Topic: Multiplexing

1 chapters across the catalog

The Christmas Special
Episode 889 2:14 - 5:32

889: The Christmas Special

Analog Telephone Party Lines and Eavesdropping Anecdotes

A discussion of mid-century analog telephone technology focuses on the history of "party lines" shared by multiple households. One host recounts a childhood anecdote about unscrewing a phone's carbon microphone to listen in on neighbors' private conversations without being detected. The story concludes with a memory of being caught and scolded by a neighbor who could hear the line being manipulated.