The Buckets by Greg Cravens for January 16, 2020

That’s good, a little healthy release of tension through hatred in the family. It has the built-in advantage of keeping it all in the family. No one really gets injured, a couple of people get something out of their system, everything’s good.

Bah. I see nothing with an actual DIAL, let alone a REAL phone where you pick up the mouthpiece and say, “Hello, is that you, Myrt?”* to the operator.

*25 bonus internet points to the first poster to correctly identify THAT pop culture reference!

A real phone is the one I know how to use

In that case they are both right, and I’m with grandpa

I’m surprised Franks’s phone is push button and not rotary dial.

Only one of them is also a computer, however.

My family had a party line when I was a kid. Who else is old enough to remember?

Actually, they should stop calling them phones, people do everything with them BUT phone.

Up until 1983 you had to rent your phone, then after ATT was broken up they offered to sell the touchtone phones for $42 or $150 in 2020$. You could still rent them for $1.50 month.

The phone on the right is EMP hardened and can withstand a 5 foot drop test, but has to be hardwired into the wall to work. The phone on the left – not so much….

Still don’t have anything but a regular telephone. TYVM

I remember my grandad on his farm having a crank phone hanging on the wall 1955. No number dial or buttons. You lifted the ear piece then cranked the handle on the side to make the others on the trunk line ring. Each farm had its own ring style, two long two short was one farm where one long three short was another. Worked on the honor system as they were all connected so if it rang but not yours you could still lift the ear piece and listen in.