Why we called it dialredphone

After the Cuban Missile Crisis, messages between Washington and Moscow could take hours. So in 1963 the two governments agreed a direct line between them. The films of 1964 put that line on the president’s desk as a red telephone, and that is the picture everyone remembers. The real hotline was never a phone: it began as teletype machines.

We liked the idea more than the hardware. A business should have one direct line that its customers can always get through on, and that is what we build: one number that rings everyone on your team who can answer it.

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1. Oct 1962

   The Cuban Missile CrisisMessages between the two capitals take hours to arrive.

2. 20 Jun 1963

   The agreement is signed in GenevaBoth governments commit to a direct communications link.

3. 30 Aug 1963

   The line goes liveOn teletype machines, sending written messages.

4. 1964

   Hollywood makes it a telephoneDr. Strangelove and Fail-Safe put a phone on the president’s desk.

5. 1986

   Teletype gives way to fax

6. 2008

   A secure computer link replaces fax

Sources: Smithsonian, NBC News, History.com, Wikipedia.