"Hello" was not a greeting before...

"Hello" was not a greeting until the telephone arrived.

What do most English speakers say when they answer the phone?

What do English speakers say when they are introduced to someone new?

But the word hello did not actually become popular as a greeting until the telephone arrived. It was originally used as a way to get someone's attention...

Thomas Edison, an inventor, wanted people to say "hello" when answering the phone. Alexander Graham Bell, the inventor of the telephone, wanted people to say "ahoy" when answering the phone. Thomas Edison won. The first telephone books included a "how-to" section on the first few pages, and hello was used as the official greeting for the telephone...