An Automated Answering Service
Ah, the answering machine. A perfect cinematic machine. Much more so than a phone, really, because you can hear the voice on the opposite end more clearly. It has so many functions: within the romantic film, after the couple’s big fight, the offending celebration can depart soul-bearing message after message till the offendee can’t bear it anymore and picks up. In the thriller, the dangerous guy can depart a string of menacing messages (although he’s in all probability more inclined to go for the Breathy and Abrupt Phone Name). The comedy sees a hapless protagonist leaving embarassing messages, most likely on the machine of his dream girl. And so on.
However it wasn’t until 1935 that we got the first automated answering machine which was invented by Mr. Willy Muller. The first answering machine was laughably large at three feet tall. It was very popular with Jewish individuals who were … Read the rest