Phone manners have changed some in the 150 years since Alexander Bell first spoke the words “Mr. Watson, come here! I want to see you!” into his leading-edge voice transmitter. Early telephone etiquette centered around social politeness, and also on the practicality that phone service was limited and should not be squandered! A few examples, taken from a list of early phone etiquette rules in a recent Mental Floss article: Don’t say hello! Because that greeting was implied and exchanging niceties was seen as tying up the phone lines unnecessarily. Instead, recipients were encouraged to state their phone number immediately as soon as they picked up
