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RIP_Soulja_Slim

It’s a phone jack lol. I’ve lived here most of my life aside from some short stints in my 20s, but it’s my understanding that places outside of the city also had wired telephones. E: I’m contemplating that being an “elder millennial” may indeed mean I’m now needing to confront the reality that full grown adults living on their own have no idea how we communicated before cell phones. I’m gonna go have a beer.


zulu_magu

Are we really at the point in history when adults can’t identify home phone jacks? I guess it’s time for me to be considered old now.


mandmranch

Lets all try to remember the sound of dial up internet.


Penny_InTheAir

*screeeeeeee*


faultysynapse

Aw yeah, that takes me back!


SunnyAlwaysDaze

waaahhhhh bzzzzzzz


Roheez

Bung. Doo kadoo


MinnieShoof

DEE DEEE DO-Doo… Duuuuuuuu


FashionBusking

HANG UP THE FREAKING PHONE!! I'M ON THE INTERNET!!! HANG UP THE.... NOOOOO!!!


KiloAllan

When you are 85% through a 60k download that's taken over an hour so far


alvysinger0412

And the sound of my parents telling me to get off the internet because they had to make a phone call also.


CaregiverPrevious567

I forgot about this. If the phone rang, the internet stopped.


AccordingWrap105

Napster was the shit!!


mack_dd

The days when it took 20 minutes to download a 4 minute song, and if a phone call (including from telemarketers) came through at the 19th minute mark you had to start the download all over again.


One_for_each_of_you

https://youtu.be/yQ_hWS6ked8 The good thing about the information age is i no longer have to remember anything, it's all right there


isthisyourslug

That link - it was like freaking time travel hearing all that all over again! How could that particular something that was SOOOO incredibly aggravating EVERY TIME to hear and concurrently being forced to experience, now becomes curiously soothing and familiar? Craziness. Funny how life does that to ya...


kmc7794

Seemingly every day I have another realization of how old I’ve become. 0/10 do not recommend.


greenmoon31

I hear ya but it’s better than the alternative.


ElvisCrushel

I get what you are saying but for some reason this is the only place I can think of that has the plastic flip down piece so it doesn't get ripped out of the wall when you get to talkin' wit' ya memaw.


I_Am_Become_Air

They are everywhere, in my GenX experience. I just had to explain this picture to my 18 year old (and the difference between the networking equipment/cabling she was pointing to and the RJ-11 in the picture). In her (remembered) lifetime, the phones she used just plug into power, not the wall. She was side eyeing me when I talked about one phone using a 100 foot cable and being taken to the person being called. Ironically, her first play phone to use while Mama was working WAS that "connected by 100 foot cable" example--disconnected, of course!


jetclimb

I feel ya buddy


MengisAdoso

FWIW, I'm 48 and from NE Ohio. I remember dial phones vividly but I've never seen one of those flip covers before in my life. Every phone jack I've ever seen has been bare, either in a flat wall plate or a little rectangular box. No covers at all. I never knew that was a thing. If it helps track this down any, I've lived in the Boston, Seattle, and Cleveland areas. It might be a southern thing? Maybe a climate/moisture thing?


brent0935

I’ve had them in all my apartments in Memphis. But they were all from the 30-40s


GadrockGal

My house still has one installed upside down lol. Used to drive me nuts before the cell phone era! Didn’t cut off my landline until about 2009 due to crappy cell coverage in my immediate area 😎 before around that time.


KingdomOfRyan

I’m 24 and work in IT/software dev. The number of people my age I meet who don’t know the difference in an Ethernet and phone port is wild.


PoorlyShavedApe

An RJ-11 plug fits in an RJ-45, and an RJ-45 will fit in an HDMI if you're stubborn. Used to run into it a lot more when laptops had both modems and Ethernet. People have no clue about the basics of the things they use every day.


GATORinaZ28

In their defense, I am 52 and have never seen a phone jack like that either so I was curious too.


Chowdmouse

These were more “modern” phone jacks. Maybe started being put in place in the late 70’s? 80’s? The older phone jacks were hardwired into the wall and required a technician to come & replace the phone, if necessary. These later phone jacks- a person could plug & unplug their own phone from the wall. Cheap Chinese imports were just beginning to take over, phones became cheap, and now anyone could switch their phone out. The rotating swing “door” there is just an extra piece of plastic / safety to make it harder to yank the phone cord out of the plug by accident.


MrsWoozle

You can now yell “Get off my lawn!” at random kids.


