Saturday, October 18, 2008

The Telephone

Ah, the telephone. Thank you Mr. Bell, for one of the greatest inventions ever.
A cute ad from 1938:
"There's nothing like a bedroom telephone". Indeed! (1956):

And, of course (from 1958) "I couldn't get along without my kitchen telephone". How about you?
Well, I can certainly understand the practicality of a phone in (almost) every room. We have telephones in the bedroom, living room, den, sunroom, basement, and right outside the kitchen in the original little dedicated "telephone nook" complete with a stool, drawer and a little pull-out writing table. This is a cute ad (for Kohler), below - but no, we do not have, nor do we need, a phone in the bathroom!
Two of our phones are non-portables: a vintage red rotary phone, and a Trimline. I've never had a Princess phone, but I've always wanted one. I'd love to have a pink or blue Princess. I love how the dial lights up!
And I wouldn't mind having one of these fabulous Ericofons (also from 1958). What a great design!:
We found this neat book by Ellen Stern and Emily Gwathmey at a shop in Grass Valley when we were there on vacation one time. Sorry the entire cover didn't fit on my scanner. Inside - everything you always wanted to know about phones!:
This is the cover of the book beneath the dust jacket.
Caller ID sort of changed my life. The idea that I never have to speak to another telemarketer as long as I live thrills me to no end. Lately, we have gotten a lot of calls from unrecognizable numbers - no doubt they are political/election related. Nope, not answering. We'll never have call waiting. Sorry, but I still think it's rude. You may as well say to me "Oh, sorry - but this other person who's calling is more important than you, and I need to talk to them instead right now." Don't like it. If my line's busy - call me back or try my cel if it's that important. And if your Caller ID number and/or name is blocked, please start talking - we only answer when we know who it is! And if you called to talk to one of us, PLEASE leave a message so we can call you back if we aren't at home? If you have a private number, we'll never know it was you who called if you don't.
Hmmmm...sorry if this turned into a bit of a rant. I'm done.

3 comments:

  1. I'm with you--I think Call Waiting is one of the worst inventions EVER! It's RUDE RUDE RUDE, no two ways about it. I hate it and I refuse to use it. That used to cause seriously huge battles with one of my college roommates but I stuck to my guns then and I still do!

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  2. I totally agree with you about call waiting! That's one thing that offends me. I remember when a bedroom telephone was a sign of luxury. I don't know how women got anything done without cordless telephones! Twyla

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  3. I am adding my definite agreement to the Call Waiting RUDE comment. Maybe it's okay if you have someone on the way to the hospital or something..! I will never have it and most times I just say "Okay, goodbye" if someone says I will be on hold for a new call. I also am happy to avoid the telemarketers. Even being on the Do-Not-Call list, you can still get them from your credit card companies, non-profits, political parties, etc. The photo of the teen in the bathroom reminds me of me when I was a teenager, except of course the phone in the bathroom! And I want to add a thank you for cell phones, since I have dial-up on my computer I can still make a call when I am on line. Love T

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