the.com/phone calls
the only invention that turns a ringtone into a small jolt of dread.
means a real-time voice conversation over a network, with none of the escape hatches texting gives you.
from from telephone, greek tele (far) plus phone (voice) — bell patented it in 1876, and humanity has been screening calls ever since caller id was invented.
gen z dreadmany under-25s call unscheduled calls anxiety-inducing
pocket dial erabutt-dials named a real, common phenomenon
landline peakus landlines peaked around 2000, then collapsed
first wordsbell said watson, come here, i want you
for instance
the bat phone — batman lore, a phone that only means emergency
nixon red phone — cold war hotline, moscow to washington, 1963
customer service hold — average wait times often exceed 10 minutes