Ok, we’re all familiar with the phenomenon of the handset cord getting twisted up. You have to let the handset dangle and unwind 15 or 20 turns. Two questions: How does this happen? Obviously it would seem that it happens because the handset gets rotated between picking it up and hanging it up. But the second question is: Why does this happen so much more often with phones that have been in use awhile??? Believe it or not, I have actually paid attention to my use of the handset and I don’t notice myself rotating it or turning it over in the process of using it. But, it gets all wound up, and I have to unwind it once a week or so. When the phone was new, this rarely happened. What gives??
i believe it happens more often with older phones because the cord has more wear and tear than a new one. the ‘natural’ position for phone cords is in a helix shape, and when you use the phone the cord is taken out of that shape, thus having to return to its position. over time the cord is stretched and stretched and eventually loses the ability to reshape completely.
If you pick it up with one hand, use it, then replace it with the other hand, you will have introduced two half-turns. This is quite a common occurrence if, for example, the phone is on your left, but you prefer to listen with your right ear.