#214: Hudson Uses a Payphone

What this episode covers

My son Hudson joins me in Studio G to discuss art school summer camp, channel surfing, buying and naming a dog, the Karate Kid movies and finally getting a chance to use a payphone*… Premium version: Fifty-four minutes *a “payphone” is a sort of steam-punk device where one can make a phone call by inserting a coin into a metal box. The coin falls inside the box, tripping a series of levers that activate a mechanism that connects to an ancient wired telecommunication system. The user puts a heavy molded plastic “receiver” to their head. Sound waves are sent to the user’s ear via a series of color-coded wires that connect directly from the phone system to a speaker housed in the receiver. Amazing, isn’t it? When we first saw one handing in the halls of OTIS (art college) we assumed it was someone’s senior project left on display. It was only when Hudson touched it that I remembered that the country used to be littered with payphones, most of which you would never dare let an eleven year old touch without immediately rushing him to the nearest men’s room/hospital.

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