Telephone and its story

Telephone and its story.

Telephone image courtsey: falmouthcomputers.co.uk

Though abused to the extreme it still remains as a good device.

Realizing the death of the distance.

With the advent of mobile phones old telephones have become ‘land lines’ and got pushed to a corner. It is time to think seriously that whether these old friends of ours are on the path of becoming history! This is not a requiem to these old friends but a history of the landmarks. Telephones have passed through numerous landmarks before becoming a very popular and useful device. In realizing the ‘death of the distance’ telephones have played a more prominent role than advanced transportation through super highways or bullet trains.

A very simple technology.

Its technology works like this spoken words said in to the mouth-piece of the user get converted in to electrical waves by his set and get transmitted through cables in the exchange. The exchange redirect (formerly it was done manually) the electrical waves to the destination (the receiver’s phone) his telephone reconverts the electrical waves in to sound (spoken words) and make him able to hear what is said. A telephone set does the dual functions of receiving as well as sending signals. This technology appears so simple but at that time of inception it took many stages to get developed in to perfection.

The chronology.

The story starts with the awarding of patent for telephone to Mr. Alexander Graham Bell in March 7, 1876. The right to this patent is considered as one of the most valuable one ever awarded. It is said that if Mr. Bell was late in filing the application by few hours the credit would have gone to one Elisha Gray, who also had been working in the same line.

The first user for a telephone Mr. Charles Williams who installed one in April 4, 1877, he connected his office and home with this device.

The first exchange.

May 17, 1877 Edwin Homes interconnected five telephones belonging to his clients’ offices with a common switch board (the first cousin of the exchange was thus born).

Mrs. Emma Nutt enters in to the pages of telephone history by joining as the first female

telephone operator in September 1, 1878. It is history that late this field became the fiefdom of women.

As a trading machine!

When the New York Stock Exchange introduced telephone in to its floor, it was the real break to the device to become ‘the money making machine’. Operators began to make millions just by sitting on the chair (This golden break came to telephone in 1879).

A numerical revolution.

So far the telephone subscribers were recorded in names and as their numbers swelled; it became difficult for the operators to memorize their names hence each subscriber was allotted with a number! A numerical revolution for the first time!

Telephone and sky scraper.

It is a seldom quoted fact that telephone was behind the emergence of sky-scrappers. World’s first sky scrapper built in Chicago for the Home Insurance Company would not have been conceived if communication facility via telephone was not developed, just think of messengers climbing so many floors with office documents!

The coin operated telephone the ubiquitous device of today came in to existence in August 13, 1889 in Connecticut. First telephone booths a novelty at that time was made of carved oak wood and decorated with fine draperies.

It would be strange to hear that it was an undertaker firm from Kansas City who gained patent for the first direct line telephone.

Friend of the farmer.

Telephone got the status of a rural developer in February 9, 1909 when Mr. Theodore Roosevelt then American President stated that telephones can play important roles in warding off rural isolation and can boost agricultural productivity.

With a phone on the desk.

It was in March 27, 1929 telephone got installed on the desk of a US president for the first time. Before that the president had to leave his chair to the booth outside!

A war and a phone-call.

Telephone image courtsey: sparkmuseum.com

September 1, 1939. At 2.40 AM President Franklin Roosevelt receives first word of the Second World War as a telephone call from Paris informs him that Hitler had invaded Poland. The world war in fact has done much for the proliferation of telephone density as it more than doubled during the war time.

November 18, 1963. Push button service introduced there by saving time and effort of the caller.

The introduction of telephones that can automatically reverse charges gave birth to the modern fad catalogue shopping; this was in June 14, 1965. Telephone was thus getting raised to the status of a business machine.

Use and abuse.

When young ones shout over mobile; instead of getting annoyed just think that the history of telephone is so magnificent that a kid’s misuse of it can never make us hate it. This device has changed the process of communication as simple as the entire globe on which we live has got reduced to a small settlement that one can talk to the other sitting from one end to the other end.

A pet dog that bites at times but catches criminals!

A phone is like a pet dog which is always with the owner at times it may bite; but is always very helpful and company. Excuse the kid for overusing and abusing the device. Almost all the recent crimes were proved with the help of mobile phone records; in that aspect it excels the police officers. In future also mobile phones will remain as the single largest catchers of criminals.

Poor North Koreans!

North Korea is a nation where mobile phones are banned, the reason is best known to the authorities. The help mobiles offer to criminals may be the perceived reason (for North Korea the term mean people who wish to live in freedom and prosperity!). Admitted that crimes are committed with the use of advanced communications like mobile phones; but these devices leave a trail for all the conversations made and thus help police to follow and catching the culprits sitting in the comforts of their office. Don’t hesitate; go mobile as the ad goes. Don’t be a North Korean sans mobile!