Science Fiction
Dictionary
A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z
Latest By
Category:
Armor
Artificial
Intelligence
Biology
Clothing
Communication
Computers
Culture
Data Storage
Displays
Engineering
Entertainment
Food
Input Devices
Lifestyle
Living Space
Manufacturing
Material
Media
Medical
Miscellaneous
Robotics
Security
Space Tech
Spacecraft
Surveillance
Transportation
Travel
Vehicle
Virtual
Person
Warfare
Weapon
Work
"I suspect that religion is a necessary evil in the childhood of our particular species. And that's one of the interesting things about contact with other intelligences: we could see what role, if any, religion plays in their development."
- Arthur C. Clarke
 |
| Hush-a-Phone | ||
| A special kind of telephone that reduced noise while talking. |
Robert Heinlein did not invent the term "hush-a-phone" - but he did expand on the original device with futuristic attachments.
| Shortly thereafter the first wave flushed another technician. He was on the far side of a rotor; they
were almost on him before he was, seen. He did not attempt to resist, although he was armed, and the incident would not have been worth recording, had he not been talking into a hush-a-phone which he had plugged into the telephone jack at the base of the rotor. Gaines reached the group as the capture was being effected. He snatched at the soft rubber mask of the phone, jerking it away from the man's mouth so violently that he could feel the bone-conduction receiver grate between the man's teeth. The prisoner spat out a piece of broken tooth and glared, but ignored attempts to question him. |
| Technovelgy from The Roads Must Roll,
by Robert Heinlein. Published by Astounding Science Fiction in 1940 Additional resources -
|
The original Hush-a-Phone was first manufactured and sold in 1921. It was a very simple device that provided privacy, avoided annoying other people and helped you hear better. It had versions for pedestal phones as well as those new-fangled handsets. It was a very simple device that just slipped onto the phone; it had no moving parts or electrical components.
Heinlein, however, has added some improvements. The rubber mask improves noise suppression; the bone-conduction receiver means that none of the other person's part of the conversation ever goes out in the open air.
Read more at Antique Phone Accessories and The Hush-a-Phone Case.
Comment/Join this discussion ( 2 ) | RSS/XML | Blog This |
Additional
resources:
More Ideas
and Technology from The Roads Must Roll
More Ideas
and Technology by Robert Heinlein
Tech news articles related to The Roads Must Roll
Tech news articles related to works by Robert Heinlein
Hush-a-Phone-related
news articles:
- Bring On The Hush-A-Phone!
- Nokia Silence Booth - Shh!
- HushMe Bluetooth Device Reinvents The Hush-A-Phone
- BloxVox Mutes Cellphone Convos
| Huawei Pura X Folding Phattie Phone |
| Positioned Cybertrucks With Free Starlinks WiFi In LA |
| Will Whales Be Our First Contact? |
| NYC/Dublin Portal Fails To Meet 'Guardian Of Forever' Standards |
Want to Contribute an
Item?
It's easy:
Get the name of the item, a
quote, the book's name and the author's name, and Add
it here.
| <Previous | Next> |
|
|
|
Technovelgy (that's tech-novel-gee!) is devoted to the creative science inventions and ideas of sf authors. Look for the Invention Category that interests you, the Glossary, the Science Fiction Invention Timeline, or see what's New.
|
Science Fiction
Timeline
1600-1899
1900-1939
1940's 1950's
1960's 1970's
1980's 1990's
2000's 2010's
'...support the interior human structure against Jupiter’s pull.'
'Anything larger than a BB shot it picked up and placed in a tray...'
'The German chemists have discovered how to supply the needed elements in compact, undiluted form...'
'Compounds devised by the biochemists for the rapid building of bone...'
'The car faltered as the external command came to brake...'
'It is about the size and shape of a kitchen stool, gyro-stabilized...'
'The greatest problem of all was the elimination of the human element of braking together with its inevitable time lag.'
