Russell Neff has an ingenious homemade alarm system that costs him absolutely zero in monthly fees. You too can make one, if you only have a rotary phone ...
He removed the receiver of his telephone and dialed all but one digit in his home telephone number. He then dialed the final digit, inserted a cork in the dial hole to keep the mechanism from returning and completing the connection.
Four strings were tied to the cork and strung at ankle level to different parts of the store.
At 2:15 a.m. Neff’s telephone roused him from a sound sleep. He lifted the receiver and heard noises, dressed and drove six blocks to a service station at Lexington and Larpenteur Avs., where he called police.
http://blogs2.startribune.com/blogs/oldnews/archives/47
From the Upcoming ueue, submitted by Minnesotastan.
In the days of electomechanical switching there would still be a physical switch waiting for that last number, but routine and regular maintenance of the system would free up the line. Because in those days, an actual electromechanical circuit representing the number, waiting for the last digit to fall, would be tied up, and capacity of the system would be hindered.
So I have to vote apocrryphal on this as well. Maybe Snopes should investigate.
This was in Nineteen Fifty Nine.
Back then there were no mobile phones yet. And not everyone had telephone in their own house- To expensive and if you could afford one, you'd have that one installed in your shop, like this dude. And even if he had applied for a telephone in his house, he'd most likely was placed on a waitinglist for the next 2 or 3 years. And so he probably had to go to the nearest phonebooth.
I think the fact that he had to go to another location to call was because of the switchboard. The call probably had to be ended on both ends.
We've had out-of-date articles from Neatorama before, but seriously...
Phone System