@H. Vachon
The cellular device you use today to text, browse the internet, and occasionally actually make a person-to-person phone call didn't always exist, believe it or not. Homes and businesses used to have what were called "land lines", which were telephone communication boxes that were hard fixed to a wall or countertop and wired directly into the local telephone line system. Before the wireless handset was introduced, the handset was attached to the main telephone receiver by a cord -- you were essentially bound to a three or four foot radius when you were "on the phone". Just like your cellular device has a unique phone number attached to it, each individual home and business had a unique 7-digit phone number, as well. These would begin with a local three number area code that designated the region in which the number was assigned. This helped to eliminate duplicate numbers across the nation. Just think of how many 867-5309s there must have been back in ye olde days! In order to assist in locating the phone number for a home or a business, there used to be an actual publication delivered to your doorstep annually; this was the "phone book" in question. The head of household would have their name listed, alphabetically, in this publication, along with their respective phone number so that others would be able to locate and identify the phone number of anyone they wished to call in that area. As an addendum to the "phone book", there were often what were referred to as "the yellow pages". This is because, as you may have guessed, the paper in this addendum was yellow, as opposed to the traditional white paper for private listings. These "yellow pages" listed, in alphabetical order, local businesses one may wish to contact. Businesses were listed by alphabetically by trade, and then sublisted alphabetically by business name. Sometimes businesses could pay a fee to the telephone company and in these "yellow pages" have an extra large advertisement for their listing rather than just a simple business name and number. These publications are now archaic and relatively anachronistic in society, as the mobile smart phone has eliminated the need for a hardcopy phone listing.
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