# Baffled by rotary phones **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [January 17, 2019, 5:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/baffled-by-rotary-phones/827937 "2019-01-17T17:54:03Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![Jophiel](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jophiel/32/66_2.png) [@Jophiel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jophiel)\ **Post date:** [January 18, 2019, 6:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/baffled-by-rotary-phones/827937/41 "2019-01-18T06:34:12Z")
> [@Filbert](#): > > I’m a millenial; we had a rotary phone until I was 8. It’s not a skill I consider in any way useful, and I highly doubt I’d bother teaching it to my hypothetical children, but yes, I can remember how to use one. Point being, it’s hardly a “skill”; not more so than operating a crank pencil sharpener or using a radio with dials instead of a digital display and buttons. Even if you initially mess it up somehow, there’s only so many movement options that make sense. > [@](#): > > The only generation that could set the time on a VCR. C’mon now, you can’t be both a Millennial AND Generation X (dumb articles about “Xennials” need not apply) ---
**Author:** ![steronz](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/steronz/32/11765_2.png) [@steronz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/steronz)\ **Post date:** [January 18, 2019, 1:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/baffled-by-rotary-phones/827937/42 "2019-01-18T13:47:45Z")
I saw this video a few days ago and thought it was a fascinating display of how unintuitive rotary phones are. I mean, it’s not like 17 year olds are dumber today than boomers (the opposite is true, based on the Flynn effect). And it’s not like boomers were born with some innate knowledge of how rotary phones work – they were taught how to use them, which 17-year-olds aren’t, for obvious reasons. Consider how much better it is to dial a number prior to initiating the handset – you can back up if you make a mistake, you can verify the number is correct before hitting “call.” You can store the number in memory. And it’s not like this is exclusive to smartphones, cordless phones have been allowing you to dial the number before hitting “call” since the 80s. That’s just how phones have worked for most of this 39-year-old’s life, and the only reason I have any clue about pulse dialing is that my parents were incredibly cheap. And that’s really the key to knowing how a rotary phone should work – if all you’ve ever known is touch-tone dialing (which was introduced in 1963, according to my google search just now), the idea of having to submit a certain number of clicks to make a phone call is absolutely not what anyone would expect a phone to do. Don’t get me wrong, I think rotary phones are marvel of simplicity in design, but that simplicity was a technological limitation, not an intentional design choice. eta: Also, I was proud of the boys for eventually figuring it out. Really didn’t take them that long in the grand scheme of things, and it was actually a bit of a wholesome moment between parents and teens. ---
**Author:** ![Arrogance\_Ex\_Machina](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/arrogance_ex_machina/32/192_2.png) [@Arrogance\_Ex\_Machina](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Arrogance_Ex_Machina)\ **Post date:** [January 18, 2019, 2:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/baffled-by-rotary-phones/827937/43 "2019-01-18T14:03:42Z")
I was just reading that all service providers in Finland are phasing out landline phones altogether, really making things like rotary phones obsolete tech. I’m 40 and I never had a landline phone of my own - got my first cellphone in '97, a bit before I moved out. We did have a rotary phone when I was a kid but switched to a phone with buttons around '90, I think. ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [January 18, 2019, 2:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/baffled-by-rotary-phones/827937/44 "2019-01-18T14:50:54Z")
> [@aceplace57](#): > > Remember how satisfying it was to slam the handset onto the hook? 😉 > [@Guinastasia](#): > > Oh, what I wouldn’t GIVE to be able to do that to telemarketers again. I’ve always wondered what was the point? Once the cradle buttons are depressed, the connection is severed. So no matter how violently you slam the handset down, the person on the other end is only going to hear a small part of your anger. ---
**Author:** ![bump](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/7c8e57/32.png) [@bump](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bump)\ **Post date:** [January 18, 2019, 3:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/baffled-by-rotary-phones/827937/45 "2019-01-18T15:37:28Z")
> [@Filbert](#): > > You do know ‘millenials’ refers to the age group currently between around 22 and 37, right? Your new college students are probably ‘generation Z’ (nice apocalyptic feel, that name). It’s not just you, half the articles you read claim ‘millenials don’t know x!’ and when you read it, it’s a survey of 14 year olds. 14 year olds don’t know all the stuff adults do, especially when it comes to totally obsolete stuff. Why should they? > > I’m a millenial; we had a rotary phone until I was 8. It’s not a skill I consider in any way useful, and I highly doubt I’d bother teaching it to my hypothetical children, but yes, I can remember how to use one. > > Regards, > The only generation that could set the time on a VCR. Of course I know that, and I think the generational cohorts don’t align very well with the social cohorts either. For example, they say Gen X is from something like 1965-1980, and that Millenials are 1981-1996. In my experience, there’s a pretty huge difference in the say… pre 1976 Gen Xers and the ones born afterward, and it mostly surrounds the age at which they were when computers/technology became a major cultural force- the older Gen Xers didn’t grow up in a technology-centric world or one with helicopter parents, while the younger ones did, and are more like millenials in many ways. And similarly, the younger millenials seem to have more in common with the 15-22 crowd than the 37 year olds on the far end of their cohort. I’m still amazed when I read things about younger people not voting because they don’t know how to obtain stamps. Not because they don’t just magically know, but because they don’t seem to have the motivation to find out how. Or this whole “adulting” concept- I’ll be the first to admit that there’s definitely a learning curve on figuring out how to live on your own, it’s not something I ever conceived of as needing a class to negotiate, or something you had an option to fail at or even choose . I’m not trying to be the grumpy 46 year old guy who’s sneering at “kids these days”, but I have to admit that some of the things that they’re reported as doing are headscratchingly strange, and that’s why I wonder if it’s just reporting intended to smear them, or if that stuff is actually true? ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [January 18, 2019, 3:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/baffled-by-rotary-phones/827937/46 "2019-01-18T15:57:41Z")
For what it’s worth, I was born in 1977, and the first time I ever encountered the term “millennial” was when I was forwarded an e-mail from my sister (born 1975) with a bunch of cultural touchstones we had in common, and proclaiming that age cohort to be “millennials”. Of course, who do you think I now hear the most complaints about “millennials” from? But then again, she also complains about kids learning “new math”, instead of the way we were taught it. ---
**Author:** ![muldoonthief](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/muldoonthief/32/3188_2.png) [@muldoonthief](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/muldoonthief)\ **Post date:** [January 18, 2019, 4:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/baffled-by-rotary-phones/827937/47 "2019-01-18T16:41:06Z")
> [@Filbert](#): > > I’m a millenial; we had a rotary phone until I was 8. It’s not a skill I consider in any way useful, and I highly doubt I’d bother teaching it to my hypothetical children, but yes, I can remember how to use one. > > Regards, > The only generation that could set the time on a VCR. WTF? I’m an old Gen Xer, and I was setting time on a VCR when you were just a gleam in your father’s eye. We Gen Xers had to do it for our Boomer & Greatest Generation parents. And I’ve still got a rotary phone on my desk at work. Even in 2019 cable modems/MTAs still have to support rotary/pulse dialing to pass FCC & other country compliance testing. ---
**Author:** ![cochrane](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cochrane/32/10441_2.png) [@cochrane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cochrane)\ **Post date:** [January 18, 2019, 4:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/baffled-by-rotary-phones/827937/48 "2019-01-18T16:47:30Z")
> [@muldoonthief](#): > > WTF? I’m an old Gen Xer, and I was setting time on a VCR when you were just a gleam in your father’s eye. We Gen Xers had to do it for our Boomer & Greatest Generation parents. I’m a Boomer myself. I was the one who set the VCR in our house. ---
**Author:** ![echoreply](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/echoreply/32/3641_2.png) [@echoreply](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/echoreply)\ **Post date:** [January 18, 2019, 7:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/baffled-by-rotary-phones/827937/49 "2019-01-18T19:00:48Z")
> [@Arjuna34](#): > > D = dial command, with T or P as modifiers: > > ATDT = dial with touch tone > ATDP = dial with pulse > > ATD = dial with default method (varied I think) Thanks that was my first guess, but I wasn’t too sure of it. Looking it up would defeat the theme of the thread. (Un?)fortunately I got rid of all my old modems when I moved offices a few years ago. > [@Voyager](#): > > The first phones you could buy were push button, but the one I had included a switch you could set for dial pulse or touchtone. The BoCs charged more for touchtone, though since it tied up the network less during dialing it was cheaper. We had dial pulse service, but I found that if I set the phone for touchtone it worked just as well. I think they figured this out about three years after I started it. That’s why we had one touch tone (business) and one pulse line (personal) at home when I was growing up. They charged extra for the touch tone feature. Every year or so they phone company would ask my Dad to upgrade, and he’d refuse because it was more expensive. A year or two ago I asked him how that ever worked out, and he said eventually they just forced it. I know for certainty that in the 80s touch tone did not work on the pulse line, because back then you had to repeatedly dial a BBS when they were busy, and it took much longer to call using pulses. I’d confirmed touch tones didn’t work on the pulse line. ---
**Author:** ![Folacin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/folacin/32/3195_2.png) [@Folacin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Folacin)\ **Post date:** [January 18, 2019, 8:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/baffled-by-rotary-phones/827937/50 "2019-01-18T20:47:09Z")
> [@steronz](#): > > Consider how much better it is to dial a number prior to initiating the handset – you can back up if you make a mistake, you can verify the number is correct before hitting “call.” You can store the number in memory. And it’s not like this is exclusive to smartphones, cordless phones have been allowing you to dial the number before hitting “call” since the 80s. I’m old(ish) - if I’m entering digits on my cellphone (as opposed to calling someone in my address book), I still sometimes forget to hit the green call/dial button and wonder why the damn thing isn’t ringing. Then I have a momentary moment of embarrassment, press the green button and it works. ---
**Author:** ![Napier](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/ce73a5/32.png) [@Napier](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Napier)\ **Post date:** [January 19, 2019, 4:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/baffled-by-rotary-phones/827937/51 "2019-01-19T16:03:55Z")
Who remembers the handset getting more and more staticky white noise until you bang the mouthpiece on your other hand a few times to settle all the carbon granules down? ---
