Trying to connect you

In July I wrote that mobile phone conversations are annoying not because they are loud or intrusive but because you can only hear one side of them. I thought this was a vaguely interesting and possibly original view. Now I discover that not only did the remarkable Language Log blog come up with a much more detailed and thoughtful opinion on the same point in 2003, but Mark Twain had done the groundwork in 1880, in a sketch called A Telephonic Conversation. So, I was only 129 years late on the uptake.

By the way, Language Log is now here - and well worth a visit. I've seen it described as where serious professional linguists go to have fun, but don't let that put you off.