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Why is it, in old movies... (Original Post) trof May 2017 OP
haha! That's the kind of thing I think of when the power goes out in my place. JuJuYoshida May 2017 #1
And everyone smoked. trof May 2017 #2
Smoking ... left-of-center2012 May 2017 #5
I'lll be 76 in August. I quit a year and a half ago. trof May 2017 #6
My dad and mother-in-law both died of emphysema ... left-of-center2012 May 2017 #13
My mother in law started smoking at 14 csziggy May 2017 #14
I quit smoking in the Carter administration... Wounded Bear May 2017 #20
Many TV shows were sponsered by tobacco companies back then. trof May 2017 #7
Lt. Columbo would get into an elevator with a cigar burning and no one would say boo. TeamPooka May 2017 #16
There may have been something to it, considering the electronics of the time. hunter May 2017 #3
Oh god. A techie. trof May 2017 #4
And then there were these guys in 1939... hunter May 2017 #8
I know a very racist version to that song. trof May 2017 #9
You'd need to disguise your voice for that. hunter May 2017 #10
First reaction to O.P. title, Why is it that the soundtracks were so good. UTUSN May 2017 #11
Same reason no one recognized Clark Kent without his glasses The Blue Flower May 2017 #12
and why did they hide their gun behind their jackets and sometimes it wasn't a gun mucifer May 2017 #15
Anybody ever prank family/friends by removing the speaker spiderpig May 2017 #17
Yes. But the odd thing was even after you removed that thing, trackfan May 2017 #22
I couldn't figure out why they kept saying "Hello?!" while hitting the disconnect button Rhiannon12866 May 2017 #18
I have techie answers for that too... hunter May 2017 #19
My brother-in-law and his wife Marthe48 May 2017 #21

JuJuYoshida

(2,213 posts)
1. haha! That's the kind of thing I think of when the power goes out in my place.
Fri May 19, 2017, 07:56 PM
May 2017

Seriously, I have no clue why they did that lol!

trof

(54,255 posts)
2. And everyone smoked.
Fri May 19, 2017, 08:08 PM
May 2017

Smoking was actually good for you back then.
Doctors endorsed cigarette brands.
Or at least guys in white coats with a stethoscope around their necks in magazine ads.
"Chesterfields, not a cough in a carload"

Much like now, you could just make shit up.

left-of-center2012

(34,195 posts)
5. Smoking ...
Fri May 19, 2017, 08:39 PM
May 2017

I get the Buzzr TV channel, which broadcasts old game shows.
One I watch a lot is "I've Got a Secret" with the host Gary Moore.

On the show he is never without a cigarette in his hand or mouth (they did that back in the 50's and 60's).

Sadly, I googled Gary Moore and found out he died of emphysema and throat cancer.

left-of-center2012

(34,195 posts)
13. My dad and mother-in-law both died of emphysema ...
Fri May 19, 2017, 10:08 PM
May 2017

... from smoking.

It's a horrible way to die, gasping for each breath.

csziggy

(34,120 posts)
14. My mother in law started smoking at 14
Fri May 19, 2017, 11:57 PM
May 2017

She only quit when they put her on oxygen 24/7 seven year ago. She died in January of COPD. She was 87. Her last year was bad, but her last two weeks were hell.

Congratulations on quitting! I hope you get many more years to appreciate breathing clearer.

trof

(54,255 posts)
7. Many TV shows were sponsered by tobacco companies back then.
Fri May 19, 2017, 08:47 PM
May 2017

So the folks on the shows smoked.
Most of them did anyway.

TeamPooka

(24,155 posts)
16. Lt. Columbo would get into an elevator with a cigar burning and no one would say boo.
Sat May 20, 2017, 01:45 AM
May 2017

Cracks me up but that's how it was back then.

hunter

(38,264 posts)
3. There may have been something to it, considering the electronics of the time.
Fri May 19, 2017, 08:18 PM
May 2017

A weaker signal might be significantly distorted. Carbon microphones and primitive automatic gain control circuits were not noted for their high fidelity and linearity.

trof

(54,255 posts)
4. Oh god. A techie.
Fri May 19, 2017, 08:27 PM
May 2017

I'll just say that it never worked for me.
They always said "trof, is that you? Got a cold?"

mucifer

(23,371 posts)
15. and why did they hide their gun behind their jackets and sometimes it wasn't a gun
Sat May 20, 2017, 12:55 AM
May 2017

it was their finger? I always thought that was weird.

spiderpig

(10,419 posts)
17. Anybody ever prank family/friends by removing the speaker
Sat May 20, 2017, 03:06 AM
May 2017

(or whatever it was at the bottom of the handset) and screwing the cover back on?

Ring-ring...

"Hello?Hello??Hello???"

trackfan

(3,650 posts)
22. Yes. But the odd thing was even after you removed that thing,
Sun May 21, 2017, 02:11 AM
May 2017

and there were just a couple metal contacts in the bottom part of the handset, you still could be heard, but just faintly. I'm not sure how that worked.

Rhiannon12866

(202,970 posts)
18. I couldn't figure out why they kept saying "Hello?!" while hitting the disconnect button
Sat May 20, 2017, 06:09 AM
May 2017

Wouldn't that hang up the phone?

hunter

(38,264 posts)
19. I have techie answers for that too...
Sat May 20, 2017, 10:31 AM
May 2017

All the switches in the system were mechanical. Sometimes the switch contacts would get dirty (cigarette smoke covered, etc...) and rapidly switching them on and off would clear the contacts without hanging up the call. On operator-assisted calls (many long distance calls were operator assisted; all long distance calls in some places) it would also blink the light on the operator's board, catching the operator's attention so she could look for faults on her end.

Marthe48

(16,690 posts)
21. My brother-in-law and his wife
Sat May 20, 2017, 07:06 PM
May 2017

were having one of their epic fights. She threatened to call the police, and he took the mic out of the handset. In spite of the fight, we laughed when we heard that. They were hell on each other. The best thing they did was get divorced the 3rd time and make it stick.

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