The Strange History Of Everyday Greetings And Phrases

Do you know who I am?!

Photo Credits:
"Hello"
Friendly young man waving hello or goodbye while smiling
Beth Swanson
Shutterstock

The Cannon King
By: Topical Press Agency
Hulton Archive
People: Alfred Krupp
GETTY IMAGES

Graham Bell
By: Topical Press Agency
Hulton Archive
People: Alexander Graham Bell
GETTY IMAGES

Thomas Edison
By: Hulton Archive
Hulton Archive
People: Thomas Edison
GETTY IMAGES

The Office Telephone
By: Fox Photos
Hulton Archive
GETTY IMAGES

"What's Up?!"
Two friends having a beer
Sophie Louise Davis
Shutterstock

Pimp, wearing a retro tracksuit and leather on white background
Hal_P
Shutterstock

Mark Twain
By: Ernest H. Mills
Hulton Archive
People: Mark Twain; Samuel Langhorne Clemens
GETTY IMAGES

Jenna Elfman and Bugs Bunny
By: Carlo Allegri
Getty Images Entertainment
GETTY IMAGES

Jack London
By: Evening Standard
Hulton Archive
People: Jack London
GETTY IMAGES

Finger Clicking Good
By: Chaloner Woods
Hulton Archive
GETTY IMAGES

Creation of Earth
By: Hulton Archive
Hulton Archive
People: God
GETTY IMAGES

Statue Of Haig In Edinburgh
By: Martin
Hulton Archive
People: Douglas Haig
GETTY IMAGES

Winston Churchill
By: Henry Guttmann
Hulton Archive
People: Winston Churchill
GETTY IMAGES

Admiral Fisher
By: George C. Beresford
Hulton Archive
People: Admiral John Fisher
GETTY IMAGES

MTV TRL With Ludacris, Orlando Bloom And Snoop Dogg
By: Scott Gries
Getty Images Entertainment
People: Snoop Dogg
GETTY IMAGES

John Gay
By: Hulton Archive
Hulton Archive
People: John Gay
GETTY IMAGES

senior bald man in yellow shirt asking what's going on
Serghei Starus
Shutterstock

Int Taekwondo Invitation
By: Adam Pretty
Getty Images Sport
GETTY IMAGES

vintage computer isolated on white
Fer Gregory
Shutterstock

The Z-100 Jingle Ball
By: George De Sota
Getty Images Entertainment
GETTY IMAGES

San Francisco
By: Hulton Archive
Hulton Archive
GETTY IMAGES

Lying In Wait
By: Spencer Arnold
Hulton Archive
GETTY IMAGES

85th Annual Academy Awards - Arrivals
By: Jason Merritt
Getty Images Entertainment
People: Reese Witherspoon
GETTY IMAGES

ColonelJohnSMosbyPortrait
CC/This media file is in the public domain

Gen._Edwin_H._Stoughton_-_NARA_-_526695
This work is in the public domain

Sources:

[drivernjax]

And all this time I thought hello was a corruption of the phrase, "Oh, hell."

[mediocricity]

Love your videos! Full of knowledge and information. But here's a feedback, if there are some sentences, could you make the motion slower, like make it 1-3 seconds? That'd be great! Thanks! :)

[ILKETOTAKENAPS]

i learn so many great things on this channel.

[kikiii]

Watching your videos is helping my words per minute read.

[wizzilizzer]

this channel makes me wanna up my reading level

[Johnneycake]

That's interesting! Where did you find this out?

[gargshishir]

Stephen Fry said in an episode of QI that "hello" was the result of a contest to find a new word to say as a greeting on the phone. Before that people used to go "Oi oi!" and hello was an expression of surprise.

[Rwededyet]

What are we supposed to notice at 0:42? The see-through top, the rabbit staring at the see-through top, or the rabbits tiny, tiny hand going for the reach around?

[KJMTurbo]

Ahoy, this is why Mr Burns from the Simson's always answered with "Ahoy-hoy", he was a old enough to remember a time when it was common practice.

[lvdox]

I love that you put Reese Witherspoon in for the ego trip

[EvilMonkeyReturns]

They're part of the same thing, dude. An "initialism" is part of an acronym and is so defined in wiki (along with necessary citations) with such other examples as FBI or FAQ.

[limedesi]

true that. Most people don't know, but it's exactly like the Edison and Tesla controversy

[jermaine]

from now on when i get punished for saying WTF i just say: it stands for World Teakwondo Federantion, so you can't punish me!

[kiya]

When I saw the "Do you know who I am?" bit. I thought of Cave Johnson's Lemon Rant from Portal 2...

[Roseyfinchartworks]

Loved the reese witherspoon reference with the "do you know who I am"

[TheRegalRolston]

2:00 Oh, Snap! is an expression of disbelief. It was popularised by Biz Markie. It has also entered use as acknowledgement of a dis by third parties, to heighten the feeling of disrespect and insult a dis causes, generally with the intention of starting a fight.

[safiaparekh]

I like how for the "do you know who I am" thing there is a picture of Reese Witherspoon!!! Hahaha

[caneman]

I will now answer my phone with "Ahoy"

[SNIC]

1:56 i like how that's not a musket. its a navy revolver.

[brianthomas]

Only Peter Pan never grows older, hope your kids will be as cool as you are now.