Answering machines were popular, but they were still something of a novelty. In fact, when Lieutenant Columbo reaches an answering machine in the episode "An Exercise in Fatality," the way he reacts, you can tell he's simply amazed at these wondrous machines.
For instance, a year before that Columbo episode aired, on March 11, , The New York Times ran a story that began with:. Harold Padow is unhappy about the rising cost of his telephone answering service, and its discourteous handling of his patients. However, as a dentist with a practice in Brooklyn, Dr. Padow needs such a service. So he has begun to investigate automatic telephone answering machines.
The article pointed out that if Padow bought an answering machine and conformed to telephone rules, he would have to use a device supplied by the phone company, which would hook up to the answering machine.
It was possible to use an answering machine without the phone company's device, however, and almost nobody did use these devices, the Times went onto note. The phone company naturally charged a monthly fee for using the device and an installation fee, so using an answering machine — if you did it legally — was an expensive proposition.
Which Rockford quickly discovered. At the start of one of The Rockford Files episodes, he receives this message right before the theme song:. Where you can watch The Rockford Files at the time of this writing : You can find the entire series and watch it for free — and hear those famous answering machine messages — on Peacock TV. Articles similar to this one: You may be interested in reading about the history of wall calendars I use a Popeye episode to jump into that topic , or if you want something really obscure, I delve into the history of water towers by way of an episode of The Cimmaron Strip.
Your email address will not be published. Save my name, email, and website in this browser for the next time I comment. Dropping TV Knowledge Weekly! Email Facebook Instagram Twitter. OK, this isn't a photo of Jim Rockford James Garner posing next to an answering machine, but close enough. Kids, in case you're wondering, Jim Rockford is using a pay phone. You'd make a phone call by putting into a slot, some coins -- you know, cash -- it's something people used to carry in their pockets.
Pockets are We all know what pockets are. Here are several of them: "It's Norma at the market. It bounced. You want me to tear it up, send it back, or put it with the others? The check is in the mail. Sorry it's two years late.
Sorry I misfigured my checking account, and I'm overdrawn. Sorry I stopped payment on it. So when it comes, tear it up. Hope you enjoyed using the cabin last week. Only next time leave the trout in the refrigerator, huh? Not in the cupboard. Turns out he really wasn't seasick. Um, have you ever had chicken pox? This is Shirley from the bank. The answers are: no, no and yes. I get off at This is Thelma Sue Bigsly. Did you talk to your daddy? We may be kin. This is Marilyn Reed, I want to talk to you…is this a machine?
Law, Quantum Leap, Magnum, P. Please consider making a donation to our site. We don't want to rely on ads to bring you the best of visual culture. You can also support us by signing up to our Mailing List. And you can also follow us on Facebook , Instagram and Twitter. For great art and culture delivered to your door, visit our shop. If you enjoy what we do and want to help us move away from relying on ads, please consider becoming a patron with a recurring monthly subscription of your choosing.
Would you like to support Flashbak? Purchase unique fine art prints and photographs. Free shipping on all prints. Drop files here or. Email required. Click here to cancel reply. Get the best cultural and educational resources on the web curated for you in a daily email. We never spam. Unsubscribe at any time. Open Culture scours the web for the best educational media.
Comments 5 You can skip to the end and leave a response. Pinging is currently not allowed. September 8, at pm. Lily Whyte says:. Liz says:. September 9, at am. Paul says:. September 10, at am. May 29, at pm. Leave a Reply Name required Email required Message. Wordpress Hashcash needs javascript to work, but your browser has javascript disabled. Your comment will be queued in Akismet!
We're hoping to rely on loyal readers, rather than erratic ads. Please click the Donate button and support Open Culture.
0コメント