Written by: Eric Peterson
On March 10, 1876,as Alexander Graham Bell and his assistant, Thomas A. Watson, set out to test their discovery that a wire vibrated by the voice while partially immersed in a conducting liquid could be made to vary its resistance and produce an undulating current Bell knocked over what they were using as a transmitting liquid: battery acid. Reacting to the spilled acid, Mr. Bell is reported to have shouted, ³Mr. Watson, come here. I want you!² Bell¹s actual words, or whether he ever really spilled the acid, are a matter of some dispute. The result, however, is not. Watson, working in the next room, heard Bell¹s voice and quickly went to answer it.
It is fitting, I think, that the first successful telephone call is associated with a cry for help. Little more is known about Bell¹s incident with the acid, so it is probably safe to assume that he would have managed well enough even without Watson¹s help. This is not always the case, however. Indeed, if you live long enough, chances are good that you will one day find yourself in a situation that is beyond your control. You might want or even require somebody else¹s assistance. If so, I¹m betting you¹ll also want a telephone or its equivalent.
Today we can, among other things, use phones to download, listen to, and send music; listen to the radio or watch TV; chat (text and video) with friends; download and play games, play network games; take and send or receive pictures; browse the internet; and send and receive e-mail. And of course, there is also good-old-fashioned voice. Sometimes, as we get caught up in the frenzy and fervor of our work, we forget that when in a real pinch, voice service in any form is still hard to beat.
This past August I went backpacking with a group of almost 60 men and boys in a mountain wilderness area in the north of Sweden. Unfortunately, Mother Nature was unkind and few of us were adequately prepared for the amount of moisture we encountered. On Day 4 (of 6) we were granted our first, brief respite from the rain. The clouds lifted, and with them our hopes. Here and there could be glimpsed a patch of blue sky. A group of eager climbers seized the opportunity and set off to ascend the highest peak in the vicinity. Shortly after lunch, two others determined that they too would try. But within the hour, the weather turned ugly again. This time, in addition to clouds and rain, the wind had picked up and the temperature was falling.
To cut a long story short, the first group returned to camp in good spirits but the other two did not. They reached the top all right, but on their descent they lost their way in the clouds and went down the wrong side of the mountain. When they realized their mistake it was already dark. They had not taken any food with them. They were poorly equipped. They did not have a map. And they could not find a trail any trail. As often happens in situations like this, fear set in and they panicked. Suffice it to say they had made, and would yet make, several mistakes during the 20 hours they went missing. In time, however, they stumbled, exhausted, wet and hungry, upon a ³rest hostel² with an emergency telephone. And a friendly voice on the other end of the line. The two were soon located and safely airlifted back to camp. Thank you Mr. Bell and Mr. Watson. Were it not for a telephone, this story might have had a different, less-happy ending.
Eric Peterson
Editor, Ericsson Review
