Is it true that in "ye olden times" you could sit at a dingy bar and ask the bartender for a phone and they'd give you a rotary phone on a long as cord so you could make a call while slinging drinks? (hexbear.net)

submitted 1 week ago by [email protected] to c/[email protected]

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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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[-] [email protected] 6 points 1 week ago

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

[-] [email protected] 2 points 1 week 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!

this post was submitted on 08 Jun 2025

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