professional work hours circa 1900
Telephone traffic profiles by time of day at the beginning of the twentieth century provide evidence of work hours. Analyzing telephone traffic data, a telephone engineer with Chicago Telephone Company described the Chicago business day about 1902: In the Main office district in Chicago the business day may be said to have begun at 8.30 [...]
Tagged: telephones
seedless watermelons insult men
This is another chapter in the emasculation of men. Just say no to seedless watermelons!
Tagged: sexism
identify theft losses compared to fire property losses
Identity theft is a major problem. Among U.S. households, 6.6% had at least one member who was a victim of identity theft in 2007. These identity theft victims reported $14.6 billion in financial losses. For comparison, total direct property losses from criminal and accidental fires in buildings amounted to $10.6 billion in 2007.[1] Hence [...]
Tagged: identity theft
underestimating intelligence at network edges
Considering the merits of using automatic switches rather than human telephone operators to connect telephone calls, a Bell System technical expert in 1891 declared: experience and observation have united to show us that an operation as complex as that of uniting two telephone subscribers’ lines [connecting a telephone call] . . . can never efficiently [...]
Tagged: telephones
time watching television continues to grow
Average television watching time per U.S. adult grew from 16 hours per week in 1995 to 20 hours per week in 2009. From 2003 to 2009, television watching time increased 9%.[1] Television watching time accounts for about half of total personal discretionary time and far exceed time spent on the web.[2] Not surprisingly, new [...]
Tagged: time use, video
geographic communities of communication
Just as trade is more likely to occur between parties less geographically distant, the same appears to be true for communication. In the U.S. telephone network about 1983, the share of calls within the local switching office averaged 66% for rural switching offices, compared to 31% for urban switching offices. The greater share of intra-office [...]
Tagged: telephones
differentiating telephone service
Differentiating telephone services drove telephone service growth in Chicago at the beginning of the twentieth century. From 1901 to 1906, the total number of telephones in service grew the equivalent of 23% per year.[1] Within that total, private branch exchange telephones and nickel-in-slot 10-party-line payphones grew 33% and 47% per year respectively. Private branch exchanges [...]
Tagged: telephones