Dad Challenges Two Teenagers to Dial a Rotary Phone and It’s As Entertaining As You’d Think

No one can argue that technology has changed quite a bit from the 1900s let alone from what it was a year ago. Back then, people were watching black and white TVs and they definitely weren’t texting or scrolling Instagram on their rotary phone.

These days, you basically carry your entire life in the palm of your hand. There’s a new smart phone every five seconds. Even last year’s phones are considered outdated to what’s out now.

Most teenagers have zero idea what a rotary phone even is, let alone how it works. We get it: If this is the generation you were born in, it can be hard to imagine a world any different.

One Illinois dad Kevin Bumstead decided to challenge his 17-year-old son Jake and nephew Kyle to a little game. He handed them a rotary phone and told them they had precisely four minutes to figure out how to dial a phone number.

He got the idea when he saw a similar video on YouTube and knew that the two boys would make for some solid entertainment. And he was right. The hilarious video has been viewed more than 23 million times and shared more than 411,000 times.

At first, the teens are pretty confident. “That’s it?” the boys ask in unison when Dad explains the rules.

Yeah, it seems easy. At least for those who’ve used this type of “technology” before. But the boys quickly realize this was going to be a lot more complicated them than they thought.

They try all sorts of different ways to dial, but as time ticks down, they get more and more confused.

“Is this right?” Jake asks in the video as he dials a completely wrong way.

“Are we supposed to pick up the phone and then do it?” Kyle asks.

Those who know how to dial a rotary phone commented on the video with all sorts of things that kids these days will never know in terms of a rotary phone.

“Kids today will never know the struggle of trying to dial into a radio contest with a rotary phone,” someone wrote.

“That hilarious moment I realize my younger children (14 & 19) probably don’t know what a dial tone is,” another person wrote.

“Kids today will never know the satisfaction of slamming down the phone after an argument,” someone else commented.

If you do know how to work a rotary phone, you’ll find yourself staring at the video anxiously waiting for them to figure it out. Spoiler alert: They don’t. At least, not without just a few seconds to spare, and not without a few little hints from the peanut gallery.

The great part is, the two really work well together to try and figure it out, but in the most hilarious way.  It’s probably going to be the most entertaining four minutes of your day.

Check out the challenge in the video below!

How funny is this video? Did you grow up in the rotary pone era, or would you not know how to dial a rotary phone if it was handed to you?