Telephone

A physical expression of the breakdown of politeness in society. Operates as follows: when a person wishes to contact, say, one of their friends, they simply type a few numbers into a keypad. The telephone in their friend's house then proceeds to make a horrible ringing sound, designed to grate on the nerves of the listener. And it doesn't just do it once. Oh no. It produces the noise incessantly until the friend is finally beaten into submission and picks the thing up.

The same attitude to social interaction would lead us all to attract people's attention in the streets by grabbing them and shaking them while repeatedly yelling 'Talk to me!' in their ear.

Judicious use of an answerphone can reduce the ill effects of this infernal device, but personally I'd recommend a sledgehammer.