Will church bells be rung when the duchess of Cambridge's baby is born?

[Lili]

No, I don't think so. Just a gun salute. I don't remember bells being rung when Prince William was born, though they were certainly rung to irritating degree when he was married.

And you seem to think people had no means of communication before social media and 24-hour news broadcasts. Ever heard of telephones and newspapers? Radio? And the noon and evening television news? Even before television people read newspapers, listened to the radio, or saw newsreels in movie theaters. They had newspapers and the telegraph back in the 19th century, and telephones came along in the late 19th century.

The problem with bells is that they can't tell you exactly what's going on. If people have been waiting for some days for a birth or death, tolling bells may announce that it's occurred, but otherwise, bells can't communicate clearly or in detail.