Far voice
We are so used to having telephones, most of us never think about them. But the first sentence said on a telephone did not happen until 130 years ago. The sentence was, 'Mr Watson, come here, I want to see you'. The year was 1876.
The English word 'telephone' comes from ancient Greek. 'Tele' means 'far'. 'Phone' means 'voice'. The first real 'far voice' - a long-distance telephone call - came in 1877. By 1904, there were 3 million telephones in the United States.
Talking down wires
Original telephones carried voices over wires. The earliest telephone was invented in 1667 in England. It carried sounds by vibrations down a wire.
You can make a 'telephone' like the oldest telephone. All you need is two plastic cups (or yoghurt containers) and a piece of string.