One night we sat around discussing new uses for common american sayings that we could change to make life around here more interesting. It started all because I accidentally said "open the phone" instead of answer (the phone). My brother then told us how he'd heard it was Alexander Graham Bells wish that people...open...the phone by saying "Ahoy hoy." I'm sure you've heard Mr. Burns say it on the simpsons. Anyhow, we vowed to use it from then on...or whenever we could remember to.

I am proud to say I have remembered to use this greeting a couple of times now. However, I was worried that maybe Mr. Bell's wishes were just a rumor and I wanted to make sure we were doing right. So I found this...ahoy hoy and sure enough, I found this little blurb:

"In the 1870's Alexander Graham Bell invented the telephone. As with many inventions, the inventor creates the verbage and terminology that goes along with the device. The telephone's popularity increased and controversy arose about how to initiate the telephone conversations. Some suggestions included: 'Are you there?' 'What is wanted?' 'Are you ready to talk?'. Alexander Graham Bell determined that the appropriate way to answer the phone was "Ahoy hoy". Some say that this greeting was rooted in the nautical term 'Ahoy!'. Unfortunately the greeting never caught on."

So why don't you do the guy a favor. I mean, he did invent the damn thing. You know, the phone?