Rotary Phone Dial Feel

At an antique store last weekend, I used a rotary phone. Pulling the dial around with my finger and letting it click back to center was satisfying unlike tapping a glass screen is. Mechanical resistance has weight to it. The clicking sound as the dial returns gives you feedback that the number registered. Heavy, maybe 3 pounds of Bakelite and metal. Lifting the handset off the cradle produces a click, then the dial tone hum. Every step in making a call involves a physical action with a corresponding sound. Numbers are printed inside each finger hole. The lettering system, ABC under 2, DEF under 3, is still embedded in our phone number conventions even though the physical mechanism that required it disappeared 40 years ago. Dialing takes about 8 seconds per number. Calling someone was a deliberate act rather than an impulse. That forced slowness changed how people thought about phone calls.