Whilst Eating Out On Sunday,

a group of 8 people sat next to us,

 I am not sure what country they were from, but they were all Asian, if I am allowed to say that word now? and within minuets they were all without exception doing the same thing, tapping into their telephones! not a word of conversation for quite some time, which reminded me of this cartoon from 1906 forecasting the future,

on a slightly different tack, the cartoon above is from the pen of George du Maurier, printed in the Punch Almanack for 1879, although titled “Edison’s Telephonoscope” it is not, in fact, a creation of Thomas Edison’s at all (either realised or proposed) but rather an imagining by Maurier of what the great inventor might come up with next: a machine which, for all intents and purposes, amounts to some kind of Victorian Skype, a mother and father, sit at home and converse with, while also viewing, their children at play across the other side of the world, the caption reads:

(Every evening, before going to bed, Pater and Materfamilias set up an electric camera obscura over their bedroom mantel-piece, and gladden their eyes with the sight of their Children at the Antipodes, and converse gaily with them through the wire.)

Paterfamilias (in Willow Place): “Beatrice, come closer, I want to whisper.”

Beatrice (from Ceylon): “Yes, Papa dear.”

Paterfamilias: Who is that charming young lady playing on Charlie’s side!

Beatrix: “She’s just come over from England, Papa. I’ll introduce you as soon as the game’s over!” (n.p.)

who would have thought in those days we can communicate with hand held telephones like We do today!