Originally Posted By: Sundance
... For example, I love Jim Croce's Operator but when's the last time anyone talked to an operator on a payphone for a dime....


April 2001.
During my last trip to the US in April 2001 somewhere in rural Missouri I wanted to call somebody for some more detail on where to meet. My European cell phone didn't work with the analogue nets still in operation in the US, only with the digital nets along the major highways and in larger cities. (Back then in Europe analogue cell phone nets were history for a couple of years already.)

In the roadside diner I asked if I could make a phone call. The answer was something like: "Our phone is good for local calls only. If you need to call outside you need to go the gas station down the road and use their payphone." There I had to talk to the operator...she requested another quarter if I wanted to continue talking.

Desktop; i7-2600k, 8 GB mem., Win 10 Pro, BIAB 2017; RB 2017 - latest build
Laptop: i5-2410M, 4 GB mem, Win 10 Pro, BIAB 2017; RB 2017 - latest build