Kids React to Rotary Phones
Warning: this will make you feel ancient. Dial phones were replaced by push-button phones when these kids’ parents were children (although that wasn’t universal -remember when we had to pay an extra fee for touchtone service?), so it’s no surprise they don’t know how to use them. But when you hear them try to figure out how to send a text on a rotary phone, it strikes home how different the world they are growing up in really is.
My older daughter found a rotary phone in vendor's mall a few years ago and asked me to show her how it was used. Every step was totally new to her. Then she wanted to buy it and use it! I said no, because we'd then have to get landline service. Would that even work these days? -via Metafilter
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About two years ago, our one "real corded phone" (in case of emergency and power outage) needed to be replaced. Since, I love old tech I went on eBay and purchased a nice wall mount black Bakelite rotary phone. I love the thing. Using it comes with an added bonus of not misdialing nearly as much and a certain sense that talking on the phone is a thing not to be taken flippantly. I like to refer to it as the "conversation" phone.
The phone's loud ACTUAL ring (bell and hammer) can be startling and especially to guests who don't know we have it. One friend was completely astonished after the phone rang because we had a land line and a "real" phone.