1) "Ahoy" was the original telephone greeting. (3)
2) The very first phone call was: “Watson come here, I want you!” (3)
It was made on March 10, 1876 in Boston, Massachusetts, between Alexander Graham Bell and his assistant Thomas A. Watson (3)
3) 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”. (3)
4) 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). (3)
5) Bell’s patent for the telephone was modestly titled ‘Improvement in Telegraphy’. (3)
6) According to a recent survey, 47 per cent of all water-damaged mobile phones in the UK have been dropped in the toilet bowl. (3)
7) A ton of mobile phones contains more gold than a ton of ore from a gold mine.(3)
8) According to the 1945 edition of Who’s Who, Hitler’s home phone number was Berlin 11 6191.(3)
9)The mobile phone number 666 6666 fetched £1.5 million in a charity auction in Qatar in 2007.(3)
10) In the early days, telephone wires were ranked according to how tasty they were to mice and rats.(3)
11) Mark Twain was one of the first to have a phone in his home.(3)
12) The 555 prefix is reserved for fictional US telephone numbers.(3)
13) As a tribute to Alexander Graham Bell when he died in 1922, all the telephones stopped ringing for one full minute (14 million telephones in US and canada were affected).(3)
14) Frigensophobia is the fear that using your mobile is damaging your brain.(3)
15) Nokia was founded back in 1865 and manufacturing paper was its primary business. Many years later, it switched to making rubber products, telegraph wires, and other electrical cables.(3)
1) The first phone call was between Alexander Graham Bell and his assistant, Thomas Watson.
On March 10, 1876, Alexander Graham Bell made history by speaking into a telephone and proclaiming, “Mr. Watson—come here—I want to see you.” Okay, not exactly as epic a quote as when we first landed on the moon, but just as monumental nonetheless. That first successful phone call sparked a technological boom that would develop into the telecommunications industry that we know today.(4)
2) The first phone book was only 20 pages long.
The first phone book was issued in 1878 and was apparently very short! Since the phone was only invented two years before, it makes sense that not everyone was on board with the new technology yet. Strangely enough, the first phone book also instructed readers to “commence the conversation by saying, ‘Huolla!'” (4)
3) 41% of people under 25 hate when you don’t pick up the phone after you have just texted them.
Most people in the Millennial generation can agree with this pet peeve, and since most workers nowadays come from this generation it is a good fact to know for business communications. It is certainly crucial to keep up on phone etiquette in order to be the best worker possible. If you send a text, then the person tries to call you back right away and you don’t pick up, it could be taken as a sign of avoidance and even rudeness.(4)
4) 50 billion instant messages are expected to be sent each day of 2014.
Yes, we live in a texting culture and this confirms it. Text messaging is one of the best ways to communicate without having to talk. And because 79% of people use texting for business communications, it makes sense that so many would be sent out on a day-to-day basis. Texting has also increased with the rise of WhatsApp and iMessage. Text messaging is the ideal way to get your points across in writing, cater to your business needs, and keep communication short and effective.(4)
5) 5% of people have used a phone booth or pay phone in the last year.
Does that number seem a little high to you? Even though most pay phones have been removed from streets and buildings, somehow people are still finding pay phones to use! Considering that most people have cell phones, pay phones are mostly used in emergencies when mobile phones are dead (think about all the “call boxes” on the side of the highway that are still around). 5% of the population is still thankful that these outdated booths are still in existence!(4)
2) The very first phone call was: “Watson come here, I want you!” (3)
It was made on March 10, 1876 in Boston, Massachusetts, between Alexander Graham Bell and his assistant Thomas A. Watson (3)
3) 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”. (3)
4) 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). (3)
5) Bell’s patent for the telephone was modestly titled ‘Improvement in Telegraphy’. (3)
6) According to a recent survey, 47 per cent of all water-damaged mobile phones in the UK have been dropped in the toilet bowl. (3)
7) A ton of mobile phones contains more gold than a ton of ore from a gold mine.(3)
8) According to the 1945 edition of Who’s Who, Hitler’s home phone number was Berlin 11 6191.(3)
9)The mobile phone number 666 6666 fetched £1.5 million in a charity auction in Qatar in 2007.(3)
10) In the early days, telephone wires were ranked according to how tasty they were to mice and rats.(3)
11) Mark Twain was one of the first to have a phone in his home.(3)
12) The 555 prefix is reserved for fictional US telephone numbers.(3)
13) As a tribute to Alexander Graham Bell when he died in 1922, all the telephones stopped ringing for one full minute (14 million telephones in US and canada were affected).(3)
14) Frigensophobia is the fear that using your mobile is damaging your brain.(3)
15) Nokia was founded back in 1865 and manufacturing paper was its primary business. Many years later, it switched to making rubber products, telegraph wires, and other electrical cables.(3)
1) The first phone call was between Alexander Graham Bell and his assistant, Thomas Watson.
On March 10, 1876, Alexander Graham Bell made history by speaking into a telephone and proclaiming, “Mr. Watson—come here—I want to see you.” Okay, not exactly as epic a quote as when we first landed on the moon, but just as monumental nonetheless. That first successful phone call sparked a technological boom that would develop into the telecommunications industry that we know today.(4)
2) The first phone book was only 20 pages long.
The first phone book was issued in 1878 and was apparently very short! Since the phone was only invented two years before, it makes sense that not everyone was on board with the new technology yet. Strangely enough, the first phone book also instructed readers to “commence the conversation by saying, ‘Huolla!'” (4)
3) 41% of people under 25 hate when you don’t pick up the phone after you have just texted them.
Most people in the Millennial generation can agree with this pet peeve, and since most workers nowadays come from this generation it is a good fact to know for business communications. It is certainly crucial to keep up on phone etiquette in order to be the best worker possible. If you send a text, then the person tries to call you back right away and you don’t pick up, it could be taken as a sign of avoidance and even rudeness.(4)
4) 50 billion instant messages are expected to be sent each day of 2014.
Yes, we live in a texting culture and this confirms it. Text messaging is one of the best ways to communicate without having to talk. And because 79% of people use texting for business communications, it makes sense that so many would be sent out on a day-to-day basis. Texting has also increased with the rise of WhatsApp and iMessage. Text messaging is the ideal way to get your points across in writing, cater to your business needs, and keep communication short and effective.(4)
5) 5% of people have used a phone booth or pay phone in the last year.
Does that number seem a little high to you? Even though most pay phones have been removed from streets and buildings, somehow people are still finding pay phones to use! Considering that most people have cell phones, pay phones are mostly used in emergencies when mobile phones are dead (think about all the “call boxes” on the side of the highway that are still around). 5% of the population is still thankful that these outdated booths are still in existence!(4)