You’d think that maybe - just maybe - they’d see a movie or show that had older phones on set and see them in use? What era was that show Stranger Things set in?
Lotsa rotary phones in use at that time… but then again, who actually watches a show when everyone’s got their noses glued to their devices. LOL!
TIL, thank you for that!
Also, if you were in a rural area that had the LATA code (the first three numbers after the area code) on a mechanical switcher, you did not have to use the LATA code. Could just dial the last 4 digits. My dad’s farm was in a town that was still sitting on a mechanical switch until the early 2000’s so in the early 80’s we had a budget party line (we were one long ring, while the neighbors had two shorter rings and there was a third person - whom we did not know, that was a phenomenally LONG call maker - you’d sometimes have to wait an hour or so for the guy to get off the line) and all of our friends were just 4 numbers… Can remember many - 8345, 8652, 8033 (<- my best friend in 10th grade…)
It was a decidedly different, and less expensive, world.
The real fun bit is watching 12 year olds try to dial out on one.
I kept my desktop rotary until 2017 when I got a cell phone with the landline number ported to it.
NGL, the desktop rotary was a Godsend in the winter of 1996 when the Northeast got hit by a massive ice storm that took out power for weeks across parts of the region. Phone lines are more robust - also the power lines intercept the falling trees or catch the ice so while power would often be out, the phones would be just fine.
What folks didn’t get about the rotary phones is that part of the spring-loaded mechanism under the dial is a magneto that puts voltage into the line as you dial.
Think of the old 1930’s movies where the phones had cranks on them - you would actually charge the circuit to make the call. When dial tone phones came on the market big time in the early 80’s the phone company increased the monthly fee by $3.50 to dial-tone phone users in order to make up for them having to provide power to the phone.
I had a fun time getting that charge removed from my bill… would be talking to the operator and dialing the phone as I did so they could hear the rotary click stops… Ahem… Fix that bill, thankyouverymuch…
Oh dear Gods. This is about it…
Not another motherfucking politician, doing nothing but something for his own ambition… The Power of Equality - The Red Hot Chili Peppers
…Hmmmm… It should. If you read the linked article it claims the group lists X, discord, telegram and vimeo as sites that encourage infringement, so there’s that.
Sorry to break that self-righteous rage of yours on the rocks of independent voting.
I voted (and have) straight Democratic ticket. Always.
But I like making sure during the --> primaries, <-- (hello, pay attention here…) that as a registered Republican, I can choose the candidates with the least chance of going anywhere.
Also, I’m on the right-wing mailing lists so I know what the state GOP is up to, and can bring it up in the right way to torpedo their plans.
Tactics kid… tactics.
Okay. I’m a Republican. Fuck ICE.
Yup… the trick was having your LATA code be on the mechanical switcher. They could address 9,999 numbers. Which in a town that at the time had maybe 1,900 people… it was glorious.