I remember this toy when my kids had it. I’m nearly positive it was called a Pop 'n Play.
As for the OP, the phone in the house where I grew up had a rotary phone hard-wired into the kitchen wall until my mother sold the house, which was around 10 years ago. It was Avacado Green, too!
Hmm, maybe I should have a rotary phone on the wall next to my clawfoot bath tub.
I’m 25, and I know how to use a rotary phone. The house we moved to when I was 7 had one, and I figured out how to use it without instruction or having seen one in person before. That I am sure of, because I remember the kid across the street making a call one day, and, as another poster mentioned, tried just hitting the numbers as if they were buttons. I thought to myself :smack: You’re older than me and you can’t even figure this out?
The woman in the OP may or may not be stupid, but I’d have to say if she was presented with a rotary phone and couldn’t figure out how to dial in a minute or two, then I’d question her intelligence. Honestly, has she gone her entire life having never seen an old B&W movie, or an episode of I Love Lucy, or a child’s toy phone?
16 and I know how to use one. We’ve had one since I was six.
That’s one of my abiding memories as a child when trying to get through to early morning surgery at the doctor’s.
Good times. 
But on topic, 25 years old and grew up with rotary phones until probably the early 1990s. Upon clearing out my dad’s old law practice recently I’ve happened across at least 3 (at last count) that I’ll definitely hang on to for nostalgia, and in a few years, you never know…
I have one in my home. And I learned it was possible to just plug it in and have it work without interfering with any of my other services, right here on this board.
I have it in the attic/secret room. It’s the smoking lounge in my abode and filled with ancient trunks and a wingback chair. A couple of garret windows and old black and white newspaper photos cover the walls. Fits right in.
Okay, so we can all agree that even a toddler can master it?
So why not 26 year olds? Or are they still trying to learn the toggle, beveled switch, and sliding switch buttons?
No, you just pull on the can so the string is tight and talk into the open end.
I’m sorry, I missed the anecdote about the 26 year old who was presented with a rotary phone, showed how it worked and still couldn’t master it. I absolutely agree that this would be an unusual event, unless her protective headgear was getting in the way. :rolleyes:
I was a baby the first time I saw the phone (she had the same one my entire childhood) so I suppose not 
One of my favorite scenes in the movie In and Out has Matt Dillon as a famous actor coming back to his home town and bringing a “supermodel” with him. They have a fight, and he leaves her in a hotel room where she can’t figure out how to dial the phone next to the bed. She just keeps stabbing at the dial until she gives up and decides she won’t call her agent after all. 
About 10 years ago, I was working on a play in amateur theatre. The play: Dial M for Murder. Cast in the play was a young guy in his early 20s. As we got into the blocking phase of rehearsals, we dug out of the props including the age appropriate phone, a rotary phone of the type used in the 50s. The first night at rehearsal where the phone was in use, said young hero came to the part in the script where he crosses to the desk and phones someone. He’s in full actor mode, saying his lines. All of a sudden, he stops dead. Everyone in the rehearsal space is now paying attention. He pauses. And then, he sticks his index finger in one of the dial holes, and “punches” the number. Yep, like it’s a touch tone. Laughter ensued. Young hero looked confused. The director then explained the dialing motion. Young hero then complained how long it took the dial to turn. A suggestion was made that perhaps it would be quicker if he didn’t dial a number that used all 8s and 9s.
Yeah, but who are you going to call? :dubious:
Just asking.
Umm, you can’t. They just don’t work that way. The best you can do is fast forward to the next track change, then hit the program change button to the section that contains the song you want to hear.
I’m 25. I’ve never actually gotten my hands on a rotary phone, but I know how to operate one. Actually, I could probably manage to get through even if the dial was broken, if I could work out the timing of the clicks.
Then again, one of my hobbies is media history. I was one of the last people I knew of to own a turntable and LPs (before my sister “borrowed” it and managed to break it), and given ten or fifteen gleeful minutes of tinkering, I could probably operate a telecine.
CDs did not outsell LPs until 1988. I’m having trouble believing that all the older (40+) people you know, who had dozens if not hundreds of LPs, just tossed them out.
I’m 25. The only phone in my house (other than my cell phone) is a pearl and brass, old fashioned imperial phone.
I bought the phone from a thrift store back when I was about 14. I’ve used it since then, and it’s wonderful for keeping people from using my home phone for more than about 2 minutes a pop, if they can figure out the dial.
My dad used to work for Ma Bell when I was a kid, then struck out on his own after the breakup. He had all kinds of phone equipment laying around that he let me play with.
I’m 31.
You done been whooshed, but good. John is making a point by way of illustration.
The tape only runs in one direction, so it rewinds and plays at the same time. If you need to listen to the beginning of the thing, you have to advance the tape and use a pushbutton to switch between the four stereo “programs” (4 times 2 gave you your 8 tracks.)
This was cumbersome to say the least, and not infrequently you were rewarded for your efforts by a broken tape.
There were quadrophonic tapes too, but we never had them. Precious few people did.
I remember too a rather cumbersome adaptor that would allow you to play cassettes in the 8-track deck. I think we’re all glad these sort of things died off.