Phone-cord nostalgia
There is something distinctly unsatisfying about talking into an iphone. The device is a joy for the human mind, but it lacks an appreciation for the human hand, face, and neck. It also lacks, along with every other phone today, one of those old-time telephone cords; the same cords that provided countless hours of mindless tactile enjoyment, that got tangled around people and chairs and dogs and prohibited escapes to privacy – the cord prevented the conversationalist from walking away and getting lost. These were safety cords! These were also the cords that cute high school and college girls fingered with unmistakable sultriness as they chatted away their love interests. These cords were important. Where would our hands have gone otherwise?

The cords remind us of a time when phone calls came less often and with more fanfare. Today the MOMA hosts an exhibit that includes an old-phone revival, Hulger makes an old-time designer phone to attach to your cell phone, and Yubz has a whole line of colorful old-time USB phones made specifically for Skype conversations.