Science Fiction
Dictionary Latest By
"I kind of take it for granted that our great-grandchildren will regard us as a sort of precursor species. That they won't think of us as human and if we could see them, we probably wouldn't think of them as human either."
|
Robert Heinlein did not invent the term "hush-a-phone" - but he did expand on the original device with futuristic attachments.
The original Hush-a-Phone was first manufactured and sold in 1921. It was a very simple device that provided privacy, avoided annoying other people and helped you hear better. It had versions for pedestal phones as well as those new-fangled handsets. It was a very simple device that just slipped onto the phone; it had no moving parts or electrical components.
Heinlein, however, has added some improvements. The rubber mask improves noise suppression; the bone-conduction receiver means that none of the other person's part of the conversation ever goes out in the open air.
Read more at Antique Phone Accessories and The Hush-a-Phone Case. Comment/Join this discussion ( 2 ) | RSS/XML | Blog This | Additional
resources: Hush-a-Phone-related
news articles:
Want to Contribute an
Item?
It's easy:
|
Science Fiction
Timeline
Robot Preachers Found To Undermine Religious Commitment
'Tell me your torments,' the Padre said, in an elderly voice marked with compassion.
SpaceHopper Microgravity Robot Lands On Its Feet
'...a slender-legged tripod surmounted by a spherical body no larger than a football.'
Brin's 1990 Novel Earth Still Full Of Predictions
'... making the point that their likenesses, every move they made, were being transmitted.'
Gaia - Why Stop With Just The Earth?
'But the stars are only atoms in larger space, and in that larger space the star-atoms could combine to form living matter, thinking matter, couldn't they?'
Microsoft VASA-1 Creates Personal Video From A Photo
'...to build up a video picture would require, say, ten million decisions every second. Mike, you're so fast I can't even think about it. But you aren't that fast.'
Splendid View Of Eclipse From Orbit Visualized And Repurposed By Arthur C. Clarke
'The area affected was five hundred kilometres across, and perfectly circular.'
Goldene - A Two-Dimensional Sheet Of Gold One Atom Thick
'Hasan always pitched a Gauzy - a one-molecule-layer tent, opaque, feather-light, and very tough.'
|
Home | Glossary
| Science Fiction Timeline | Category | New | Contact
Us | FAQ | Advertise | Technovelgy.com - where science meets fiction™ Copyright© Technovelgy LLC; all rights reserved. |
||