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Word: strowger (lookup in dictionary) (lookup stats)
Dates: during 1950-1959
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Usage:

...Undertaker's Dial." To the nation's fast-growing telephone industry, a Kansas City undertaker named Almon B. Strowger made one of the greatest contributions. Strowger was convinced that a competitor was bribing the operator, trying to beat him out of business by snatching death calls intended for him. To eliminate the operator, Strowger invented the first, crude dial system, set up his own company after a Bell official turned down his system. Not till the independents had widely installed the dial did A. T. & T. go along. Many people protested the move. When dial phones were installed...

Author: /time Magazine | Title: UTILITIES: Voices Across the Land | 2/23/1959 | See Source »

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