Re: OT: telephones; was: numeration

azathoth500 wrote:
>
> On Fri, 17 Dec 2004 11:56:42, Tristan Mc Leay wrote:
> >
> > What's a party line? Multiple houses sharing the same
> > connection?
>
> It's more than one person joining the same call

Not exactly. All the houses on a particular party line
share the same cable going back to the telephone
switching office. Each house has its own telephone
number, but only one house can be using the line at
a given time. If an outsider calls a particular house, it
rings only at that house, but if someone at one of the
other houses picks up the telephone, he can now hear
(and speak on) that conversation.

A big problem was when someone left the telephone
off-hook accidently. No one else in the party can use
his telephone. I remember this happening occasionally,
and my mother asking me to ride my bicycle around to
the neighbors to find out who was off-hook.

(We lived outside of town. Originally there were twelve
houses on each party line. Later this was reduced to
four.)

--Ph. D.