Look it up: You’ll have to hunt about for a phone book

Today’s question: Are phone books another thing that has been eliminated by technology? I have been trying to get a current edition of Phoenix residential White Pages since November 2016. I have tried three phone numbers and I am told they are being mailed, but nothing is ever sent.

So remember the other day when I had a question about the etymology of the word “smithereens” and the reader who asked said it would have been a good name for a British punk rock band?

Well, it turns out there is a group called The Smithereens. I should have guessed that. I don’t know if they are punk, and since they are based in New Jersey I doubt they’re British.

In case you are interested and in fairness to them, here is their website: officialsmithereens.com. Now about phone books: My first thought was this reader was one of the few among us who doesn’t use a computer but then I remembered it came in by email. Duh.

Yes, printed phone books do seem to have gone the way of buggy whips, percolated coffee, typewriter ribbons and civil discourse.

But, like coffee percolators or typewriter ribbons, it is possible to find almost anything you’re looking for (except civil discourse) online.

If you really do need a printed phone book or a new doorstop there are several sites online that will get one for you.

Bear in mind that printed phone books do not include cellphone numbers or email addresses and also account for the destruction of untold numbers of trees who probably had something better to do.