It was on that date, at that time, the citizens of Fresno could use their nice, shiny, new-fangled...rotary telephones. Of course, first they had to be taught how to use them, because it wasn't as obvious as you might think.
You see, I tend to head over to the Moving Images Archive during lunch, because I can eat and entertain myself at the same time by watching old public-domain movies. The title How to Use the Dial Phone caught my eye because I know, from experience, no one instinctively knows how to use a dial telephone, despite what an illiterate pinhead going by the name Archiveman says.
Anyhoo. It's a silent movie that teaches you how to recognize a dial tone, a busy signal, and what a ringing phone sounds like. Very cleverly done, and I enjoyed it a lot. If you have an extra seven or so minutes, take a look.
BTW...I said earlier, "...I know, from experience, no one instinctively knows how to use a dial telephone," and here's how I know it: When I bought my condo, one of the items that conveyed was the old wall-mounted, rotary-dial kitchen telephone. I loved it...thought it was great...
The gf and I used to take my old roommate's son to hockey games. He was a great kid, very bright, loved hockey. One day he was visiting me, and he had to call his mother to pick him up or something, so I took him to the phone in the kitchen. He grabbed the receiver, then looked at the phone like it was something he didn't know how to operate, probably because he didn't. He knew how to use a cell phone, though.
So, yeah, I had a great laugh at a seven-year old's expense. I think I dialed the number for him.
Posted by Victor at Enero 25, 2005 12:38 PM