Why Do We Answer the Phone with 'Hello'?The greeting you use is the result of a historic debate.

From the show

Hidden Codes of Conduct

The simple act of answering the phone with 'hello' is a direct link to a battle between two of history's greatest inventors. We trace the surprising origin of this universal greeting back to a rivalry between Alexander Graham Bell and Thomas Edison. Discover how Edison's choice became the standard, establishing a social rule that persists today, and why answering with his rival's preferred 'Ahoy!' might have been just as likely.