The Answering Machine
Today, the answering machine has been replaced with voicemail. Previous generations relied on a physical device to record messages.
Before the Cellphone
Yes, people still use the cellphone to make phone calls! What would the phone be without the ability to ignore calls and send them to voicemail? Today, younger generations take the ability to leave voice messages for granted, but a physical device attached to the home phone was never required to miss that important message. Gone are the days of families gathering around the answering machine trying to record a message since the phone call could be for anyone in the household.
Ross Makes a New Answering Machine Message
A Physical Device
The most common answering machine required a user to attach the device to a phone, insert a blank cassette tape, and record a welcome. When the phone rang, the user had only a few rings to pick up the phone before the answering machine connected. The caller had an opportunity to leave a message, recorded on the cassette tape, and then the owner could play it back. The first answering machine development was a gradual process that dates to the late 19th century. There were several inventors and innovations, but the earliest tangible answering machine did not appear until the early 20th century.
George has the Answer
Telegraphone
One of the earliest attempts at creating an automatic response device was the "Telegraphone," invented by Valdemar Poulsen in 1898. The Telegraphone was designed to record telephone conversations onto a wire, allowing the user to replay later recorded messages. While not precisely an answering machine, it laid the foundation for recording and playing back audio messages. By 1903, Poulsen sold his patent to a group of investors. Forming the American Telegraphone Company of Washington, D.C., the Telegraphone was sold mainly as a scientific instrument. Regarding popularity in the public sector, only two people purchased Telegraphones.
1980s Answering Machine Cassette
Hörzufernsprecher
By the 1930s and 1940s, inventors began working on devices that could record and play back phone messages automatically. The Dictaphone, a wax cylinder recording device, dominated the business recording market, and a working playback phone device would revolutionize business communications. One notable example of an early answering machine is Willy Müller’s "Hörzufernsprecher." Müller created the device in 1935. This device could record messages on 35mm film using magnetic technology. It was a groundbreaking invention, but the machine didn't become widely available due to the technological limitations of the time and the disruption caused by World War II. It was only manufactured and available in Germany.
The "Electronic Secretary"
The first widely recognized commercial answering machine came into existence in the 1950s. Dr. Kazuo Hashimoto, a Japanese-American engineer, invented it in 1954. Hashimoto developed the "Electronic Secretary" device while working at Bell Labs. This machine used magnetic recording tape to store and playback voice messages. The device was hefty and required manual operation, but it marked a significant step forward in developing answering machines.
The Electronic Secretary was principally marketed for businesses and professionals. Still, it paved the way for more compact and user-friendly answering machines that became popular in homes in the 1960s and 1970s. The answering machines of the 1960s and 1970s used cassette tapes and microcassettes to record and play back messages. Some of the more revolutionary features were the tape counter, remote message retrieval system, and adjustable recording time.
Families Recorded Together
Recording the outgoing message on the answering machine became a creative outlet for people in the 1980s. The more outrageous, the better. Celebrities advertised recording the outgoing message for consumers, and companies capitalized on selling innovative tapes to use in the answering machine.
Dangers
The danger of physical answering machines was the unencrypted recording that could be played on any tape deck. Anyone in the house that pushed the button had access to any message. Legally, answering machine tapes were not considered wiretapping and could be used against a person without a specific warrant to record phone conversations.
1980s State of the Art Answering Machine
Digital Machines End an Era
The technology-hungry consumer of the 1980s and 1990s increased the answering machine's popularity as technology improved and prices dropped. Digital answering machines replaced analog ones, and digital answering machines offered better sound quality and more features. The smartphone and digital communication of the 2000s effectively ended the popularity of the traditional answering machine. Landlines have been replaced with cellphones, yet voicemail technology began with early innovations and the need never to miss an important message.
Rough on Rats
In 1872, Ephraim Wells, a manufacturer, and occasional music publisher, marketed arsenic as a rat poison packaged as Rough on Rats.
Rough on Rats
Updated on August 15, 2023
Dr. Cooper is an Adjunct Professor of History, and his research interests include social media's history on society and technology.
Obituaries Were Once More Descriptive
The level of personal privacy and what today is considered morbid was absent in the late 1800s or early 1900s. When someone died, it was not uncommon for the newspapers to print the manner of death for the interested reader. The more spectacular the end, the more interest was garnered by the newspaper. A quick scan of newspaper obituaries from this era shows all manner of death. For example, the paper may list “John Smith, who jumped from a building” or “John Smith, who died jumping in front of a train.” In increasingly more cases from the 1890s, the obituary might read “John Smith, Rough on Rats” without explanation. Other than making an exciting punk rock band name, “Rough on Rats” does have a meaning that the reader would have understood during this time.
Tuesday May 14 1889 Suicide Obituary
14 May 1889 - SUICIDE BY TAKING "ROUGH ON RATS." - Trove
An enquiry into the cause of the death of Duncan McCulloch, who died at the Adelaide Hospital on Sunday from taking " Rough on Rate," was held by Mr. Coroner Whittell at ...
Ephraim Wells
Explaining “Rough on Rats” as a manner of death began in the early 1870s. Selling his medicines and poisons retail from a storefront, Ephraim Wells barely broke even and considered bankruptcy. The storefront was not full of customers, and it was full of rats! Using chemicals, including arsenic, in his shop, he concocted a mixture to kill the rats overrunning his shop. 18972 In 1872, his wife observed the gruesome death rats experienced while working in the shop. Exclaiming to him in a joke that his new poison was rough on rats, Wells found the name for his new product, “Rough on Rats! Cleverly patenting the title, he closed the retail shop and started advertising his new product to be sold through the mail.
