You are too old if you remember.......

[akotchi]

If anyone ever gets to see an old sit com called Get Smart, you will see lead character Maxwell Smart get inside one of those old phone booths, dial a number, and then allow himself to be transported down to the fictional CONTROL headquarters accessible via an elevator that is the floor of the phone booth.

I wonder what the Milenials are saying when they watch that show's opening and closing sequences and see that icon?

There is a scene evoking memories of that sequence in one of the Harry Potter movies (Order of the Phoenix, I think) when Harry and Mr. Weasley access the Ministry of Magic via a London phone booth.  Recent enough to give the current generation a clue, perhaps.

[kkt]

Similar could be said if any of them watched any of the old Underdog Show cartoons from the 60s.  The opening sequence (and most episodes) involves Shoeshine (Boy) going into a phone booth to become Underdog (a la Clark Kent/Superman in the old radio serials) and destroying the booth in the process.

One episode storyline even involves the placement of so-called Phoney-booths by recurring villan Simon Barsinister (& his sidekick Cad); which resembled conventional phone booths, but actually transforms those who enter them to obey every command that Simon issues. 

"I will do what Simon says." was what everybody (including Underdog) said after exiting the booths.

And speaking of "too old," that episode also features a milk man.  Remember them?

[roadman]

Similar could be said if any of them watched any of the old Underdog Show cartoons from the 60s.  The opening sequence (and most episodes) involves Shoeshine (Boy) going into a phone booth to become Underdog (a la Clark Kent/Superman in the old radio serials) and destroying the booth in the process.

One episode storyline even involves the placement of so-called Phoney-booths by recurring villan Simon Barsinister (& his sidekick Cad); which resembled conventional phone booths, but actually transforms those who enter them to obey every command that Simon issues. 

"I will do what Simon says." was what everybody (including Underdog) said after exiting the booths.

[/quote]

Unlike Clark Kent, who only ocassionally used a phone booth to change into Superman in the radio series (and almost NEVER used a phone booth to change in the TV series), ShoeShine Boy almost always "dashed into a nearby phone booth" to change into Underdog.  And IMO one of the best recurring gags that occurred every so often in Underdog episodes was when ShoeShine Boy, responding to a call to help, would find the phone booth occupied, thus losing time waiting to change his identity.

edited to correct frequency of occupied phone booth gag - RM

[PHLBOS]

And IMO one of the best recurring gags in Underdog episodes was when ShoeShine Boy, responding to a call to help, would find the phone booth occupied, thus losing time waiting to change his identity.

Recurring?  I only remember maybe one or two episodes where Shoeshine Boy encountered an occupied phone booth.  Then again, it's been a while since I've seen a full episode (all 4 parts).

[roadman65]

I do remember Bugs Bunny using an inflatable type of Phone Booth in his Super Rabbit cartoon.  If I am correct about it he put one together in the middle of the Texas desert when the bad guy he was chasing ate his super charged carrots (that gave him his superhuman strength) and was ready to kill him.

Old Bugsy then changed into a US Marine uniform, as in cartoon land breaking the fourth wall is quite common, so that the villain would not attack him.  This booth was an instant type of device sort of the reverse of George Jetson's car in the opening sequence of the Jetsons.

BTW, breaking the fourth wall is a name used to describe when a character on film steps out of it for a moment and either talks or relates to the audience as if that person knew they are being watched in whatever environment they are supposed to be portraying.

[NE2]

You're too old if you remember all these old cartoons, damn it.

[mgk920]

...refilling the toner reservoir on the copy machine from a bottle, rather than changing out the entire cartridge.

...AND, having the service tech coming into the office every few months to clean and adjust the copier.

Mike

[roadman65]

You're too old if you remember all these old cartoons, damn it.

LOL you are right about that as even the Cartoon Network does not even air Bugs Bunny anymore.  All they have is the new computer generated cartoons on and even Hanna Barbera toons (with the exception of the Scooby Doo remakes with Shaggy and Velma actually married now. 

At least on that one writers realize that time goes on unlike the Family Circus  comic where BJ has been an infant for many many decades.   I guess they are getting years from the Soap characters as on them a small baby becomes a fully grown adult in a matter of a few years.

[PHLBOS]

... mimeograph & ditto machines (precursor to the (Xerox) copiers)







Disclaimer: I wasn't old enough to use these but I do remember receiving worksheets at school (through either 6th or 7th grade) that were printed by the above.

[roadman65]

Caller ID did not exist.  In fact watch an old detective show and police had to do a "trace" on the phone call which took several minuets.  Many times a perpetrator would have fun with the cops as they knew about them tracing their call.  They would keep the cop on the phone until seconds before a complete trace was made and hang up to piss the cops off.

What was always a mystery to me was how people knew that a call was from a telemarketer back before caller ID.  I used to work as a survey person in the late 80's and when I would call up people back then, I would get someone picking up the phone to say "not interested" without me identifying myself.  No hellos or anything.  Just pick the phone up and say "not interested" or "wrong number."  For all they knew I could have been someone they knew.

[roadman]

And IMO one of the best recurring gags in Underdog episodes was when ShoeShine Boy, responding to a call to help, would find the phone booth occupied, thus losing time waiting to change his identity.

Recurring?  I only remember maybe one or two episodes where Shoeshine Boy encountered an occupied phone booth.  Then again, it's been a while since I've seen a full episode (all 4 parts).

You are correct PHLBOS - recurring is not the proper description for the gag (though it did occur multiple times through the life of the series). Blame it on STSF (shouldn't type so fast).  I've corrected my original post.

[roadman]

You're too old if you remember all these old cartoons, damn it.

