“Raiders of the Lost Ark” in background: You’ve reached the residence of John and Tom. We can’t come to the phone right now, because we’re cleaning the refrigerator. Please leave your name and number, and we’ll get back to you.

Hitchhikers Guide theme: The Cerius Cybernetic Corporation was happy to correct the problem of all that icky person-to-person conversation that happens when people actually pick up the phone and talk to each other. So they added the “answering machine,” which will cleverly record your message and play it back at the wrong speed, to make everyone who calls you sound like they have partaken a large supply of helium. Unless your message is REALLY important, in which case, the machine simply breaks its own tape, to insure that you never get the message at all. It would be a shame to waste all this brilliant technology, so please attempt to leave a message.

I once had a little white phone,

That would ring when it was alone.

Then I got a tape,

For when I escape,

So please leave your name at the tone.

Hello, this is the Computer Music Research Institute of Portland, Oregon. We can’t take your call at the moment, but we would like you to leave a critique of one of our current works in progress. BEEP

Hello, this is the Brown residence. We’re in the middle of a family fight right now. Leave your name and number at the beep and whoever wins will call you right back.