The word "telephone" is derived from the Greek words "tele" meaning "far off" and "phonos" meaning "sound."

Among the literally hundreds of things invented by Thomas Edison, is the word "hello." Edison actually coined the word, derived from "holler" in 1889. Prior to that time the most common word used when answering the telephone was "yes."

Herbert Hoover was the first U. S. President to have a telephone on his desk at the White House. All previous Presidents kept the phone in an adjoining room.

Because he lacked the funds to develop and exploit the commercial potential of his new invention, Alexander Graham Bell tried to sell all rights to the telephone patent to the Western Union Telegraph Company for $100,000 in 1876. Western Union's president, William Orton turned him down saying, "This electrical toy has far too many shortcomings to ever be considered a practical means of communication."

The year 1879 saw the first use of telephone numbers at Lowell, Massachusetts. During an epidemic of measles, Dr. Moses Greeley Parker feared that Lowell's four operators might succumb to the disease and bring about a paralysis of telephone service. He recommended the use of numbers rather than individual names for calling the more than 200 subscribers. This way, substitute operators could be more easily trained, in the event of such an emergency.