LOL you are right about that as even the Cartoon Network does not even air Bugs Bunny anymore.  All they have is the new computer generated cartoons on and even Hanna Barbera toons (with the exception of the Scooby Doo remakes with Shaggy and Velma actually married now.

Cartoon Network still shows Looney Tunes and Tom and Jerry shorts for about two hours during midday.  But you're right - most of the current stuff made for the network can't even hold a candle to some of the stuff they used to produce in the 1990s, let alone truly "classic" animation like Warner Brothers and MGM shorts.

For awhile, Cartoon Network relegated most of the "classic" Hanna-Barbera stuff (Yogi Bear and the like) to a "sister" network called Boomerang.  Our cable system never offered it, so I have no idea if it's still on the air.

[corco]

As far as identifying callers without caller id, my moms parents were of the paranoid sort and they requested you call once, let it ring twice, hang up, and call again. If the first call rang more than that, they assumed you were a solicitor. Another possibility is they had multiple phone lines but only gave out one number- if you had the other one, youre not somebody they know.

[roadman]

I do remember Bugs Bunny using an inflatable type of Phone Booth in his Super Rabbit cartoon.  If I am correct about it he put one together in the middle of the Texas desert when the bad guy he was chasing ate his super charged carrots (that gave him his superhuman strength) and was ready to kill him.

Old Bugsy then changed into a US Marine uniform, as in cartoon land breaking the fourth wall is quite common, so that the villain would not attack him.  This booth was an instant type of device sort of the reverse of George Jetson's car in the opening sequence of the Jetsons.

BTW, breaking the fourth wall is a name used to describe when a character on film steps out of it for a moment and either talks or relates to the audience as if that person knew they are being watched in whatever environment they are supposed to be portraying.

And when Bugs emerged from the phone booth in the Marine uniform, both the villain AND his horse stood up at attention saluting him.  The cartoon ended with Bugs walking off into the sunrise.

Note that in nearly every Warner Brothers cartoon made during World War II, the writers often inserted one or more war-related references.  Some were subtle, some not so (a popular one was having a character take a fall, only to pick themselves up and state "Was that trip really necessary").  Besides keeping the cartoons topical, Warner Brothers saw it as a clever way to keep the War Production Board - which was considering regulating the production of film and film processing materials - off their backs.

[roadman]

As far as identifying callers without caller id, my moms parents were of the paranoid sort and they requested you call once, let it ring twice, hang up, and call again. If the first call rang more than that, they assumed you were a solicitor

I remember my father, who was a Bell System accounting manager for his entire career, giving me, as well as other family and friends, similar advice.

[agentsteel53]

(a popular one was having a character take a fall, only to pick themselves up and state "Was that trip really necessary"). 

can you explain this one for me?  seems awfully subtle.

[NE2]

(a popular one was having a character take a fall, only to pick themselves up and state "Was that trip really necessary"). 

can you explain this one for me?  seems awfully subtle.

Took me a bit, but:

[roadman]

(a popular one was having a character take a fall, only to pick themselves up and state "Was that trip really necessary"). 

can you explain this one for me?  seems awfully subtle.

One of the Government's publicity campaigns during the war to discourage civilian travel.  Besides reducing crowding on through trains carrying troops, one of the principal goals of the campaign was to reduce the domestic need for fuel, tires, etc., so the materials could be diverted to the war effort, by stating "Ask yourself - Is this trip really necessary?" (or the "Is YOUR trip really necessary" variation that NE2 posted).

And yes, using the reference in a cartoon is now very subtle.  I didn't get the reference myself until the campaign was discussed in a college history class I took in 1981.

[agentsteel53]

Took me a bit, but:
[poster]

the one at lower left looks like he's up to something.

[NE2]

the one at lower left looks like he's up to something.

He's premeditating killing someone with a gun.

Oh wait, they're all doing that.

[thenetwork]

... mimeograph & ditto machines (precursor to the (Xerox) copiers)







Disclaimer: I wasn't old enough to use these but I do remember receiving worksheets at school (through either 6th or 7th grade) that were printed by the above.

....Looking forward to the days in school when the teacher would pass out those freshly-made ditto papers (with the purple ink).  The smell of those freshly-inked papers was like a mini-high for many students who would spend the first 30 seconds sniffing the hell out of their sheet.

[formulanone]

....Looking forward to the days in school when the teacher would pass out those freshly-made ditto papers (with the purple ink).  The smell of those freshly-inked papers was like a mini-high for many students who would spend the first 30 seconds sniffing the hell out of their sheet.

I recall those copies also had a very slight damp feeling to them, if they were freshly made; it was probably around 1989-90 when I last encountered a new ditto copy. Schools really had to milk the most out of their supplies, didn't they?

Remember when McDonald's golden arches signs were posted in the __ millions, not billions?

[kkt]

I recall those copies also had a very slight damp feeling to them, if they were freshly made; it was probably around 1989-90 when I last encountered a new ditto copy.

In 2008, my daughter started at a school that was just reopened, having been an alternative school that wasn't really filling the building for some years before that.  The first day, the teachers had been cleaning out rooms that hadn't been used in decades, and they put old handouts they wouldn't be using on tables in the hallways.  Many stacks of purple dittos.  I was amazed.

[1995hoo]

I remember the ditto machines. When I was in the third grade (I remember the year because the school I attended closed for good after I finished the third grade) the teacher let us operate the ditto machine in the "teachers-only" part of the library once. You cranked that thing around and around. We thought it was the coolest thing. The one our school had looked similar to the one in the second image above ("300 dry copies").

[exit322]

... mimeograph & ditto machines (precursor to the (Xerox) copiers)







Disclaimer: I wasn't old enough to use these but I do remember receiving worksheets at school (through either 6th or 7th grade) that were printed by the above.

I graduated high school in 2000 and we still had a ditto machine that at least one teacher used a lot.