- What is this?
What are you guys doing?
- This is how far it can go.
Are you kidding me?
♪ (playful music) ♪
- (FBE) All right, so today we're obviously gonna be doing
something a little different. - What's this?
- There's a big black thing right there.
- We see this beautiful black thing
that I'm clearly curious about.
- (FBE) Well, go ahead.
You can pull off the sheet and see what it is.
- Oh my!
- What is this?
- What the heck is this?
- What is this?
What are you guys doing?
- Oh, it's an old phone. It's a payphone.
- (FBE) So do you know what this is?
- A phone?
- A very, very, very old telephone.
But how do you text?
- It's one that you have to pay for.
It's on the streets and then you can pay for it
with quarters.
- I've seen one near my mom's store.
I don't see many people using it anymore.
- I see them sometimes in big cities,
and I also see it in lots of movies.
- (FBE) So this is a payphone. - A payphone?
- What's a payphone?
- You have to pay to use it?
- Did your parents have this when they were kids?
- (FBE) So have you ever used a payphone before?
- No.
- No, but I've seen someone use it before.
- I never used one of these, but I've seen them a lot.
- Not once in my life!
This has been around for centuries.
These are really old and you have to push actual buttons.
- How did people take this around with them
to take Snapchats and stuff?
Or does it just stay in one place?
Like, every time you want to use it, you have to go back to that place.
- I can imagine that this money goes into that slot,
and then it calls, but it seems very complex.
- It's very old.
My guess is it would be around in my grandma's time
or my dad's.
I know it's in one of those timelines,
so maybe in the '70s or '60s?
- (FBE) So how do you think you make a call with this?
- Probably start it.
Push hashtag?
- My mom never taught me how to use one of these.
How do I use it?
- I'm scared they're actually gonna pick up.
- This is how far it can go. Are you kidding me?
- "Calling card calls.
Wait for tone, then dial card number."
- Press these buttons, but I need money!
- I found this. What is this for?
It says "Instructions here."
- "Stop, listen for tone, and then..."
What? I don't know how to work this
and I don't know who I should call.
- Oh, now I know how you call people.
You can't just pick up the phone.
You have to put them in first before you want to call somebody.
(quarter clanking) I'm very scared.
- Where do I put the coin in?
Oh, I see it right up there.
(quarter clinking)
- Okay.
(quarter clinking)
- And...
And then now what do I do?
- Um...
How do I press--?
(loudly) Hello?
- That's my mom's number.
Doesn't really work.
- You put it inside of here, then it seems like
you push this knob.
It pushes the coin down, and then goes inside,
and then you could dial.
- First, you put in the quarter.
If the quarter doesn't work, use the coin release,
then you put in a number, and just wait for them to answer.
If they do answer or not, then I don't know what happens.
- Look. You can't text on it.
- This phone, you can only call.
You can't do apps, you can't do texting.
You can't do anything but call, but on cellphones,
you can do everything!
- I could imagine using this.
If all your electricity goes out, all your phones don't work
and iPads and stuff, you have this baby to call
your parents to pick you up.
- (FBE) So there's a phone slot for you to put your money.
You actually didn't use the right one.
It actually is the one on top. - What?!
- (FBE) You have to pay money just to make a single call,
and you needed to put in more money if it was a long-distance call.
What do you think about that? - What?!
- Excuse me!
You have to pay more money to just call someone?
I guess people in the backdays had to keep money
in their pockets all the time.
- You have to go the car and stuff a bunch of quarters
in your pocket and then put a bunch in,
then press your numbers and then-- and then you don't
even get anything sometimes.
- (FBE) If you wanted to call someone's phone,
you needed to know their number, so do you think
you'd be able to remember all the phone numbers
of all the people you needed to call?
- No, I usually forget them.
- Maybe. I forget really fast.
- No. I only know my mom and dad's number.
- Maybe not.
I probably would have to write on my hand.
- I know almost zero of my family members numbers.
- People's phone numbers, I remember my mom,
but I don't remember my dad's, sadly.
(flames raging) - (FBE) BURN!
- You'd go to the contact area and you'll find
your mother's phone number.
- (FBE) What contact area?
- Right-- oh!
- I know eventually there was those guys
that you call them and then they connect you.
Operators?
So I could press this, and he says--
and you say, "Oh, I want to call Eager Kerns."
And then they're like, "Oh, yeah, you get to call Eager Kerns.
This is his number."
- (FBE) So up until mobile phones were created,
this was one of the only ways that you could contact someone
if you were away from home.
So how do you think that this would change your life
if that were still the case?
- I'd die.
- I probably would be very frustrated.
- It's not bad.
I would live. I think.
- I'd be really sad.
Like, "Where's my phone?!"
- I'd probably have to ask everyone for their phone number,
then I'd have to write it all down and then probably tape it
onto my wall every morning, so I could remember.
- Communication-wise, I would not be very upset.
In total, I'd be like, "Oh, what to do?
Oh, the nightmare! I am bored."
- I use YouTube almost every single day.
Yes, every single day.
And apps sometimes, but without cellphones
and no YouTube, I don't know what I would do.
- (FBE) So finally, are you happy that you live in a world
that's almost completely without payphones,
or do you think that they are kind of useful?
- I think it's useful to at least have some around
for people who can't afford cellphones.
- No, I do not like them.
Then you're not wasting your money on stupid phones.
The phones today are way more expensive.
- I'm happy that I am in a world with almost no more of those.
- No, they're not useful.
They're ugly and they're horrible
and how do you get coins?
Do you know how many germs is on that?
You could get sick.
- They're kind of useful, but I think I'm very glad
that I was born in the time where you have cellphones!
- If you're really desperate or you're one of those old people
who like those old technologies, then go ahead, use it.
- I'll only use it only for-- only-- only when I lose my phone,
and then when I find it, I'm never using it ever again.
- Thanks for watching this episode of Kids React.
- New shows almost every day.
Please subscribe.
- Thanks for watching, bye!
Can we get rid of that phone now?
- Hey, guys, Ethan here from FBE.
Thank you so much for watching this episode of Kids React.
Let us know what old technology you want the kids
to react to next... (phone ringing)
...in the comments. Hang on one sec.
Hello?
Oh, I gotta take this. Bye.