At the tone, the correct time will be…EOL’d.
AT&T will soon shut down its free time-by-phone service. We’re on the scene with the Sacramento Bee:
As of Sept. 19, dialing to get the correct time in California will no longer work, the service a victim of outdated modes, advancing technology and declining use. No one could be sadder than the precisely toned Atlanta woman who’s known to millions only by her voice.
“I’m sorry that it’s fading away,” said Joanne Daniels, who began intoning the time recordings 25 years ago. “It makes me feel old.”
In 1929, the forerunner of AT&T initiated time service in California. An operator read the time off wall clocks to callers. Soon after, equipment came along that automatically answered and dispensed the time and, in some locations, the temperature. Basically, a light scanned film strips in revolving “drums” that read the correct synchronized segments of the recording.
An Atlanta company manufactured the equipment and as part of their service, they recorded all the numbers and introductions. Which is how Daniels — the Atlanta woman — got the job.
“I was known as the lady in the drum,” she said.
Thanks, Sam, for the pointer!
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