Tuesday, March 10, 2026

“MR. WATSON COME HERE, I WANT YOU”

 ON THIS DATE, MARCH 10TH, IN 1876

From that first ever telephone call by Alexander Graham Bell and to this day, the world would never be the same.

 

“History was made” and “never be the same” are expressions used with abandon and lack of a sense of precision for trivial things. But when it comes to the invention of the telephone, this is, if anything, an understatement.

 

It started as an almost peripheral function, even as a few understood way back in 1876 that March 10th was a paradigm shift, a game changer, a turning point from which nothing in the many ways we interact would be spared.

 

It started then and never stopped.

 

Look at us now, a humanity where many cannot function without phone in hand.


7 comments:

MirkaK said...

Even more amazing is that our cell phones allow us to speak with and see people far and wide without a hefty phone bill for long distance calls. The first time I used Skype during a trip to Japan in 2012, it was incredible to stay connected to my husband as though we were in the same room. In a way, we were. Now I use FaceTime and it’s still such a gift to communicate with friends in other countries.

Evelyn said...

Yes, it's a gift to be able to stay in tough with people we love and care about.

Barbara Etlin said...

I have mixed feelings about the phone, but I do appreciate the long-distance benefits of cell phones.

Mirka Breen said...

I think that, putting aside the matter of positives & negatives, there's little doubt that this invention has *changed* us and continues to. A note-worthy date for humanity🤔

Vijaya said...

We didn't have a phone in India--letters back and forth from the US took a month. My family still isn't big on talking on the phone. But it's the next best thing to a visit. Amazing invention.

Karen Jones Gowen said...

The telephone, electricity, gas-powered engines...how did people live without these things for thousands of years?

Mirka Breen said...

Karen, there are pockets in our present world where people live without these things. Maybe we can ask them 😹