
Hello - how are you? Thank Thomas Alva Edison for popularizing the use of "Hello" as a salutation. When Alexander Graham Bell invented his telephone, he initially chose "Ahoy" to greet callers. After Edison unveiled his own model, he decided the telephone should be answered with the assertive "Hello", which the near-deaf Edison could hear from ten to twenty feet away. Most likely, the English had learned "Hello" from the French in the Middle Ages, who would say "Ho là", which meant both "stop" and "pay attention." For long distance shouts, the ending [...]