Current Usage of "Hello"

[Benjamin Zimmer]

On Sat, 4 Jun 2005 15:06:15 -0700, Jonathan Lighter
<wuxxmupp2000 at YAHOO.COM> wrote:

>Here's a good ex. from Usenet ( "Sentences without past tense," sci.lang,
>June 17, 1996) :
>
>">-- first of all we cannot force changes like that upon a language, and
>>second of all the effect those changes would have are impossible to
>>predict.
>
>Hel-lo-o??  Changes in language take place all the time.  Since WE are
>the only ones using language, why shouldn't WE try to effect change?"

And here's an example slightly predating _Back to the Future_:

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http://groups-beta.google.com/group/net.auto/msg/b74597afbce21bc5

Newsgroup: net.auto
Date: Wed, 5-Sep-84 07:42:04 EDT
Subject: Re: 55 mph kills

<argument "proving" that 55 MPH speed limit costs as many lives as it
saves has been omitted for clarity>

Eh?  HellooOOoo!  Anybody home?

Hmm, Time Wasted Driving Slow == Time Being Dead  (?)
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--Ben Zimmer