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The end of an era: Whatever happened to the phone book?
TheAlmanac ^ | 1/7/23 | Karen Mansfield

Posted on 05/22/2024 6:40:22 PM PDT by DallasBiff

Alas, the poor phone book.

Once, it was the cornerstone of American connection, an indispensable resource people relied on to find pizza shops, plumbers, and the number of the cute girl in math class.

But now, when a new phone book lands on a homeowner’s doorstep, the tome most often gets tossed in the recycling bin.

They might be used to press flowers, or as a booster seat or a door stop, but fewer and fewer phone books are used for what they were originally intended, to look up telephone numbers.

(Excerpt) Read more at thealmanac.net ...


TOPICS: Books/Literature; Business/Economy; History
KEYWORDS: phonebook
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Haven't seen a phone book in 15 years.

I guess ask a kid today what the white pages were, they would say white privilage, and the yellow pages were racist against asians.

1 posted on 05/22/2024 6:40:22 PM PDT by DallasBiff
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To: DallasBiff

We still get one every year. Henderson County. It’s quite small.


2 posted on 05/22/2024 6:42:39 PM PDT by waterhill (I Believe!)
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To: DallasBiff
We still get a phone book but it is thin and not very useful.

When we had a power outage I tried to find the number of the power company and it is not listed.

3 posted on 05/22/2024 6:42:39 PM PDT by Harmless Teddy Bear ( Roses are red, Violets are blue, I love being on the government watch list, along with all of you.)
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To: DallasBiff

The irony is that you could quickly find what you wanted without the constant distractions of paid advertisements and endless dross and fluff. I’d wager the phone book is quicker than an internet search.


4 posted on 05/22/2024 6:43:51 PM PDT by ProtectOurFreedom (“When exposing a crime is treated like a crime, you are being ruled by criminals” – Edward Snowden)
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To: DallasBiff

Same here. I suppose if you don’t have a land line you wouldn’t get one which is where I am now.


5 posted on 05/22/2024 6:44:10 PM PDT by xp38
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To: DallasBiff

And now it’s time for a related joke.

Visiting mom to daughter: “Quick, hand me a phone book!”
Daughter: “Oh, mom. Nobody uses one anymore. Use my cell phone.”

Mom squashes a spider with the cell phone, hands back a broken cell phone.


6 posted on 05/22/2024 6:44:48 PM PDT by Leaning Right (The steal is real.)
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To: DallasBiff

I get a small local yellow pages about every other year. That’s it.


7 posted on 05/22/2024 6:45:24 PM PDT by hinckley buzzard ( Resist the narrative. )
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To: ProtectOurFreedom

Don’t bet the farm.


8 posted on 05/22/2024 6:46:17 PM PDT by JayGalt (DEI = Didn’t Earn It)
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To: DallasBiff

We used to use the ones in NYC as booster seats.


9 posted on 05/22/2024 6:46:47 PM PDT by suekas
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To: DallasBiff

Recycling bin? Nope.


10 posted on 05/22/2024 6:53:05 PM PDT by rktman (Destroy America from within? Check! WTH? Enlisted USN 1967 to end up with this💩? 🚫💉! 🇮🇱👍!)
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To: suekas

I got two different phone books in my mail box a few weeks ago.
I’m not sure if I should throw them away or keep them as collectibles.


11 posted on 05/22/2024 6:54:42 PM PDT by Rightwing Conspiratr1
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To: DallasBiff

What ever happened to remembering phone numbers?

Oh...that’s right...our pocket computers, which are cooking or reproductive organs, do the thinking for us.

“Never mind”; said in my best Emily LaTella voice


12 posted on 05/22/2024 6:55:36 PM PDT by Z28.310 (Z28.310...the control group...look it up)
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To: DallasBiff

We don’t even get a phone book anymore.


13 posted on 05/22/2024 7:03:41 PM PDT by Some Fat Guy in L.A. (Still bitterly clinging to rational thought despite its unfashionability)
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To: DallasBiff

get one every year, 8”x10”... and i do use it on occasion


14 posted on 05/22/2024 7:04:12 PM PDT by Chode (there is no fall back position, there's no rally point, there is no LZ... we're on our own. #FJB)
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To: DallasBiff

Our community still hands them out.

Course, they’re the thinnest things I’ve ever seen.


15 posted on 05/22/2024 7:04:36 PM PDT by metmom (He who testifies to these things says, “Surely I am coming soon.” Amen. Come, Lord Jesus…)
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To: DallasBiff

As a business owner in the early 80’s, I hated the Yellow Pages… they had you and they knew itl


16 posted on 05/22/2024 7:04:49 PM PDT by Tijeras_Slim
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To: ProtectOurFreedom

Agreed, 100%


17 posted on 05/22/2024 7:05:43 PM PDT by drwoof
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To: Leaning Right

Beat joke I’ve heard in a while. Thank you so very much!


18 posted on 05/22/2024 7:06:03 PM PDT by FamiliarFace (I got my own way of livin' But everything gets done With a southern accent Where I come from. TPetty)
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To: Leaning Right

Sorry, best joke.


19 posted on 05/22/2024 7:07:54 PM PDT by FamiliarFace (I got my own way of livin' But everything gets done With a southern accent Where I come from. TPetty)
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To: DallasBiff
Or phone booths and cigarette machines that used to be everywhere.
20 posted on 05/22/2024 7:08:34 PM PDT by Bullish (...And just like that, I was dropped from the ping-list)
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