A telephone booth, telephone kiosk, telephone call box, telephone box or public call box is a small structure furnished with a payphone and designed for a telephone user's convenience. In the USA and Canada, "telephone booth" is used, while in the United Kingdom, Australia and the rest of the Commonwealth of Nations it is a "telephone box" or "phone box". Such a booth usually has lighting, a door to provide privacy and windows to let others know if the booth is in use. The booth may be furnished with a printed directory of local telephone numbers, and a booth in a formal setting, such as a hotel, may be furnished with paper and pen and even a seat. An outdoor booth may be made of metal and plastic to withstand the elements and heavy use, while an indoor booth (once known as a silence cabinet) may have more elaborate architecture and furnishings. Most outdoor booths feature the name and logo of the telephone service provider.
Famous quotes containing the words telephone booth, telephone and/or booth:
“But even in a telephone booth
evil can seep out of the receiver
and we must cover it with a mattress,
and then tear it from its roots
and bury it,
bury it.”
—Anne Sexton (1928–1974)
“The telephone gives us the happiness of being together yet safely apart.”
—Mason Cooley (b. 1927)
“A man’s labour is not only his capital but his life. When it passes it returns never more. To utilise it, to prevent its wasteful squandering, to enable the poor man to bank it up for use hereafter, this surely is one of the most urgent tasks before civilisation.”
—William Booth (1829–1912)