What invention made it possible for the Deaf to communicate over the phone in 1960?

The teletypewriter (TTY) was a groundbreaking invention that allowed Deaf individuals to communicate over the phone starting in the 1960s. The TTY works by enabling users to type messages that are then transmitted over phone lines to another TTY device, allowing for written conversations between users. This was a significant advancement in communication technology for the Deaf community, who traditionally faced barriers to phone communication.

Other options, while important in their own right, do not share the same historical significance for phone communication in the 1960s. Captioned television, for instance, enhances access to media but does not facilitate direct conversation over the phone. Video relay services emerged much later, allowing Deaf individuals to communicate via video and sign language through interpreters, but that technology developed after the TTY. Sign language interpreters play a crucial role in face-to-face communication and later in integration with telecommunication, but they do not directly enable phone conversations themselves.

Thus, the TTY stands out as the invention that specifically enabled a new form of interaction for Deaf individuals through telephone communication.