Researchers from Canada's York University should clarify their claim to have sent the world's first text message using alcohol. That effect's been occurring since whenever cell phones gained messaging capabilities.

To be more specific, scientists inputted text into a transmitter, converted it into computer code, and somehow embedded that code within alcohol (for the full explanation, see study), which propelled from a spray bottle-like device, and, with the help of a small fan, towards a sensory receiver. Once the alcohol reached its destination, the sensor decoded its hidden message back to the original input, which was, rather appropriately, "O Canada."

"We believe we have sent the world's first text message to be transmitted entirely with molecular communication, controlling concentration levels of the alcohol molecules to encode the alphabet, with single spray representing bits and no spray representing the bit zero," York University doctoral candidate Nariman Farsad said in the institution's press release.

The design was simple yet rudimentary. Researchers Nariman Farsad, Weisi Guo, and Andrew W. Eckford sought a basic setup and inexpensive chemicals (one of many reasons why alcohol was chosen) to provide a base for future research. It didn't matter that their transmission rates were low and the distance messages travelled was short; the experiment succeeded in its goal. Future research will be trusted to improve their model.

"The transmission rates can be significantly improved by using better fans, more sophisticated protocols and detection algorithms, use of multiple chemicals, use of multiple-input and multiple-output (MIMO) communication, designing better sensors, and using sensor arrays," the authors wrote. "We leave these for future study."

Eckford expanded on his definition of future research in the press release.

"Chemical signals can offer a more efficient way of transmitting data inside tunnels, pipelines or deep underground structures. For example, the recent massive clog in the London sewer system could have been detected earlier on, and without all the mess workers had to deal with by sending robots equipped with a molecular communication system," he said.