Part 5/11:
Historically, the act of answering a phone has been associated with social politeness: say hello, identify yourself if necessary, and engage in a certain level of civility. The origins of the universal hello as a greeting stem from the early days of the telephone, with Thomas Edison popularizing it as a standard greeting over a century ago. Such conventions have persisted because they serve functional and social purposes: they establish contact, convey civility, and set the tone for the conversation.