Remembering America's first social network: the landline telephone
Young tech nerds in Seattle are trying to preserve the mysterious machines — many of them almost lost forever — that made America's landline telephone system work before the age of computers.
As Peter Amstein squeezes through a warren of equipment racks draped with wire and crammed with whirring machines, he offers a cheerful warning.
"There are exposed electrical terminals, probably nothing will kill you," he says. "But there are definitely some things that will give you a fairly unpleasant zap, so do be a little cautious about what you touch."
Amstein works in Seattle's tech industry, but in his spare time he's a lead volunteer, tour guide and board president of the group.
