Most constructive invention of 1877

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I can't believe I did not know this, but barely a century before disco swept the nation, the word "hello" was apparently a rarity in the American vernacular. According to Wired online, Thomas Edison is credited with suggesting that people answer the telephone using this salutation instead of Alexander Graham Bell's preferred greeting, "ahoy, ahoy." Wired writer Tony Long tells us, in fact, that initially people did answer their telephones with "ahoy," but Edison's suggestion quickly superseded it. Hello, he says, did not enter the dictionary until 1883 even though earlier uses are documented.

Montgomery Burns, who I believe was born about 12 years after Bell applied for his patent, still answers the horn the correct way to this very day. I can't explain, though, why our parents (or I) answer with "nnnyellllo."

Photo credit: from itspaulkelly's photostream on Flickr. Uploaded it to prevent link rot.