As explained by John Meurling and Richard Jeans, authors of the Mobile Phone Book: The Invention of the Mobile Telephone Industry, Ericsson equipped his car with a phone that could hook into the telephone lines running along the side of the road — after he parked and Hilda pulled out her sticks.
“There were two long sticks, like fishing rods, handled by Hilda. She would hook them over a pair of telephone wires, seeking a pair that were free,” he book reads. “When they were found, Lars Magnus would crank the dynamo handle of the telephone, which produced a signal to an operator in the nearest exchange.”
via Wired
Image: Ericsson