**Author:** ![Baker](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/bb73d2/32.png) [@Baker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Baker)\ **Post date:** [January 19, 2019, 5:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/baffled-by-rotary-phones/827937/52 "2019-01-19T17:51:14Z")
Back in the late 90’s I still had a rotary phone as my only phone. When I’d make a call to a company that used a phone tree there was still the option, after the “press number” options, to “stay on the line and wait for an operator”. I called a small publishing company in California, one that obviously had a sense of humor. I waited for an operator, but before they came on there was a message _“What? You don’t have a touch tone phone yet? The 21st century is just around the corner!!!”_ I wasn’t offended and was still laughing when the live human answered. ---
**Author:** ![DPRK](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/4491bb/32.png) [@DPRK](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DPRK)\ **Post date:** [January 19, 2019, 7:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/baffled-by-rotary-phones/827937/53 "2019-01-19T19:49:15Z")
At some level this has nothing to do with phones, right? A “non-hacker”, confronted with an unfamiliar piece of kit, will feel bafflement and dismay, while a “hacker” mentality will not only figure out how to use it without breaking anything, but within half an hour will be making free long-distance calls. ---
**Author:** ![Guinastasia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guinastasia/32/5751_2.png) [@Guinastasia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Guinastasia)\ **Post date:** [January 19, 2019, 10:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/baffled-by-rotary-phones/827937/54 "2019-01-19T22:28:39Z")
I always wanted one of those cool see-through phones – remember those? ---
**Author:** ![dropzone](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dropzone/32/7515_2.png) [@dropzone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dropzone)\ **Post date:** [January 20, 2019, 5:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/baffled-by-rotary-phones/827937/55 "2019-01-20T05:02:36Z")
> [@ElvisL1ves](#): > > Probably “Damn, that thing’s heavy!” Next comes you reversing it in your hand, base up, and you looking for someone to clobber. > [@Johnny\_L.A](#): > > I’ve always wondered what was the point? Once the cradle buttons are depressed, the connection is severed. So no matter how violently you slam the handset down, the person on the other end is only going to hear a small part of your anger. The same goes for an idea I’ve read here that you should poke a bunch of keys randomly to deafen the caller. Nope. Loud on your end. Perfectly comfortable on mine, but I get to laugh at you for being an idiot. ---
**Author:** ![Hilarity\_N.Suze](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hilarity_n.suze/32/6223_2.png) [@Hilarity\_N.Suze](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hilarity_N.Suze)\ **Post date:** [January 20, 2019, 8:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/baffled-by-rotary-phones/827937/56 "2019-01-20T08:46:51Z")
It’s not that loud on my end plus I know what I’m going to do and hold the phone way away from my ear. ---
**Author:** ![furryman](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/furryman/32/99_2.png) [@furryman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/furryman)\ **Post date:** [January 21, 2019, 7:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/baffled-by-rotary-phones/827937/57 "2019-01-21T19:27:41Z")
In another 20 years there will be a video of kids looking at an old cell phone and saying “alexa call home” then wondering why nothing is happening.😃 ---
**Author:** ![That\_Don\_Guy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/that_don_guy/32/538_2.png) [@That\_Don\_Guy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/That_Don_Guy)\ **Post date:** [January 21, 2019, 7:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/baffled-by-rotary-phones/827937/58 "2019-01-21T19:42:48Z")
> [@mikecurtis](#): > > I was walking by my Junior High school (grades 7 & 8) a while back, and was amazed to see the old bike rack still where it always was. I think it might even be the same one from 40 years ago. The amazing thing, tho, was there was not one bike locked to it. NOT ONE! Not only that, but there was a line of cars waiting to pick up the kids. These are 13 & 14 year olds! At a school that serves an area of maybe a 2 mile radius! In a suburb! now I know I’m treading dangerously close to old man territory (I have to regularly remind myself to stop shaking my fist at the world) but COME ON! If your 14yo cant even get to school and home again by themselves what hope is there for them to actually do something that may actually require effort? I’ll go for what I think is the obvious answer: “_You_ try riding a bike 2 miles each way with a backpack full of all of the stuff we need for homework!” Plus, unlike 40 years ago, nowadays pretty much everybody who rides a bike wears a helmet, but what do you do with them when you’re at school, especially if they won’t fit in your locker? ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [January 21, 2019, 8:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/baffled-by-rotary-phones/827937/59 "2019-01-21T20:01:35Z")
And around here, the middle school bike racks are usually full. ---
**Author:** ![mikecurtis](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mikecurtis/32/3284_2.png) [@mikecurtis](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mikecurtis)\ **Post date:** [January 21, 2019, 9:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/baffled-by-rotary-phones/827937/60 "2019-01-21T21:56:45Z")
well, maybe it’s just my old school then. But, I stand by my “kids these days!” mc [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/baffled-by-rotary-phones/827937.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/baffled-by-rotary-phones/827937.md?page=4)