Path: utzoo!attcan!uunet!jarthur!elroy.jpl.nasa.gov!sdd.hp.com!zaphod.mps.ohio-state.edu!wuarchive!decwrl!hayes.fai.alaska.edu!accuvax.nwu.edu!nucsrl!telecom-request From: Ed_Greenberg@3mail.3com.com Newsgroups: comp.dcom.telecom Subject: The Origin of Cheese Boxes Message-ID: <12936@accuvax.nwu.edu> Date: 2 Oct 90 16:34:00 GMT Sender: news@accuvax.nwu.edu Organization: TELECOM Digest Lines: 15 Approved: Telecom@eecs.nwu.edu X-Submissions-To: telecom@eecs.nwu.edu X-Administrivia-To: telecom-request@eecs.nwu.edu X-Telecom-Digest: Volume 10, Issue 705, Message 5 of 7 "Henry E. Schaffer" writes: > I asked the agent leading my tour what was the origin of the name >"cheese box" and he had no idea. I wondered if it was from the idiom >"cheese it" meaning "scram" which was used back in those days. Does >anyone know? "Back when I was a boy" restaurants received loaves of cheese (cream cheese comes to mind) in long wooden boxes. My _understanding_ is that original call forwarding boxes were made using these wooden boxes as the chassis. edg