01/09/2026
Note posted by the Davises' telephone, near the kitchen. (Please read in Mary Poppins's Mr. Banks voice)
Incidentally, the word hello first appeared in the early 19th century, but it wasn’t initially a casual greeting. Instead, it was used to grab attention or express surprise, as in, “Well, hello! What’s going on here?”
Its rise to everyday use came later, thanks to the invention of the telephone. When people began speaking to unseen, unfamiliar callers, a simple and efficient greeting was needed. Thomas Edison claimed he popularized hello for answering phone calls, favoring it over awkward early alternatives like “Do I get you?” or “Are you there?”
However, things could have turned out very differently. Alexander Graham Bell, the telephone’s inventor, never liked hello at all. Throughout his life, he preferred answering the phone with “Ahoy.”
❤️
