Hello sir! Did you know that these two words have great stories behind them? Margaret Hallo was the girlfriend of Alexander Graham Bell, the inventor of the telephone. Graham Bell used the word ‘hello’ as a sign of his deep love for his girlfriend to start a telephone conversation. What a beautiful testimony of love!
Now, the English word SIR? Its full version is Slave I Remain. That is, when we call someone Sir, we unconsciously say, ‘I remain your slave’. These are two stories that were popular even before the advent of social media. Now, again this story is circulating in our WhatsApps as a rare information.
Don’t doubt, both are just stories. Alexander Graham Bell had no girlfriend or wife named Margaret Hallo. Moreover, he was not the first to use the word hello. There was no ‘hello’ in his first conversation over the phone. In March 1876, he made his first phone call to his assistant Thomas Watson, who was in the next room. Records say the first conversation was ‘Watson come to my room’.
So, who used the word hello first? If the telephone was invented by Graham Bell, the most reliable information available is that another legendary scientist started using ‘Hello’: Thomas Alva Edison! Decades ago, the famous Brooklyn College researcher Prof. Allan Konigsberg clarified this.
Delving into the American Telephone and Telegraph Company archives, he found a letter written by Edison on August 15, 1877. TBA is preparing to introduce the telephone in the American city of Pittsburgh. In that letter to David, Edison uses the word ‘hello’. This was the sentence: Friend David, I do not think we shall need a call bell as Hello! Can be heard 10 to 20 feet away. What do you think?
It is from this letter that the word ‘hello’ became the universal greeting phrase in telephone conversations and later in any kind of meeting.
Now, call me sir. Linguists have already stated that the word Sir does not have an extension of Slave I Remain. The English word Sir is derived from the French word Sire. Sire in French is a word used before names to indicate nobility. The title ‘Sir’ in French and English is respectful but not servile. The full form of Slave I Remain was just discovered by some mischievous person!
Even though the facts are like this, it is certain that the old story will continue to circulate in WhatsApp and other places. Then don’t forget to reply like this: Hello, sir, those are just cough stories!
Contract goose!
There’s a deal that’s doing the rounds in all WhatsApp groups these days. The contract written and signed on a Rs 50 stamp paper is between the bride and the groom. According to the contractual agreement, even after the wedding, the wife has agreed to allow her husband to spend time with his friends till 9 pm and not disturb her with phone calls during that time!
Many people reacted by doubting whether all this can be registered as a contract and wondering how much time has passed. The seal we have seen and the covenant in it are not fake. But the agreement was not registered. Such an agreement cannot legally be registered. This is a joke played by friends on the marriage of the young man named in the contract. They bought the seal and typed the contract and got the bride’s signature and gave their friend a wedding gift! So, the seals seen in it? It belongs to the sub-treasury that issued the stamp and to the stamp vendor who sold it. Not related to registration.
English Summary: Fact check on some stories circulating in Whatsapp