In the fabled National Museum of Natural History, which houses some of the world’s oldest artifacts, the latest ‘relic’ on display is… the cellphone.
Dr. Joshua Bell, a cultural anthropologist, told CTV National News the first-of-its-kind exhibit, called “Cellphone: Unseen Connections,” offers visitors a chance to explore the way cellular phones have brought people closer together.
“The cell phone is this wonderful piece of technology that allows us to think about what it means to be human,” Bell said. “In the span of 50 years, almost everyone on the planet has one—there are more cell phones than people on the planet … so what we have in this device is a story that really talks about how we’re interconnected.”
One of the show stoppers of the exhibit is the so called Tower of Technology, where cell phones of all types and sizes are mounted inside a glass case, and visitors can often spot the devices they used to own.
“I had this one, then a flip phone,” Katheryn Kernoff of Vermont told CTV National News, reminiscing about all the phones she’s had through her life.
“Smartphones came out when I was in college, and it definitely changed how we connected and got together with friends,” she said. “So it’s changed how we connect to people, but my kids don’t have cell phones yet. They still go and ring the neighbours’ doorbells and just go outside. So, I’m glad they still have that experience.”
There’s no denying the cellphone, the fastest spreading technology in human history, has transformed our lives. Bell says the exhibit traces its history, which includes an old Motorola DynaTAC 8000—which weighed about two pounds and took 10 hours to charge—to an iPhone than can fit in your pocket.
Bell adds you can trace the cultural evolution of the cellphone in movies as well. In “Wall Street,” actor Michael Douglas used his Motorola DynaTAC mobile to declare: “Greed is Good.” In the 90s, actor Alicia Silverstone’s Cher had a flip phone in “Clueless” giving the Beverly Hills high school student “status” among her friends.
And let’s not forget Canada’s contribution to cellphone history. In 1999, the BlackBerry debuted.
“It was a device that people couldn’t put down,” Bell said. “It allowed them access to the internet, text messages, that kind of functionality was a game changer!”
The phone was so popular it was colloquially known as the “crackberry.” The exhibit chronicles notable BlackBerry users—celebrities, musicians and even former president Barack Obama couldn’t put his cellphone down, taking his beloved BlackBerry with him to the White House for personal use.
“I loved my BlackBerry! I held onto it for a long time until, I guess, it became extinct. But I keep hoping that they’ll revitalize it,” Canadian Jason Keung, who is visiting the cellphone exhibit with his family, told CTV National News.
A recent movie titled “BlackBerry” also tells the story of the Canadian company’s spectacular success and catastrophic defeat at the hands of Apple and the iPhone.
For an anthropologist like Bell, cellphones are a part of human history, how we interact globally and how much we rely on this technology.
He says 65 minerals go into making the average cellphone.
“When you hold up a cellphone, you hold the world in your hand,” Bell said.
And while it’s unclear how cellphones might function in the future, Bell says “regardless of what form it takes, it’s all about connecting to people.”