*this is another one where I’m not 100% sure about the translation. I saw “replaces”, “substitute”, “replaces [someone]”. I picked substitutes because it seems clearer.

    • DaGeek247@fedia.io
      45·
      14 days ago

      Lmaaooo. 1870’s teen boys fucking around with whoever called just because they felt like it.

      There’s a more unfortunate take to that as well, but I like to think they were pulling running refrigerator and mike rotch jokes the whole time instead.

      *edit

      Found the more detailed source;

      When the first commercial telephone exchange began service in January 1878, teenage boys were hired as the first operators. However, the young men often played pranks on each other and their customers. Within about six months, the Boston telephone exchange decided to add a female operator, a young woman named Emma Nutt.

      • LePoisson@lemmy.world
        6·
        13 days ago

        My favorite part about studying history is those little moments where you really feel the human connection to our ancestors. Like, of course teenage boys were fucking around, they’re teenage boys. I’m sure it wasn’t anything too egregious - it was still a job after all. Just hilarious to think about these kids pretending to be some girl the other one was crushing on calling in or shit like that.

      • Belazor@lemmy.zip
        14·
        14 days ago

        My mother also worked at a switch board. When she moved into hospitality, and the guests needed to make a call, the switch board operators immediately clocked her as having worked there. My mother presented the information about the outgoing call request exactly as the operator preferred to hear it to quickly make the connection.

        I feel you about wishing you had more time with your grandmother. I was far too young to even know what questions I could have asked, and it would have been so interesting to hear about the occupation during WW2 and the early post war years.

        Not to mention the fact I miss her in general, she was the sweetest lady a grandson could ever ask for ❤️

        • RebekahWSD@lemmy.world
          2·
          13 days ago

          My grandmother was a bit of a nightmare XD She was most likely a narcissist. And not in a non formal way. I was spared from the worst, as she saw herself in me and liked me.

          Mother was fucked up. Unsure how twin fared.

          Buuuut interesting life. Telephone operator, soda jerk, then eventually first to graduate college (well teaching college at the time) and taught on a reservation. So fun times! Exciting.

          She also liked to watch very loud porn in her living quarters downstairs. I was the only one with a room downstairs as well. I will go back to removing those memories lol/