In the 1800s, before the invention of the electrical generator (the generator was not invented and perfected until the 1870s), the Daniell cell was extremely common for operating telegraphs and doorbells. The Daniell cell is also known by three other names:
- Crowfoot cell (because of the typical shape of the zinc electrode)
- Gravity cell (because gravity keeps the two sulfates separated)
- Wet cell (because it uses liquids for the electrolytes, as opposed to the modern dry cell)