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She told me the entire history of the phone as she knew it. It was purchased new in 1901 and she remembered the day it was replaced with a candlestick phone, and she remembered the candlestick phone being replaced by another of the same type with a rotary dial. Ignoring my protests, she wouldn't let me leave the house without taking that phone.
I got the phone back to the house, and turned the crank a few times. The bells rang. The mouthpiece still swivels and the earpiece is still connected with the original wiring. You know, those old earpieces that look like a large pestle.
And then I opened it. The wiring diagram is still inside pasted firmly to the cabinet door. It has a small tag that says Western Electric and all the guts are still there and working. What's more, the batteries were still inside it. Two huge Eveready dry cells, white with red lettering, and the year 1899 stamped on them.
Since the phone had been in service for a long time, I thought it odd that the batteries had an 1899 date on them. Turns out the the original owner collected all things electronic, and when the phone was replaced, he put the original batteries back inside so that anyone receiving the phone would know exactly what batteries came with it so they could be easily replaced.
Corrosion has long since severed the wired connection to the batteries but the phone is otherwise in perfect condition. And I've started collecting old phones.
The phone is 18-1/2 inches tall, 9 inches wide and 6-1/2 inches deep. My daughter is still trying to figure out how anyone made a call on a phone without numbers. ;)
My mobile has a camera, video recorder, MP3 player, electronic games, etc, etc. It will be obsolete within the year.
Where did we go wrong?
Affluenza has even changed the way we use the word 'obsolete'. Your phone won't be 'obsolete', it will still make and take calls, take pictures, allow you to play games and make movies.
Of course, looking at that old phone, I'm glad improvements occurred. Hate to have to lug that thing around the airport to make a call. ;)
Your phone won't be 'obsolete', it will still make and take calls
[pedantic]Obsolete means no longer used or out-of-date as opposed to no longer working[/pedantic] ;)
You try getting over horse jumps or doing the Grand National and you'll discover that horses were not made obsolete by the invention of the automobile for all purposes!
Often the apparently obsolete may simply have a more restricted niche. That cabinet phone might still make a nice intercom!
Rgds
Damon
[edited by: DamonHD at 9:18 pm (utc) on Aug. 15, 2006]
Often the apparently obsolete may simply have a more restricted niche. That cabinet phone might still make a nice intercom!
That's CRUEL!
But I like it!
Only 12-and-a-bit years until I can play that trick on my daughter!
Rgds
Damon
