On April 25th, we observe National Telephone Day.
The correct answer to a trivia question like “Who invented the telephone?” is the name on the patent. In this case, the whole world knows the answer is Alexander Graham Bell.
It was February 14, 1876, when Marcellus Bailey, one of Bell’s attorneys rushed into the US Patent office in Boston to file the patent for what would be the telephone.
Later the same day, Elisha Gray filed a patent caveat for a similar device. A caveat is an intent to file for a patent.
There is also a third contender. Antonio Meucci filed a caveat in November of 1871 for a talking telegraph but failed to renew the caveat due to hardships.
Because Bell’s patent was submitted first, it was awarded to him on March 7, 1876. Gray contested this decision in court, but without success.
By May, Bell and his team were ready for a public demonstration, and there would be no better place than the World’s Fair in Philadelphia. On May 10, 1876, in a crowded Machinery Hall a man’s voice was transmitted from a small horn and carried out through a speaker to the audience.
- “Ahoy” was to be the original telephone greeting. Alexander Graham Bell suggested ‘ahoy’ (as used in ships), but was later superseded by Thomas Edison, who suggested ‘hello’ instead.
- The origin of the phrase ‘to put someone on hold’ was Alexander Graham Bell handing over his telephone instrument to his partner Mr Watson and saying, “here, hold this”.
- The memorable Nokia tone for receiving SMS text messages is Morse code for ‘SMS’ Likewise, the ‘Ascending’ tone is Morse code for ‘Connecting People,’ (Nokia’s slogan) and ‘Standard’ is Morse code for ‘M’ (Message).
- A ton of mobile phones contains more gold than a ton of ore from a gold mine.
- Frigensophobia is the fear that using your mobile is damaging your brain.
- The first phone book was only 20 pages long.
- 41% of people under 25 hate when you don’t pick up the phone after you have just texted them.
- The World’s First Smartphone. Steve Jobs did not invent the smartphone. While the advent of the iPhone in 2007 is credited with making the smartphone a “thing”, the world’s first smartphone debuted in 1993 at Florida’s Wireless World Conference. Simon, launched by BellSouth Cellular, weighed a little more than a pound and offered an LCD touchscreen display and PDA functionality. “Designed by IBM, Simon looks and acts like a cellular phone but offers much more than voice communications,” the press release said at the time. “In fact, users can employ Simon as a wireless machine, a pager, an electronic mail device, a calendar, an appointment scheduler, an address book, a calculator and a pen-based sketchpad — all at the suggested retail price of $899.” Only 2,000 Simons were ever made.
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