15 August—Hello. It was on this day in 1877 that Thomas Alva Edison suggested using that word when answering phones. Alexander Graham Bell had suggested “Ahoy-hoy” for that purpose shortly after fraudulently getting the telephone patent in February 1876.

“Ahoy,” a traditional nautical greeting and attention-grabber, wasn’t that bad an idea (especially for answering the ship-to-shore phone on your yacht), but the extra “hoy” was ridiculous. “Hello” or “Hello?” is silly enough. But imagine picking up the phone and blurting “Ahoy-hoy” or “Ahoy-hoy?” Oh boy! Hoi polloi!

“Hello,” which had first appeared in print only as recently as 1826 in the Norwich (Connecticut) Courier, was, when Edison came up with using it as a phone greeting, an exclamation to call attention and to express a degree of surprise, as upon meeting someone unexpectedly. And it’s still used that way. So it made considerably more sense than Bell’s “Ahoy-hoy” as a telephone greeting.

“Hello” evolved into a general in-person greeting from its telephonic use. And of course English law-enforcement personnel (coppers, rozzers, fuzz) have been exclaiming “Ello, ello, ello” rather than “Eureka” when they find clues since 19th-century music hall days.

Five years ago on this day, the Monitor reported, in “Trump, trump, trump, the boys are marching”:

“Yesterday, Trump supporters were on Litchfield’s west green (and who knows where else), reminding us that Biden isn’t their president. Kind of reminds you of the nuts on the other side of the political spectrum who, after Hillary lost the election in 2016 (thank the lord), insisted that Trump wasn’t their president.

And let’s not forget all the celebrities who vowed to move to Canada. Did any actually do it?”

Since 15 August 2021 was a Saturday, that means the Always Trumpers had been allowed out of their cells and cages to desecrate the green by their mere presence on a Friday. Was that legal? And did they return to their respective slammers and zoos when their disgraceful demonstration had dissipated?