Hacker News Reader

I forget the exact details, but as a kid, I'd tap the switch and hang up the phone I think and then that would cause the phone to ring in the house so that you could "call" somebody.

I remember you could dial your own number, and it would call you back with a recording.

I also remember dialing a three digit number (maybe 118), and an automated voice would reply with the number you are calling from.

What country was this in? I distinctly remember dialing my own number resulting in nothing but a busy signal.

I’ve also (a decade ago) called my own number (a cell line) and it gave me my voice mail as if I had just “speed dialed” “1”

In the UK bitd (~1980) the test number was 174. It just rang you back when you hung up. There was no message. The exchanges weren't that sophisticated.

On mine, it was 981 followed by the last 4 digits of my phone number that would result in a "callback," and a constant tone would play when you answered.

You can still do that on hard-wired AT&T land lines. The hardware at the CO end supports it, and it's still enabled.

Yep, I forgot this step.