NOVEL WEEKLY SERVICE KEEPS PHONES GERMFREE (Jul, 1937)
This reminds me of the Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy
NOVEL WEEKLY SERVICE KEEPS PHONES GERMFREE
Telephone subscribers in a number of eastern cities may now avail themselves of a service that undertakes to keep the instruments free of germs. Once a week, a uniformed representative calls, undoes a kit resembling a physician’s case, and applies an antiseptic paste that is said to keep the telephone in sanitary condition.
I’ed think getting a decent shot going at speed would be impossible...
a) And as a result, the Golgafrinchans who remained on their planet
all died due to a deadly virus spread by use of the telephone.
b) Ohh… No one wanted to admit they had toilets that needed cleaning?
Comment by jayessell — May 24, 2011 @ 7:44 am
I knew the first comment would be a Hitchhiker’s reference.
Comment by GaryM — May 24, 2011 @ 10:54 am
Indeed. This item shows that Douglas Adams had a real-life inspiration when he wrote that scene into his novel…
Comment by John Savard — May 24, 2011 @ 11:03 am
…and by 1940 all germs were eliminated!
Comment by Mike — May 24, 2011 @ 12:20 pm
Looking at the largest version of the photo, I saw that the legend on the woman’s sleeve read “Hygienic Phone Service”. I was able to search for that, and found a New Yorker article from 1939 which noted that Walter Morris started the service, and that a similar commercial service existed in England (hence, HGG). Other references show that they were still in business up to at least 1954.
Also, Walter Morris’ wife Isabelle was apparently a Vaudeville performer.
Comment by John Savard — May 24, 2011 @ 6:34 pm
I also believe that Nigel Tufnel’s father was a professional phone sanitizer.
Comment by Thundercat — May 26, 2011 @ 3:15 pm