The Rotary Phone: digital party invitation

Dial 5-0 and pick up.

A surprise party as a phone call from the seventies. At the top sits an orange rotary telephone: put your finger in the hole of the 5, turn to the finger stop and let go, the dial springs back like a real one. Then the 0. A wrong digit is a wrong number and you start over; if you would rather not dial, the phone calls by itself. On the right number the phone rings, you lift the handset (the cord stretches along) and the hosts speak their message line by line. Then a pink 'While you were out' memo tears off with every detail and the boxes Urgent and Secret ticked. The programme sits on a microcassette in the answering machine: press play, the reels turn, the counter runs and the four messages type themselves; rewind works too. Practical details live in the Yellow Pages with five thumb tabs (venue, parking, sleep, gift, secret) that turn the page. You reply by speaking after the beep: the red light blinks, the counter counts your message and your name label lands in the tray.

The demo opens in a new tab, with sample text and sample photos.