Cell Phones and Voices

Why do many folks speak louder when they are on a cell phone? Why do they speak much louder on a cell phone when they are in a public place? Is it because they want people at the other end of the restaurant to hear them? Is it because they fear that the sound of their voice may dissipate as it travels through the ether? Perhaps they think that if there is a cosmic disturbance between them and the one they are speaking with their voice has a better chance of making it through?

My first introduction to telephone technology was two soup cans and a line of string. I don't think we yelled through the string - maybe we should go back to that?

Did Native Americans have smoke signal etiquette analogous to email etiquette? Did they consider ALL CAPS as yelling? Did they have LOL? What about :-)?

Where there Native Americans who were compulsive about returning every smoke signal communication just as soon as they received it? What about spam - did they put up with that? Chain emails? Oh yeah, I can see that:

"If you don't forward this to 10 friends all the buffalo will leave your area."

I won't even touch the issue of whether they engaged in that truncated form of expression known as blogging.

But this cell phone - raised voice thing puzzles me. I mean why use a phone if you are going to shout from Richmond, VA to Richmond, IN? Save yourself the monthly fee and the worry that you'll exceed your minutes.

Come on now, tell me that truth. Haven't you ever wanted to join in a cell phone onversation that you've been forced to overhear in a restaurant?

"Tell 'em I said hi!" 

"No, Manicotti is not the capital of Italy!"

"Hey, are you going to eat that or talk all night? If you're not going to eat it can I have it?"

"Sir, sir. Excuse me sir. The people you were having dinner with left 45 minutes ago."