I am glad to have my phone.
It is with me all the time. However, the ringer is seldom turned on.
I’m not a big “phone talker.”
Some people enjoy talking on the phone and will do it endlessly.
It is simply not my thing, perhaps because I’m such an introvert, or maybe because I’m not very adept at sitting still for any amount of time. Mostly, when I’m on a phone call, I walk around the house and try to do certain tasks quietly.
I have some siblings that are just the opposite of me. They can talk and talk on the phone. My partner too. I always fall a little short.
Mostly, I use my phone as a tool. I ask it a lot of questions throughout the day; I make notes and lists. I like to solve puzzles on my phone in the evenings or while waiting for an appointment, or in line. Nonogram is my favorite game right now.
When I was six years old and saw the rotary version hanging on the wall, with the long cord that stretched well into the other room, I had no idea that phone would ever do much more than connect calls.
In some ways, it was better.
When the phone rang, no one knew for sure who was on the other end. A lot of times, there would be a guess from my Mom or older siblings. They’d say things like, “Oh, it’s probably Joan Vallo.” Or, “I bet Janice is calling me.”
And then, they’d always have a slight hint of sheer delight when they’d answer, nodding their head with a smile, as if to say, “Yeah. That’s who it is.”
Pulling cranks on the phone was a great sport back then too. Those days are over. Not only can the person on the other end tell who you are, they could find out where you are if they brought the authorities in on the case.
“Is your refrigerator running?” — “Well, you better catch it!”
(baaa, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha….)
Days long gone by.
I’m thinking all these things because it was on this date, August 20, that the dial telephone was patented. This happened in 1896.
At least, this was the “fact” I read today, but there seem to be multiple discrepancies about when and who. I also found this:
“The first patent for a rotary dial was granted to Almon Brown Strowger (November 29, 1892) as U.S. Patent 486,909, but the commonly known form with holes in the finger wheel was not introduced until about 1904.”
“The most dramatic contribution of the Ericksons in telephony is associated with the invention of the dial telephone. Application for the patent was made by Keith and the Ericksons on August 20, 1896, and Patent No. 597,062 was granted on January 11, 1898.”
And there are more accounts. So, I’m saying today is as good as any.
Mostly, I was thinking about dialing. Where we lived, most of the numbers started with 277, 278, or 275. Then, four more would follow, such as 277-9088. Now, if you got to the end, and your finger slipped on one of the eights, you’d have to start over. It was a big deal for a number like this because dialing any number higher than five took a long time to roll back around.
I’d get incredibly nervous with 8,9,0 numbers.
Here’s the other thing about those older phones. Boy, oh boy. You could really hang up on somebody. These days, if you hang up on someone, you just press the little red icon. There’s no joy in that. But back then, you could really slam one down on the handset. Really get a big windup, and then BLAM.
Not that I did ever did that.
Regardless. Do kids still call it hanging up on someone?
I miss those old phones sometimes.
But not one of them knew the atomic weight of tin. (SN, 50, if you’re curious.)
Or the lifespan of an African elephant. (60-70 years.)
And more.
We could keep chatting here for hours.
But. I better hang up now.
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“TELEPHONE n. An invention of the devil which abrogates some of the advantages of making a disagreeable person keep his distance.”
― Ambrose Bierce
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“The telephone is the greatest nuisance among conveniences, the greatest convenience among nuisances.”
― Robert Staughton Lynd
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“The telephone will be used to inform people that a telegram has been sent.”
— Alexander Graham Bell
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Be oh so careful with the seven digits
