The other evening my kids found an old phone and they had a lot of questions about it.
I have no idea where the phone came from, but they have had fun pretending to talk on it the past few days. It's amazing how much phones have changed in the last 20 years even! It's pretty common to have corded phones here in Panama. My parents even have one in Texas, but it's a cordless phone and my kids never have taken notice of it when we've visited.
The kids came up with some funny questions about this phone the other day.
How do you know who is calling?
You don't know until you pick it up and talk to the person who is calling.
Does each house on the street have a different ringtone?
Nope, all of the phones pretty much ring the same. I remember seeing some phones that made different noises, but we always just had regular phones growing up.
You could only walk this far away from where it was plugged in?
Yes, the cord keeps you in a certain area. I remember I had a really long cord on a phone in my bedroom, so I could take it all the way into my closet and close the door. Fancy.
How did it work?
You pick up the phone and dial the number and talk to the person who answers. If it rings, you pick it up and say, "Hello." You could also be more formal and say, "This is the __ family, __ speaking." Can you tell I don't talk on my cell phone too often? Ha!
What does the T or P switch on the side mean?
That stands for tone or pulse, and you change it depending on the type of phone it is. A rotary phone would pulse and this phone uses tones. I remember my grandmother had a rotary phone in her house. It was always pretty fun to play with.
You had to pay for the phone and then pay to use it?
Yes, just like you have to pay for internet to use it at home or a cell phone. You pay for the phone and then the service.
Can you plug the cord into your cellphone so we can hear it work?
Nope, it doesn't work that way. You have to plug it into the wall and haver service to be able to use it. Some of these questions are funny because there is even a pay phone at the grocery store we use, and they play with it when we walk by, but maybe they haven't made the connection. Ha!
In conclusion, if you'd like to feel "ancient," get out an old phone (even an old flip cell phone) and see what your kids think about it! Ha!