Telephone Booth

Long ago, when phones had cords, there were these things called telephone booths. There was an actual phone in a big box. You could run into one and use the phone while you were out and about in public (remember: at this time, no one had cell phones), or you could throw up on the floor, or change into a superhero outfit...really, whatever you wanted to do in a 3x3 room with a live phone line.

In the finance world, the name "telephone booth" also got applied to trading desks at the NYSE. Basically, these setups consisted of a cubicle and a phone. Exchange members could use them to take orders. We're also talking about pre-Internet times here, so very little computer trading existed at that point. Using phones represented the height of technology.

Hey, at least we aren't talking about sending orders to the NYSE via telegraph, or by a relay of fast ponies stationed throughout Manhattan.