The story behind the most popular business directory in the world is a fairly simple one. The concept of yellow pages was first born in 1883 in Wyoming. A printer of regular telephone directories ran out of white paper and chose yellow paper to print the rest. This concept was further developed by Reuben Donnelley who created the first official copy of the yellow pages in 1886.
The iconic logo of the 'walking fingers' is also one of the most recognized symbols in the world. Today, 'Yellow Pages' is an expression used in several countries worldwide to denote a telephone directory dedicated to businesses.
While in many countries the term denotes a category, 'Yellow Pages' is a registered name and is used by several companies that release telephone directories. Online telephone directories also use the domain name 'Yellow Pages.xx' to list businesses. Although it is known by several names like the Golden Pages, Town Page and Rainbow Pages, the purpose of this book remains the same.
Unlike a regular telephone directory, yellow pages list business on geographical locations and business type. For example, if you are looking for a plumber in Greater London, you will find an alphabetized list of plumbers under the 'Greater London' section.
The usefulness of the yellow pages has transcended into the virtual world as well, with several online directories dedicated to business listings. Also known as Online Yellow Pages or Internet Yellow Pages, these directories offer listings for consumers and businesses. Unlike regular search engines, online yellow pages place more emphasis on geography and also allow advertising of different businesses. | 
