Bizarre Facts

The most defining sound of the 1990s internet—the friendly, slightly synthesized voice announcing **'You've Got Mail'**—was almost a generic *ding-dong*. When AOL was designing its user interface, the sound designer initially considered using the simple, non-committal chime of a doorbell to alert users to new messages. The choice, however, was quickly discarded in favor of something more distinctive and personal.

In **1989**, a voice-over artist named **Elwood Edwards** (the husband of an AOL employee) recorded the phrase on a cassette tape in his home for a simple payment of $100. This spoken phrase was deliberately chosen because it gave the computer a human personality, making the act of receiving an email feel like a personal invitation, rather than a cold, technical alert.

Edwards' recording became an auditory cultural phenomenon, one of the most recognized voice clips in modern history, and the sound of digital connection for a generation. The decision to use a human voice over a simple chime was a stroke of genius that defined AOL's user-friendly brand and captured the hopeful, personal nature of early internet exploration.