In 1971 the average person did not have an answering machine in their home. For one thing they were quite expensive. But also, most phones, and walls, did not have the kind of pluggable jack you needed to be able to easily connect one.
shareAnswering machines had been around since the Chicago worldβs fair.
shareJames Rockford had one.
shareYou're right. Most people didn't start getting answering machines until the 80's.
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The first time it was used in the show, the person mentioned how new it was.
share"In 1949 the first commercially successful answering machine was the Electronic Secretary created by inventor Joseph Zimmerman and businessman George W. Danner, who founded Electronic Secretary Industries in Wisconsin.
Another commercially successful answering machine was the Ansafone created by inventor Dr. Kazuo Hashimoto, who was employed by a company called Phonetel. This company began selling the first answering machines in the US in 1960."
These are data points that have little to nothing to do with reality for 99% of the population.
By analogy television was invented in 1927. Doesn't mean it's believable for characters to be watching it before the 1950s.
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shareWe had one in the late 70s, and we were pretty lower middle class. I'll admit a lot can happen in 7 or 8 years, but not impossible to think she had some early technology in new York.
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