[bcoates]

I haven't used a landline in years now, but when I was a kid it worked that way: one end hanging up wouldn't disconnect the circuit, and if the other end took the phone off-hook shortly afterwards it'd still be connected.

This would sometimes wind up being the deciding factor in the eternal battle of "which sibling gets to use the phone"

[lostlogin]

In my memory it never relied on both parties hanging up here in New Zealand, but on a trip to the UK as as child I noticed that the phone line disconnecting relied on both parties hanging up. I'm 31.