Interesting facts about the phone

Back in 1876, Scotsman Alexander Bell, who emigrated to the USA, was granted a patent for a device that clearly reproduced and transmitted the sound of the human voice using electrical signals.

Although at first the telephones were connected directly to each other, this system was soon replaced by central switches. Today, mobile phones have become an integral part of our lives. For example, 80% of users visit our site from mobile phones. In most countries, there are more phones than people.

OK, let’s move on to our selection of interesting facts about phones.

• Antarctica has its own telephone code +682 and a .aq top-level domain, as well as a flag (a white continent on a blue background) – but no institution of citizenship, no government, as there is no permanent population.
• In 1996, when the Malaysian government was investigating a series of mobile phone thefts, it was discovered that fishermen were using them as bait. It turned out that with the help of mobile phones, they emitted a high-pitched sound in the water, which attracted fish.
• The computing power of your phone is much greater than all the computers of the “Apollo” program. Yes, NASA could use your cell phone to land on the moon.
• In 1971, a hacker named John Draper found a way to make long distance calls for free. A friend told him that a toy whistle can be used to make a sound from a box of regular cornflakes, the frequency of which matches the signal of a telecommunications telephone network. He called the long-distance number and blew his whistle while dialing. Coinciding with the signal of the telephone network, the whistle signal was perceived as if Draper had hung up. The line was considered free and the telephone system did not record further actions. Now 72-year-old John Draper is one of the leading researchers and specialists in information security.
• Estonia is the first country where it was possible to vote in elections using a mobile phone.
• About 3.5 billion phones are currently in use in the world. Of them, 150 million are simply thrown into the garbage every year because they are bored with their owner. Koreans, for example, are champions of phone upgrades. The average service life of their phones is only 11 months.
• Every year, 40,000 tons of broken or outdated phones and their batteries end up in landfills.
• One ton of discarded mobile phones contains more gold than 60 tons of gold ore.
• IMB released a touchscreen phone with email access back in 1993 (IBM Simon).
• The most common international emergency number is 112. In most countries, it redirects the caller to local emergency numbers.
• Apple co-owner Steve Wozniak became the first owner of the number 888-888-8888. True, he soon got rid of it, mainly because he often received calls by mistake (mostly small children who simply pressed the buttons of their parents’ phones).
• In 1871, 5 years before Alexander Bell invented the telephone and received a patent, a similar device was invented by the inventor Antonio Meucci, who refused to pay $10 to register a patent for his invention.
• A cell phone in 1984 cost $4,195.
• While in prison, Carlton Rich called his friend, who in turn called the prison authorities from another phone. The girl was holding two phones nearby, and Carlton, pretending to be an official, gave the order to release himself. Carlton Rich was released, but 3 days later he was arrested again.
• A cell phone is more important than a toilet. There are far more cell phone owners than people who own a toilet.
• If the GPS on your phone detects that you are going over 1,200 mph at an altitude of over 11 miles, by law it must turn itself off. These restrictions are intended to prevent the use of GPS to guide intercontinental ballistic missiles.
• Scientists have found that there are 18 times more germs on a mobile phone than on a toilet door handle.
• In Great Britain, it was established that about 100,000 gadgets fall down the toilet every year.
• The Washington-Moscow “hotline”, also known as the “red phone”, is a direct communication line established between the Pentagon and the Kremlin in the early 1960s. It was intended to provide emergency communication between the leadership of both countries to help prevent nuclear war due to a misunderstanding.
• The strongest phone in the world – Sonim XP3300 Force. The phone fell from a height of 25 meters and remained undamaged. This model is listed in the Guinness Book of Records.
• Most virus attacks are aimed at mobile devices based on the Android operating system. 99% of all malicious programs target it.
• Mexican drug cartels kidnap engineers and force them to build private telephone networks.
• In Japan, 90% of manufactured gadgets are waterproof, because the local youth are so deeply immersed in the Internet that even when taking a shower, they do not part with their gadget.
• In 2010, researchers defined a new scientific concept – nomophobia. This is the fear of losing your phone or network coverage. According to the results of the survey, about half of the surveyed people are afraid of losing access to their gadget, 47% of users reported that they cannot live without their mobile device at all.
• The most successful model in the world is the Nokia 1101. Since its introduction to the market, 250 million units have been sold. To date, this is a record, but this model is no longer produced.
• Mobile phones actually do not affect the operation of the aircraft’s onboard equipment. The main reason for banning the use of mobile phones during flights is that the signal can interfere with the normal operation of numerous mobile communication stations over which the plane flies.