Party line (telephony)

Hey there, kiddo! Do you know what a telephone is? It's a little device that lets you talk to people who are far away.

In the past, telephones used to work differently. Instead of having your own private phone line, people used to share a line with other people in their neighborhood. They called it a party line!

Now, imagine that you and your friends had a party line. You could all use the same line to make calls, but you had to take turns. You had to listen for a special ring before you could make a call because that meant the line was free.

But the problem was that sometimes people would forget to hang up, or they would spend too much time talking, which would make it hard for others to use the line. Sometimes, people could even listen in on your conversations if they were on the same party line as you. That's why modern phones have private lines, so that you can talk without being overheard by others.

I hope that helps you understand what party lines were, kiddo!