From the Evening Star, October 25, 1912. By Philander Johnson. Men used to laugh at telephones, And called them idle toys. They railed in rude sarcastic tones At things the world employs To meet its constant needs today Yet nature does not change. We still salute with laughter gay Each proposition strange. They laughed to hear the world was round; They laughed at talk of steam; The airship once the public found A vastly humorous dream. So as we glance about the earth, Where marvels rise anew, We find the things of greatest worth Are jokes that have come true.