Dyspepsia
Source
Mother Swan’s Worm Syrup
Wells set out to create advertising for his new product and initially featured pictures of wide-eyed cats looking at the product with the caption, Our Occupation Gone! Within a year, Wells marketed “Rough on Rats” through imaginative advertising worldwide. “Rough on Rats” became so popular that Wells tried to capitalize on other products using the same catchy name. “Rough on Corns” and “Rough on Toothache” were two products Wells manufactured in Jersey City, New Jersey, along with “Skinny Men Health Renewer” and “Mother Swan’s Worm Syrup.” Although successful, Wells’ other products failed to rise to the success of “Rough on Rats.”
Worldwide Popularity
By the early 1900s, “Rough on Rats” was sold worldwide, with Wells spending over $70,000 a year on advertising. He expanded into the music publishing business and created a simple song for “Rough on Rats.” Jack London mentions “Rough on Rats” in “That Spot” and The Mutiny of the Elsinore. Wells expanded his advertising to state that “Rough on Rats” would kill any pest in the house, including bed bugs, roaches, and flies. Cheap and readily available, “Rough on Rats” was found on the shelves of even the poorest consumers.
Catchy Jingle
R-r-rats! Rats! Rats!
“Rough on Rats,”
Hang your dogs and drown your cats;
We give a plan for every man,
To clear his house with “Rough on Rats.”
Suicide by Rat Poison
“Rough on Rats” became a worldwide best-selling product. Unfortunately, unrest followed the success. The popularity of “Rough on Rats” created one drawback anywhere it was sold: besides the death of millions of rats around the world. By the early 1900s, “Rough on Rats” increasingly became the preferred method for suicides in the lower classes. Suicide deaths rose during the early 20th century, with poising the leading cause. Although no statistical data has been compiled, “Rough on Rats” was mentioned frequently in every newspaper across the globe during the early 20th century as a manner of death. In addition, “Rough on Rats” contributed to numerous accidental deaths. “Rough on Rats” increasingly became a means of murder worldwide. American slang in the early 1900s included “Rough on Rats” to mean someone in a challenging situation or down on his luck. After the death of Wells in 1913, “Rough on Rats” remained available until the 1950s.
From Rats to Syphilis
The popularity of arsenic rose through the late 1900s and eventually found its way into contaminating numerous food sources. Seafood, especially bivalves, were most susceptible to arsenic runoff. Farmers used arsenic in large quantities to rid crops of unwanted pests. Lumber companies used arsenic as a wood preservative in outdoor structures. During World War II, an arsenic derivative, Arsphenamine, was used to cure syphilis successfully. Arsenic production was eventually discontinued in the United States and is no longer used in domestic products, although it is still used in some industrial manufacturing processes.
“Rough on Rats” may no longer be on your local hardware store shelf or be part of American slang, but the lasting impact of “Rough on Rats” has increased over the previous decade with genealogists discovering the manner of death of distant relatives.
Salvarsan
Early Solution | Science History Institute
In the 19th century arsenic was often the poison of choice for murderers. In the early 20th century its image was redeemed when an arsenic derivative became the salvation of those suffering from syphilis.
Shoes of the American Revolution
During the Revolutionary War (1775-1783), soldiers typically wore shoes or boots that were suitable for the rugged conditions of warfare. The shoes of that era were quite different from modern footwear in terms of design and materials. Here's some information about Revolutionary War shoes:
During the Revolutionary War (1775-1783), soldiers typically wore shoes or boots suitable for warfare's rugged conditions. The shoes of that era differed from modern footwear in design and materials. Here's some information about Revolutionary War shoes:
1. Style and Design: Revolutionary War shoes were typically made of leather and had a relatively simple design. They were ankle-high and lacked the laces or eyelets commonly found in modern shoes. Instead, they often featured a latchet closure system involving leather straps passing through a buckle or metal hook.
2. Materials: Leather was the primary material for making Revolutionary War shoes. Calfskin, cowhide, or sometimes deer or sheepskin were commonly utilized. These materials provided durability and protection against the elements.
3. Construction: Shoes were usually handcrafted by shoemakers or cobblers. The construction involved stitching together various leather pieces, which were then shaped and formed into the desired shoe structure. The soles were typically thick leather, sometimes reinforced with additional layers or metal plates for durability.
4. Lack of Differentiation: Unlike modern military footwear, there was little distinction between the shoes worn by officers and ordinary soldiers during the Revolutionary War. Both would have worn similar styles of shoes, although officers might have opted for higher-quality materials or added embellishments to signify their rank.
5. Lack of Uniformity: Due to limited resources and supply challenges during the war, soldiers often had to make do with whatever footwear was available. This led to a lack of uniformity in the shoes worn by soldiers, with variations in style, quality, and even the size and fit of shoes.
6. Care and Maintenance: Soldiers had to care for their shoes to ensure longevity. They often grease or oil their footwear to protect the leather from water and other elements. Additionally, repairs were an everyday necessity, as shoes would wear out quickly due to the demanding conditions of military campaigns.
It's important to note that the availability and quality of footwear during the Revolutionary War varied among different individuals and regiments. Soldiers often faced challenges in obtaining suitable shoes, and many had to endure long marches and harsh conditions with inadequate footwear, leading to foot-related issues and discomfort.