Everyone knows that Alexander Graham Bell invented the telephone. Well, everyone that is except the Germans (who claim the honour for one of their citizens, Philipp Reis) and the Italians (who tout one Antonio Meucci).
However, putting all that aside, let's examine what were supposedly the first words spoken over a telegraph wire;
"Mr. Watson, come here. I want you."
I think we can safely assume this wasn't an invitation for Thomas Watson's luck to change. No, it was purportedly a call for immediate assistance. Why? Because Alex had spilled battery acid onto his trousers and it was burning its way through.
The sanitised movie version of how Alexander Graham came to invent the world's most annoying implement would have us believe that he spilled the acid on the top of his thigh. As any man will tell you, if liquid of any description is going to spill or splash, it invariably soaks that area of the male anatomy most embarrassing. The crotch. Such was the case, apparently, with Mr. Bell when he spilled the battery acid.
I guess in the sixties, movie goers couldn't be subjected to the image of a man violently slapping at his crotch whilst trying to rip his trousers off, so naturally they toned it down a little.
This, then, beggars the question, what did Alexander Graham Bell really say? "Mr. Watson, come here. I want you", calmly spoken whilst acid was eating its way toward a rather sensitive area? I don't think so.
I reckon he said something a lot more concise and to the point. And, most likely, only one word.
1 comment:
You should get your blog published in book form one day Pete, these are so much funnier than some books I have read by supposed humorists! Do you sit at your computer and chuckle while you are typing? If I was S, I would be tempted to sit at your side and watch it all unfold, giggling as we go, lol!
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