Clear as a Bell
Ah, the good old inefficient days, when a long-distance phone call clear across the entire state of Ohio was such a matter of fascination that up to 120 people were apt to queue up just to listen in.
The 1936-37 Great Lakes Exposition in Cleveland, from which this postcard originated, boasted an Ohio Bell Exhibit at which some lucky geek could win a free long-distance call to anywhere in the state, with lights on a large map showing where your call was going and earpieces set out for 120 other people to listen in in envy and frank disbelief.
The winner was escorted grandly into a phonebooth by a fancy bellhop and, man, what a shock Aunt Harriet way down in Columbus was in for!
