this post was submitted on 08 Jun 2025
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I've seen that in several 70s and 80s movies and I don't buy it's real. Wouldn't the bar just have a payphone?

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[–] JoeByeThen@hexbear.net 32 points 1 month ago

If they liked you.

[–] FlakesBongler@hexbear.net 29 points 1 month ago (2 children)

Yes, it's true

And you know how I know?

Because I am that phone

[–] BanSwitch2Buyers@hexbear.net 6 points 1 month ago

If you're that phone
Then who was phone?

[–] HelluvaBottomCarter@hexbear.net 20 points 1 month ago (1 children)

Yes. They would also give away matchbooks. That way if you got murdered, a hard boiled detective could look in your pockets and find a clue to your last whereabouts.

[–] woodenghost@hexbear.net 7 points 1 month ago (1 children)

The implication being that everyone smokes so much, they go through one matchbook pretty quickly.

[–] Speaker@hexbear.net 2 points 1 month ago

I think the reasoning is more that you pick it up at the bar to light a cigarette, drop it in your pocket, and then the next time you safely empty your pockets it'll be gone. If you never make it to that last step, your gumshoe's got a clue!

[–] prole@hexbear.net 20 points 1 month ago* (last edited 1 month ago) (1 children)

Even as recently as 2008, but it was a cordless phone and a dive bar that hadn't changed much since the 80s

[–] trinicorn@hexbear.net 13 points 1 month ago* (last edited 1 month ago) (1 children)

it was a cordless phone and a dive bar that hadn't changed much since the 80s

I still have one of these

I've yet to find one with a working payphone in the last 5-10 years, but several with non-working payphones in little booths they never bothered to rip out

[–] Thordros@hexbear.net 5 points 1 month ago

I've yet to find one with a working payphone in the last 5-10 years, but several with non-working payphones in little booths they never bothered to rip out

I know of a few in the area that replaced theirs with dedicated phones that only call a single cab company. I assume they get some sort of cut or space rental fee for the phone.

[–] LanyrdSkynrd@hexbear.net 16 points 1 month ago (1 children)

The bar my father spent all his time at had a phone like that. I used to have to call him there sometimes. If he wasn't home or at work, that's the place he'd be.

You'd think it'd be embarrassing to have your children calling the bar for you, but it didn't seem to bother him.

[–] Robert_Kennedy_Jr@hexbear.net 8 points 1 month ago

Did you ever ask to speak to I. C. Weiner?

[–] TheWolfOfSouthEnd@hexbear.net 13 points 1 month ago (1 children)

The joke is that if your wife phoned the pub or bar, they would give varying answers depending on how much you paid.

[–] Feinsteins_Ghost@hexbear.net 9 points 1 month ago (1 children)

There were songs written in the 1970s about this very scenario

Tell ol' I ain't here, he better get on home

[–] HexReplyBot@hexbear.net 1 points 1 month ago

I found a YouTube link in your comment. Here are links to the same video on alternative frontends that protect your privacy:

[–] comrade_pibb@hexbear.net 13 points 1 month ago

If you're calling a cab, absolutely

[–] peppersky@hexbear.net 10 points 1 month ago

During the wild West saloons would have all-you-can-eat buffets and you'd only need to order a single beer to get access to them

[–] Le_Wokisme@hexbear.net 9 points 1 month ago

my babysitter had a corded phone in the middle of the house and the cord was so long and had a little stretch to it that you could get to all four exterior walls with it. standard probably 1970s suburb sized house.