Its funny Friday!
- Thread starter rgranger
- Start date
My 2004 Dodge pickup is totally manual. Crank windows, standard transmission and because it is a full size pickup, the passenger door lock is in another county. 
Growing up, all my friends phone numbers started with 9 but that was after Southwestern Bell made us dial all seven numbers. Anybody remember 4 digit calling?
Growing up, all my friends phone numbers started with 9 but that was after Southwestern Bell made us dial all seven numbers. Anybody remember 4 digit calling?
We had four digit calling here in NH, when I was in high school. When I was in grade school, in Florida, we had to dial all seven numbers.
I do remember some of my friends had to check their phones before they could make a call because they were on a party line.
I remember operators.
-Will (Dragonfly)
I do remember some of my friends had to check their phones before they could make a call because they were on a party line.
I remember operators.
-Will (Dragonfly)
I do not remember four digit calling, but we did have a party line when I was a kid complete with a neighbor that would listen to our calls....
I started working for a furniture manufacturer, many years ago, as a design engineer and their IT person. When I got there, they had a switchboard operator (receptionist) who did the typical handling of all incoming calls then transferred them to the appropriate office with a two digit extension. About a year later, the company "upgraded" the phone system and everyone then had three digit extensions, no new offices. They just added a number to the front so everyone had to add a '9' or something to their regular number. Then they upgraded again to a trunk line where everyone got their own direct dial number and internally, they now had four digits to dial to get a fellow employee. Progress?
I've since left the company, but my guess is that, another upgrade and all seven digits now needs to be dialed to get the office that twenty five years ago only took two numbers to dial. Oh yeah, they still maintain a front end receptionist to handle phone calls.
-Will (Dragonfly)
I've since left the company, but my guess is that, another upgrade and all seven digits now needs to be dialed to get the office that twenty five years ago only took two numbers to dial. Oh yeah, they still maintain a front end receptionist to handle phone calls.
-Will (Dragonfly)
I worked as an engineer in a plant remote from headquarters. When we needed to call there, we had to call the plant operator to request the “tie line”. Then we had to wait, sometimes hours, for our turn, depending on where we were in the pecking order. Then there was telex...
Telex, hadn't thought of that in a long time. In college, I was a radio announcer (DJ means something different now), and the station had a telex for news. I'd occasionally go in and tear off a story or two to read on the air. There was a bell system to alert you to the importance of the story coming across "the wire". One ring, not very important. Ten rings, the balloon had gone up.
jssailem
SBO Weather and Forecasting Forum Jim & John
- Oct 22, 2014
- 22,079
Our 4 digit number ended in a 1. But you could also dial that same number ending in a 2 and the house phone would ring with 2 shorts. You could do that all the way to 9. So we could set up "secret" codes and all you had to do was listen to the ring.
When one of my older sisters went off to college and had to put our phone number on the application, the college contacted us saying she was missing numbers in the phone number. It was a 3 digit area code and the 4 number exchange. It took them some time to figure it all out...
dj
Who remembers going to the movies and having to use a pay phone to call home for a ride.... something like this.
Automated Operator: "Who shall I say is calling"
Me: "Robneedsaride"
Automated Operator: "Will you accept a call from (rob needs a ride)?"
My Dad just hangs up.
Automated Operator: "Who shall I say is calling"
Me: "Robneedsaride"
Automated Operator: "Will you accept a call from (rob needs a ride)?"
My Dad just hangs up.
Back in the day, pay phones would return your dime if the call lasted less than 3 seconds. So when my friend would call his mother from the station for a ride home (I lived close enough to walk), he would say “Ma, stach” and hang up. Out popped the dime.
My oldest aunt has had the same number since she was 19. They have added an area code but I still know her number as CE5-1420 And it still works