Someone on a social media site asked about a non-intrusive way to check on the bees in the winter other than blowing through the entrance or tapping on the hives to see if it riles up the bees. Someone else answered: “Put your phone in the entrance and record the sound. Then you can play it back and turn up the volume. I’ve tried it in the past and could hear their buzzing.” So I gave it a go. Does it work? Well… maybe, maybe not. But I did learn something today.

Back in the day, when you said “phone,” it meant something like this:

But these days, “phone” usually means this:

That’s why I wasn’t specific about “cell phone” or “mobile phone.” Welcome to the 21st century.