Dumb phone question

[Seedy]

I'm in my early 30s and remember when "pulse" rotary phones were still common.

I was recently talking with some "early 20 somethings" about phones. They were getting nostalgic about corded home phones and "brick phones"...

I made a circular motion with my index finger several times while making the sound of a rotary pulse phone "shhhkkt-tk-tk-tk-tk, shhhhkt-tk-tk-tk-tk-tk, shhhhhkt-tk-tk-tk-tk-tk-tk, etc.." and asked them "what am I doing?"...


...not a single one of them knew what that was.

 

[HiredHand]

I have some friends who still had a rotary phone up until a few years ago. They loved it because when the power went out for whatever reason they could still make phone calls. The rotary phone had to go when they had dsl installed because the two weren't compatible.

 

[ByrdC130]

Guess they thought a party line is a 1-900 number.

 

[RidgeHunter]

I was recently talking with some "early 20 somethings" about phones.

I made a circular motion with my index finger several times while making the sound of a rotary pulse phone "shhhkkt-tk-tk-tk-tk, shhhhkt-tk-tk-tk-tk-tk, shhhhhkt-tk-tk-tk-tk-tk-tk, etc.." and asked them "what am I doing?"...

^^Seedy this is not a good way to pick up chicks at the junior college.^^

This reminds me of one of the bombs I used to derail the 87th winter driving anecdote thread.

Growing up before cell phones were commonplace, the hip thing for a teenager to have was their own phone line in their room. My older sister always had these goofy ass novelty phones, one was shaped like Garfield the cat. I used to wait until she was deep in a conversation with one of her friends, or her dumbass boyfriend. I'd belly crawl over to the wall and pull the phone cord out of the jack, then stand up and run like hell. If all went well I could be back in my room by the time she hit her doorway cussing at me. I appeared innocent, and she appeared to be a raving lunatic yelling at her baby brother. I would eat ice cream, she would get grounded.

ETA: The phone looked like this:

 

[Seedy]

Sounds like your stories are as entertaining as mine. We should put together a class on how to be socially awkward.

 

[RidgeHunter]

Sounds like your stories are as entertaining as mine. We should put together a class on how to be socially awkward.

Ha! I'd say we're well qualified for that position.

Hell, you may be more qualified than me.

I made a circular motion with my index finger several times while making the sound of a rotary pulse phone "shhhkkt-tk-tk-tk-tk, shhhhkt-tk-tk-tk-tk-tk, shhhhhkt-tk-tk-tk-tk-tk-tk, etc.." and asked them "what am I doing?"...

No need trying to change. Some may find it endearing.

 

[BadgeBunny]

Sounds like your stories are as entertaining as mine. We should put together a class on how to be socially awkward.

You are too cute to be socially awkward ...

When I bought this house there was a rotary phone hanging on the wall that still worked. We used it for a while then GC moved in and his ex-wife called ALL THE FRIGGIN' TIME ... I stopped answering ... then it just RANG ALL THE FRIGGIN' TIME ... I cut the wires ... I kinda miss that phone now ... sigh

 

[gillman7]

I still have one in my garage. Not a big techno geek. I still have a rotary dial cell phone, don't need no stinkin' I-Phone!!

 

[Waltherfan]

I have a 96 year old friend I visit weekly. He still has a rotary phone in his reloading room (yes, he still shoots).
On a somewhat related note, last week we had our new neighbors in our back yard, showing them our garden. Their little girl looked at a contraption we have in the middle of the yard and asked what it was. The wife and I looked at each other and said "It's a clothes line." Poor little girl had never seen one.

 

[HMFIC]

It wasn't that long ago where you had to actually PAY EXTRA to be able to use tone dialing. Granted, it was only like 10 cents a month or something but

Remember the phones that had push buttons but also had a switch to do either tone or pulse?