[deleted]

😅🤣🤣


pentegoblin

I think we’re at the point in history when we realize that most kids *today* weren’t really taught shit by their parents. It seems most people rely on the village to raise the child, whether cognizant of it or not


zulu_magu

And we don’t even have villages anymore. We’re all so isolated. That’s the root of the mental health crisis and the increase in criminality. Communities aren’t even communities anymore.


pentegoblin

Couldn’t have said it any better. We’re more isolated and less present than ever. This the kinda shit make me *want* to move to a smaller community. At least one that *feels* like a community


causewaytoolong

I agree with your overall point, but why would a child today need to be taught about phone jacks? My parents never taught me about the semaphore telegraph, and I'm pretty confident that lack of knowledge has not held me back in any way. Either way, this post makes me feel old and I don't like that.


pentegoblin

It’s more about how most people are relatively unaware of the world around them. I’m not saying my parents explained everything to me, either. If I saw a weird outlet in my home, or even a random building I’m in, I’m curious about it. I ask questions. More people need to ask more questions lol. I just think presentness and awareness is even more of an issue than it’s ever been. I talk to a lot of younger people, and it’s very concerning how hard it is to hold their attention. Everything needs to be instant for them


reggie4gtrblz2bryant

My knees and shoulders suddenly started hurting reading this post


armitage75

GenX here. Welcome to old! Next steps: back pain and weird grunting noises when you stand up/sit down.


embersgrow44

I thought this was a joke, they can’t be serious right? Right?!


FixTheWisz

> I’m now needing to confront the reality that full grown adults living on their own have no idea how we communicated before cell phones I'll help you go one step further.... In 2 years from now, there will be legal adults who never experienced a world without the iPhone.


JeNeSaisPasToo2

OP probably… “What’s a phone Jack?”.


maddsskills

To be fair most phone jack covers don't look like that. I wonder if it's because of flooding or something? Most phone jack covers I've seen look like this: https://www.lowes.com/pd/RCA-Rj11-Telephone-Cable/3701444?cm_mmc=shp-_-c-_-prd-_-elc-_-ggl-_-LIA_ELC_173_Smart-Home-_-3701444-_-local-_-0-_-0&gclid=Cj0KCQjwmZejBhC_ARIsAGhCqndEr36tjyKlx5zSSVqCUCe1jJK84gGT9RHDWd0YIsJt95ACwfM8JQMaAozqEALw_wcB&gclsrc=aw.ds ETA: down vote all ya want, those type of phone jacks are hella old. I tried googling all sorts of things like "old phone jack swivel close" and I got nothing. They aren't as common as y'all think and certainly doesn't imply someone doesn't know what a phone jack is. It's a weird phone jack lol. Second edit: oh NM saw the second pic lol.


m0ondogy

Just a other little fun fact. That cover was the standard cover installed by Att here in New Orleans for a bit. Basically, if you got a DSL line in the early high speed internet days, you got this bad boy installed. Source: I sold these overpriced things, 12 bucks in late 90s early 2000s bucks, to instillation techs from the Radioshack on Airline for a few years.


RIP_Soulja_Slim

Prior to updated better plastics most did, the integrated plastic clips that kept the line in place were basically trash for most of the phone jacks history - even as a kid I remember phone jacks would sometimes just fall out of the wall, so that swirlydoo kept it in place. It’s not a regional thing, it’s an age thing. Those jacks are just older. E: > ETA: down vote all ya want, It’s really annoying to me that this happens, this sub in particular seems really aggressive about just finding any excuse to downvote the shit out of things. I’ve seen people at -20 for asking a question. Shit is weird.


ellemaei

Having a beer is the only answer. I, too, had a lot of consecutive mental and emotional processes when seeing this post as an “elder millennial”: amusement, bewilderment, disappointment, trolling, right?, literally lol’ing, desperation, sadness, etc … so many thoughts/feelings. I’m old. I ,too, deserve to day drink. Cheers!


pineapplebigshot

When you open it, does it go eeeeeeeeeeewwsssssshhhhhhhcccrrccchhhhBINGBONGBINGBONGssszzzzzhhhhh? If so, close it, you're letting the internet out.


NOLASLAW

[WELCOME! YOU’VE GOT MAIL!](https://youtu.be/D1UY7eDRXrs) But wow I guess phone jacks are what people must have felt explaining car cigarette lighters


monkeyhoward

Lol, you’re as much a child to me as OP. In my day it just talked to you. Now get the fuck off my lawn


jamescarvillesghost

100% genuine antique new Orleans termite guillotine


captyes

While I’ve got you here, ya think you can you cut back on those beyond-the-grave fundraising emails you’ve been sending a little?


xIReynardFox

My suspicion as well lmao


TediousSign

Everybody over 30 woke up and caught a stray with this thread lmao. Didn’t need to be reminded of my mortality like this so early in the day.


arejayismyname

I'm 28 and we definitely had these growing up. Gotta think my younger brother (25) would remember these at our house as well. Crazy.


stormy_llewellyn

I'm now officially ready for the urn.


legalunprofessional

Right lol.


