How did “hello” become the default greeting when you answer the phone?

766 views

How did “hello” become the default greeting when you answer the phone?

In: Culture

2 Answers

Anonymous 0 Comments

>The use of hello as a telephone greeting has been credited to Thomas Edison; according to one source, he expressed his surprise with a misheard Hullo.[11] Alexander Graham Bell initially used Ahoy (as used on ships) as a telephone greeting.[12][13] However, in 1877, Edison wrote to T. B. A. David, president of the Central District and Printing Telegraph Company of Pittsburgh:

>Friend David, I do not think we shall need a call bell as Hello! can be heard 10 to 20 feet away.

>What you think? Edison – P.S. first cost of sender & receiver to manufacture is only $7.00.[14]

>By 1889, central telephone exchange operators were known as ‘hello-girls’ because of the association between the greeting and the telephone.

As /u/ChoadyWalker says, this was in contrast to Bell’s desire that the greeting be “Ahoy-Hoy”.

Anonymous 0 Comments

Nobody liked ‘Ahoy!’ which is what the creator of the telephone wanted the standard greeting to be.