In the early 19th century, the need to know the precise time was becoming hugely important due to the increasing demand of dinner and hair appointments by aristocrats and royalty in many parts of the world. As reliable watches had not been invented yet, the only reliable way to find the time was to ring a friend on a mobile phone and ask them to look at the nearest Teletext clock, or use the channel selector on Satellite or Cable television. The demand on phone lines was so great that soon governments around the world declared a state of emergency and the solution was found by employing millions of people to sit and read the time out day and night on a new set of phone lines, most of which where in the highlands of Wales and Scotland.