I already catch myself constantly explaining to my partner's 7-year-old all these old-timey nuances he probably doesn't care about a little. Kids today just want their tablets and they want them NOW. (Although, "Uptown Funk" on repeat is a viable alternative, at least while waiting for someone to give them their iPad.) Perhaps most perplexing of our menagerie of old person tricks and "interesting facts" is the pay phone. Here is video evidence of a child who doesn't know what a pay phone is to help remind us we should probably stop wearing glitter nail polish because...it's time.
Like that whole shaka hand signal once regarded as viable nonverbal communication to mean "call me"—that's gotta be obsolete soon, right? Phones don't look like a person's middle three fingers folded with only the thumb and pinkies protruding. What's the new signal for "call me"? Just kidding, you never call anyone anymore unless you're on fire or something else dire is happening like when you need a second opinion on pizza toppings before placing an order. (Online, of course, because what kind of dinosaur phones in delivery? Taking into account your non-glittering nails, it could never be you.) Anyway, when this child stumbles upon a phone booth, his ensuing disorientation is brilliant.
He looks to the camera as if someone were pulling an elaborate, moderately rude joke on him. To be fair, even mobile phones are covered in germs, so it stands to reason a public one is covered those, too—but worse since some of those germs come from strangers. Eek!
I love how measured and slowly he investigates this bizarre ~thing~. Honestly, though, when was the last time you used a pay phone? I can't remember my exact experience, but I recall it costing way more than a dime or even a quarter. Anyway, here's the little cutie's exploration of the phone booth:
Images: YouTube (3)
