2 min read | 496 words | 684 views | 0 comments
Depending on how old you are, you may remember watching a video called "Telezonia" when you were in grade school, instructing young children how to use the telephone in a musical and playful way.
If you do, hats off to you! If not, that just means you're probably young.
The most famous Bell System instructional video was called "Adventures in Telezonia". There were multiple videos made over the years with this name, but the most popular one was released in the 1970s. The plot? According to AT&T Archives, which releases Bell System videos, "It starts off like a typical short film cautionary tale, but once they take a trip inside the telephone, things go terribly weird. This film is a cult classic."
The music has become a classic in and of itself, too. Below are all the musical numbers from "Adventures in Telezonia", once used to educate masses of schoolchildren. The tunes are catchy, and the advice still holds. Click on the links to listen and watch the songs being performed.
The Telephone Songs
Put Your Voice...
Link 1
Put your voice where your friends can hear it
Put your voice in the phone, let the telephone steer it
Send your voice across the miles, cheerful words are like friendly smiles
Reach a pal in distant places (sic)
Pleasant voices happy places
Pleasant voices happy places
Pick Up The Phone...
Link 1
Pick up the phone as soon as it rings
Speak out your name or answer with things like:
Hello, good morning, this is Bill
Pick up the phone as soon as it rings
Then you will know what message it brings
You Have To Know...
Link 1
You have to know your letters and your numbers up to 9
To call a friend who’s at the other end of the line
You have to know your numbers and your letters from A to Z
To use the telephone and the telephone directory
The Telephone Thing
Male Version
Female Version
Pick up the handset, that’s the first part
Listen for the tone, and then start
Put your finger in the circle of the number you need
Turn the dial to the right with a little bit of speed
Turn the dial to the right till your finger goes no more
Take your finger out
It’ll (the dial’ll) go to where it was before
And when you’ve finished all the numbers you’ll hear it ring
That’s how you do the telephone thing
(And be sure to wait for at least ten rings for someone to answer before you hang up)
(Touchtone verse)
Pick up the handset, that’s the first part
Listen for the tone, and then start
Push the button to dial with the number you want
Or the button by the letters if the letters are in front
And when you’ve finished all the numbers you’ll hear it ring
That’s how you do the telephone thing
Log in to leave a comment!