What did people used to say when they picked up the phone?

The dictionary says it was Thomas Edison who put hello into common usage. He urged the people who used his phone to say “hello” when answering. His rival, Alexander Graham Bell, thought the better word was “ahoy.”

Why do random numbers call me and not say anything?

Robocalls that hang up immediately are usually meant to verify your number. It means that the machine wants to confirm that the number is active and that a real person answered the phone. Those calls will be brief, and often the call gets disconnected as soon as you say hello.

What is the reason behind saying hello in phone?

Why do we answer the phone with hello? When the telephone was invented, Alexander Graham Bell wanted people to use the word ahoy as a greeting. Supposedly his rival Thomas Edison suggested hello, while Bell stubbornly clung to ahoy, and well—you know which one stuck around.

What to say when you pick up the phone funny?

Funny phrases when answering the phone Answering the phone with funny phrases, like “talk to me” or “Yello”, is a classic. However, the more creative you are, the funnier you will be. For example, according to List Keepers, the No. 1 funny way to answer the phone is: “City Morgue, you kill them, we relax ’em.”

Is it rude to not pick up the phone?

Hurry! Not picking up the phone would be like someone knocking at your door and you standing behind it not answering. It was, at the very least, rude, and quite possibly sneaky or creepy or something. Besides, as the phone rang, there were always so many questions, so many things to sort out.

Why do we say hello when we call someone on the phone?

When you called someone, if the person was there, they would pick up, they would say hello. If someone called you, if you were there, you would pick up, you would say hello. That was just how phones worked. The expectation of pickup was what made phones a synchronous medium.

What happens if you don’t get to the phone in time?

Before ubiquitous caller ID or even *69 (which allowed you to call back the last person who’d called you), if you didn’t get to the phone in time, that was that. You’d have to wait until they called back.

Why do I keep getting spam phone calls?

There are the spam phone calls, whose sole purpose seems to be verifying that your phone number is real and working. The Federal Communications Commission has been trying to slow robocalls for at least half a decade, but it doesn’t seem to have done anything to stem the tide.