[hyperdimension]

I wonder: do they burn or otherwise destroy the ribbon after the fact?

Also I have to confess, I've definitely bought used (tape-based) answering machines/typewriters at yard sales a few times solely to listen to the greeting/messages or typed messages, respectively. Having the device itself is nice, too, of course. :)

It's an interesting slice of the lives of people I'll never know, like picking up discarded shopping lists.