65411
> **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?
CC BY-SA 4.0
2019-02-09T16:38:25.230
65399
2019-02-09T22:39:02.810
2019-02-09T22:21:43.267
30039
7944
question
etymology history counters
Why are phone calls cylindrical?
Does **_THIS_** answer your question?

[![enter image description
here](https://i.stack.imgur.com/m6CEk.png)](https://i.stack.imgur.com/m6CEk.png)
[![enter image description
here](https://i.stack.imgur.com/YaLZH.png)](https://i.stack.imgur.com/YaLZH.png)

Seems that there are a number of possible explanations though...

  1. Parts of the phone, or the phone itself were cylindrical 

  2. Voice was transmitted via wires (long and thin) 

  3. The idea of a "message" where a written letter would be rolled up into a cylinder (letter -> telegraph -> telephone)
CC BY-SA 4.0
2019-02-09T16:43:16.743
65400
2019-02-09T17:20:11.757
2019-02-09T17:20:11.757
7055
7055
65399
answer
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.)
CC BY-SA 4.0
2019-02-09T22:39:02.810
65411
2019-02-09T22:39:02.810
25789
65399
answer