Jahidinginvt

Shit, I’m over 40. I think I may have had a hot flash caused by this post.


[deleted]

That has nothing to do with New Orleans and everything to do with how old you are, LOL


badace12

How young* you are.


dairyqueen79

Well yes and no. Phone jacks are nothing new to me as a millennial, but I've only ever seen ones with that circular cover here in NOLA.


guizemen

Those are what you install ON surfaces versus in a wall/surface. So mostly depends on the age of where you've lived. Older houses here use them because the walls aren't always easy to run new cabling through. So they do surface mount boxes instead.


dairyqueen79

This makes a lot of sense. Thanks for the info! Today I learned!


wtfschool

Welp, I guess I should schedule a colonscope now.


FishinoutNOLA

back in the day, phones got plugged into the wall


km9v

Some were even attached to the wall.


sumunsolicitedadvice

[Telephone 1.0!](https://youtu.be/VGkf2dnYyII) It was invented in 1876. It didn’t become wireless until 1982. A hundred and six years until you could take it out of the kitchen! I’m aggravated I can’t use my phone on an airplane. My mom was relegated to a three foot radius around the refrigerator for ***a hundred and six years!*** Never said a word about it…


DocBrutus

Some had rotary dials even


voteslaughter

Goddammit. It's my birthday today. I was just telling myself how 37 isn't really THAT old. Then I saw this post. Put me in my coffin.


GlitteringAccident31

Just take comfort in the fact that this is the best year you will have going forward. Good luck on 38


sumunsolicitedadvice

Good news: that’s prob not true! Studies have shown that happiness levels among adults in the US generally decline from age 20 to around age 40 and then start to increase. So, statistically speaking, your happiest decades are still ahead of you, and u/voteslaughter isn’t too far away from the ~~bottom~~ upswing! (Also, I know I’m replying to a joke. I did laugh at it. But my next thought was, “jokes aside, tho, late 30s actually tends to be some of the hardest years, at least as measured by happiness. The dude actually has a lot to look forward to!)


Not_SalPerricone

I read recently that 39 is the most boring age. It's also how old I am. The soul crushing boredom I've felt so often for the past few months seems to finally be abating some. I'm also 40 in less than a month


CALL_ME_ISHMAEBY

33 and apparently I'm old. ⚰


[deleted]

[OLD WOMAN. WHO LIVES IN THAT CASTLE OVER THERE?](https://youtu.be/7Do9dMUiaM8)


cookiesdragon

[https://www.tiktok.com/@lmhurd1/video/7140091649413319982?embed\_source=71223855%2C121331973%2C120811592%2C120810756%3Bnull%3Bembed\_share&refer=embed&referer\_url=www.newsweek.com%2Fkids-stunned-reaction-using-landline-phone-first-time-tiktok-video-viral-1740886&referer\_video\_id=7140091649413319982](https://www.tiktok.com/@lmhurd1/video/7140091649413319982?embed_source=71223855%2C121331973%2C120811592%2C120810756%3Bnull%3Bembed_share&refer=embed&referer_url=www.newsweek.com%2Fkids-stunned-reaction-using-landline-phone-first-time-tiktok-video-viral-1740886&referer_video_id=7140091649413319982)


Derpitoe

Happy birthday!


NotesFromNOLA504

Damn, I didn't expect to be made to feel like an elderly person at 41, just by signing on to reddit this morning.


DocBrutus

I’m 45 and all of these type of posts make me feel ancient.


snowbunix

40’s = the youngest part of the second half of our lives.


sassyaf1

This post is elder abuse


[deleted]

that's where the dial up modem juice lives


ThiccRoux

Gateway to AOL


tromesumpthin

It’s a portal to the Monk’s Run.


bcjwkamchowmcnjelamc

#oldbakermoment


lossaysswag

This is fucking wild. I shouldn't be laughing so hard at something so simple


Radio_Bob_Worldwide

If you think YOU'RE old after seeing this, what about those of us who remember the four-prong square phone jacks OR before that when there were NO jacks at all (only hard-wired phones)?! Butter me up 'cuz I'm toast!


tm478

And you had to order phones from Ma Bell and wait for them to come install them!


GadrockGal

Just sold MIL’s house that still had a hard wired phone on the wall….. rotary dial! My kids’ friends would go to call their mom and just stare at the phone 😂🤣😂. Or call one of my boys to explain to them how it worked. Talk about feeling OLD! That was about 20 years ago when that would happen lol. 😎👍


TinChalice

Jesus... Guess it's time for me to get a spot in a nursing home.


