Girlfriend's mom: Oh, Alice, while you're here, I have this lockbox that I don't have a key for.

Me: Grab it!

Girlfriend's mom: It's not really urg—

Me: —It's open.

Girlfriend's mom: Wow.

Girlfriend's mom: ...darn, it's not full of cash.

@alice i bought a payphone from an antiques expo today, and i know my way around one and picking this one up it was heavier than it should have been. I turned it upside down (after purchase, away from the seller) and heard a fair number of coins sloshing around in it. :)

This was almost a lockpicking reply but I do not have the chops (nor do I know anyone who does) who can pick the lock. the pins ROTATE to set. It’ll get drilled out and replaced, sadly. :(

@alice But just look at it in all it’s filthy glory!

A 198x Western Electric 1D2 payphone, in less than ideal but still better-than-average condition. There are coins rattling around inside of it, so there’s a slight discount off the price once I get it open.

@jgeorge @alice I kinda need this for my hallway, where did u find this beauty? 😍
@onni @alice Payphones are not that hard to find if you look around. The tougher challenges are keys and locks and getting them programmed for regular phone lines. I’ve restored several so far. It’s one of my many nerd hobbies. Where are you located, about?
@jgeorge @alice that's super cool! I'm in germany so probably not close sadly. We have mostly old phone booths with changed functions like tiny libraries in our area. But I haven't seen one of the actual old phones in a while