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Alexander Bell answered the phone with "Ahoy!" ... who is credited with using the term "hello"?

Question #149711. Asked by BigTriviaDawg.
Last updated Aug 26 2023.
Originally posted Aug 26 2023 7:53 PM.

psnz

Answer has 3 votes

Currently Best Answer

psnz

5 year member
1008 replies avatar

Answer has 3 votes.

Currently voted the best answer.

It was the Wizard of Menlo Park himself, Thomas Alva Edison.

The [Oxford English] dictionary says it was Thomas Edison who put hello into common usage. He urged the people who used his phone to say "hello" when answering. His rival, Alexander Graham Bell, thought the better word was "ahoy."

https://www.npr.org/sections/krulwich/2011/02/17/133785829/a-shockingly-short-history-of-hello

Response last updated by psnz on Aug 26 2023.
Aug 26 2023, 7:54 PM

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Alexander Bell answered the phone with "Ahoy!" ... who is credited with using the term "hello"?

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