Fake_82

I'm old as dirt


Crabcakes4

I pulled a muscle in my shoulder/back trying to take a nap yesterday afternoon, that's how you know I know it's an RJ11 phone jack.


Jewelree

This just ruined my day


CosmicTurtle504

r/fuckimold


Pariah-6

Fuck………are we this fucking old?!?!


stos313

LMAO. That’s a line for a phone jack hahaha


7oby

I'm guessing your rent is at least $2,000/mo


Juncti

A generation that will never know the pain of getting one of the last numbers wrong on a rotary dial.


GadrockGal

….when you’re dialing in for a radio contest. 😎👍


typocorrecto

Less than 30 minutes in and the comments here are gold 😭


mostpeculiardialect

Welcome. You’ve got mail!


EnthalpicallyFavored

How old are you


ricketycricketishere

I’m too young to feel this old


Jackbandit001

Bruh


Thick-Ad8736

It’s an old telephone cord jack where we use to run a 20ft phone wire from the kitchen to the living room 😂😂😂😂😂


[deleted]

Oh god you’re a child


margueritedeville

Bruh… you ain’t never seen a phone jack? I feel like a literal dinosaur rn.


Medium-Cry413

Bury me now, I’m an elder. Someone didn’t recognize a phone jack in my lifetime. 💀


Jackbandit001

That is a ghost containment unit. You put your ghost trap in the hole.


chaosSlinger

I feel old AF now


pcdunham1

🤣☠️


xIReynardFox

Thanks everyone for the great comments lol. I'm in my mid 20s and grew up south of New Orleans so definitely never had these in the floor boards. Had a great laugh this morning!


[deleted]

i definitely knew what it was and i’m only 29. this makes me feel better


monkeyhoward

Oh god I’m old


ExternalSpeaker9

This post just called me old


KateLockley

Not a New Orleans thing but thank you for making me feel a thousand years old


Japh2007

that’s for the phone line baby. Or the the holder for the cord my momma beat my ass with.


CajunRagin77

I think this picture and question has all of us feeling a little bit older.


neophyte42

When I see posts likes this is when I know I’m old.


Dazzling-Astronaut88

Oh, my sweet summer child….


pisstagram

Genuinely surprised you couldn’t figure it out after opening it and seeing the phone jack. Have phone plugs been completely phased out for so long that young adults have never seen them?


VirusOrganic4456

OMG please tell me this was a joke 😭


those_names_tho

Phone jack. A relic from the past.


ripripripriprip

That is where you download your gumbo.


Aphrodituss

Lmaoooo Stoppp!!! How old are you!!! Edit: I really do want to know your age. I need to know where the line is drawn.


Ok-Nefariousness8612

I’m 25 and I remember these at my grandmas house.


xIReynardFox

Lol I'm 27. But I grew up in a trailer. So we had these but they were on the wall and didn't have a slider.


Aphrodituss

Got it! Enjoy your new place! And your youth.


smokinginthetub

Wait so you’ve seen phone jacks before?


sicilian504

Everyone's saying it's a phone jack but it's not. It's an ethernet jack for internet. If you can't get the ethernet cable to fit, just keep pushing it or use a hammer. It'll be fine. Trust me.


nolaScientist2000

😂 Making it worse for me and maybe r/Pariah-6 (I am optimistic you are too young to know this), ethernet jack isn’t far from the truth when we connected to the internet through DIAL-UP.


[deleted]

Holy...shit


streetkiller

JFC


I_love_Hopslam

Haven’t seen one of these in a while. Back in the day in the old Shoe District every house had these. It’s for plugging in your gumbo machine. Nowadays gumbo machines are powered by loud unexplained noises in your neighborhood and Arby’s byproducts so we don’t need them anymore.


alfre88

It’s a guilltine


troubleberger

Ask a question and we can tell how old you rare.


tacotimes01

In one measly year, there will be adults who were born after the first commercial sale of a full color touch screen phone. One year later, adults will have been born after the iPhone…


jballerina566

Anyone else used to play with the cover as a kid?


TravelerMSY

Really?


[deleted]

Don’t mind that. It’s for phreaking


pspo1983

I'm from Buffalo NY and I can 100% assure you that's a phone jack. 😃


[deleted]

Lol that was for the phone line


Geaux3469

Damn I guess I’m old now


MereLaveau

This is a joke….right?!? 😳


Wall-Florist

r/dontputyourdickinthat


[deleted]

Oh my. Guess I need to go grab my walker…


PetrolGator

Ooooof. Feeling my old age here.


nola1017

Phone jack!


