Why are phone calls cylindrical?


> **何本か** 重要な電話をかけ、...  
>  He made several important phone calls and ...

Originally part of [this
question](https://japanese.stackexchange.com/questions/65398/different-ways-
to-say-several-and-why-are-phone-calls-cylindrical) but separated due to
_popular?_ demand.

Why is the counter 本 used in reference to phone calls?




To be fair, 本 ＝ 「細長いもの」is a really popular explanation (note that is does not
imply anything about being round, I think that it is an usual extrapolation
due to the fact that physical objects that are long and thin are _usually_
cylindrical).

But many usages actually go against this explanation, or a least do not fall
into that classification. Consider the following examples:

  * 子どもたちに三本のゲームを買ってきた。
  * 彼は三本の新しい企画に取り組んだ。
  * 今年は三本のコンサートに行ったよ。

As you can see, you really need to stretch your mind **really** far to find
the thin, long thing here. At least I cannot find them...

I've made some quick research on the topic and there appears to be academical
research on that topic (!). [Like this one](http://jhlee.sakura.ne.jp/geo-
backup/jcpdf/hamano-lee-kurosio.pdf), where they distinguish 6 clusters of
words to which 本 applies to.

(for the case of the phone, the "message" coming from letter thing seems
plausible though.)




To be fair, 本 ＝ 「細長いもの」is a really popular explanation (note that is does not
imply anything about being round, I think that it is an usual extrapolation
due to the fact that physical objects that are long and thin are _usually_
cylindrical).

But many usages actually go against this explanation, or a least do not fall
into that classification. Consider the following examples:

  * 子どもたちに三本のゲームを買ってきた。
  * 彼は三本の新しい企画に取り組んだ。
  * 今年は三本のコンサートに行ったよ。

As you can see, you really need to stretch your mind **really** far to find
the thin, long thing here. At least I cannot find them...

I've made some quick research on the topic and there appears to be academical
research on that topic (!). [Like this one](http://jhlee.sakura.ne.jp/geo-
backup/jcpdf/hamano-lee-kurosio.pdf), where they distinguish 6 clusters of
words to which 本 applies to.

(for the case of the phone, the "message" coming from letter thing seems
plausible though.)

