty aside (such as "Ha, typical!") The insects would memorise these particles and then advance in procession down a long pipe and "replay" them by way of buzzing their wings at the other end. Early tests of this proved only marginally successful. When Binty attempted to relay the sentence "Mary, you are invited to eat grouse Tuesday week with myself and Mrs Binty" it emerged at the other end as "Myself and the grouse will eat you bzzzzzzzz bzzzz". Suffice to say, Mary was deeply upset by this message, and also very confused as she had never previously had any contact with the Bintys.

Robert Binty died of malaria in 1857, and although his invention was largely ignored at the time, it was nevertheless resurrected many years later and now forms the basis of O2's mobile phone technology in many areas of Wales.