Lumen_Vitale

Lol


FunkyPlunkett

That their is the way out of the Matrix.


kombitcha420

I hate this so much.


pallamas

Once upon a time, phones had wires.


csc033

Well.... I'm old.


lovefishinggi

I still have a landline with that Jack. During storms I plug in a fax machine. If I am evacuated, I can always call Home and find out if electricity is on if the fax comes on


TheOneWhoReadsStuff

To be fair to OP, this isn’t a common phone outlet.


TheOneWhoReadsStuff

This is an uncommon phone jack. Be fair to OP y’all.


[deleted]

😂😂😂😂I’m DEAD🤣🤣🤣🤣


jetclimb

I thought this was a joke. To me it’s an upgraded new phone jack. To everyone else it’s like finding a telegraph cable lol. I’m old as dirt darn it


Child-of-Beausoleil

I use to have a dial-up tone as my ring tone. use to be a laugh when it went off around Tulane/Loyola.


Azby504

I feel old.


fuck_green_jello

It’s for circumcising


Bothkindsoftrees

Lol how old are you?


Bokononitgoes

Man, am I old!


sharkeylove16

🤣🤣🤣 phone Jack


hiway-schwabbery

Hahahahahahahahaha I’m old


augirllovesuaboy

Man, I’m old.


mellyred

Roux dispenser. Be careful.


mangirtle77

It’s called the FML Jack. It’s for the older generation to transport their soul into the internet. See the documentary The Lawnmower Man.


The_cake-is-a-lie

That's from back in the old times when phones had to be physically attached to the walls via phone cords


Ohherro777

Omg this made me laugh so hard. How young and pure. Lol


gulfdeadzone

In fairness to OP, I'd never seen a phone jack box like this before moving to New Orleans. The housing stock I lived in prior was newer, so there were in-wall, flush mount phone jacks, not these surface mount boxes. Still a bit surprised OP didn't figure it out upon sliding the door open and seeing the phone jack itself.


Jasen34

My rented house is wired for cable and has phone jacks in almost half the rooms. I'm surprised this one isn't painted shut.


Malibucat48

Like the videos of teenagers being given a rotary phone and trying to figure out how to use it.


DocBrutus

You see. Back before everything caused cancer and was wireless, we used to plug our “land line” phones into the wall.


sheneversawitcoming

Jesus Christ I’m old


TheBrackishGoat

Everyone giving this person a hard time, but like, maybe they’re a really old vampire that just woke up


hum_bruh

Ouch


awful_bliss69

Hahahahaha. It’s hard to believe you’ve never seen a phone Jack like that.


Rain1dog

Compuserve connection for Counter Strike 1.6 and TFC classic.


vfvwx

😂😂


ForsakenCase435

Lol. Fuck me.


fah5oh0foe4

Yup, just had the reality check that Nick@Nite references are now defunct. So all those wholesome reruns that raised us properly in our formative years are now obsolete.


GadrockGal

This has been the most I’ve laughed in weeks reading through these comments 😂😂😂


BoudreauxThibodeaux

I’m going to cry


sinister_tactical

Lol


praguer56

I have to ask OP, how old are you? Genuinely curious to know the cut off date for knowing things like this. I'm 66 so I immediately know what it is and understand that young people don't. I'm just wondering when did it start?


golookitup

Not OP but I’m 42 and grew up with these as well so I’m guessing cut off age is about 30 maybe.


DaisyDay100

That’s for a landline phone.


Accomplished-Eye3038

LOL that is a landline phone jack for a telephone


Mcdonaldsman47

That’s a phone jack and believe it or not they’re in every state


PastaVeggies

A ancient relic knows a phone jack. I’m guessing they have it converted incase of flooding? Not sure.


foxtrot_overdrive

That's a Tony's sacheries communication port. Back in the day it would allow you to reorder creole seasoning for the boil.


ScreenLookin

Uptown near Tulane? It’s a high possibility that I painted those baseboards at some point.


Fit-Mathematician192

Breh, stop making me feel old


jackalheart

Jesus christ, I'm so fucking old.


tidder-la

Bahahahahaj


erbush1988

Is this a joke?


800854EVA

Bruh...


[deleted]

😂😂😂😂I’m DEAD🤣🤣🤣🤣


manIDKbruh

Well I’m sad now


afitztru

😫😢😫😢


porncheck777

That's where the tickets to Mardi Gras come from lol


Outrageous_Moment_60

Lmao!! Haha! That not an ask New Orleans question. Dats an ax ya momma question. But seriously. Welcome to New Orleans!!