Odd Thoughts at Night

Do you remember way back when, perhaps in college, when you pulled all-nighters, and deprived of sleep and writing a paper, you'd stare at a word and wonder, "why is it so weird looking?" (Perhaps this an experience only I've had). In any case, sometimes on call, sleep-deprived and woozy, I have similar experiences. For example, why is paging called paging? My wife wonders whether it originated in the dark ages when to give someone a message, you'd send a page running after them.