this post was submitted on 13 Dec 2025
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They made fun of that all the way back in Superman The Movie (1978)
Telephone booths were still pretty common until the early 90's
I thought it was a weird idea anyway, since every phonebooth I have ever seen is see-thru. Was there a time when they were just opaque boxes or something without any kind of window?
No, but the windows were smaller, scratched and usually rather dirty, esp in nyc.
They weren't designed for privacy. I'm guessing to was to protect against the elements.
Protect the phone, that is. Also enable you to hear and be heard. The clear glass was to prevent anyone hiding in there, for sex or drugs or ambush.
Supes can move so quickly he's all changed and his work suit is neatly folded and tucked into its pouch while anyone watching would just see a brief blur. But he'd rather nobody bumps into him while he's doing it.
What if you saw Kent go in and Superman come out? Wouldn't that be slightly suspicious?
I think part of the appeal was, every kid was thinking exactly that. "I would be the one who figured out Superman's secret identity!"
I like this explanation better than the official reasoning.
I bet they first thought of a toilet stall but America has never had sufficient public toilets, plus they have been used for prostitution and gay sex, and they needed their nakedish hero to have a squeaky-clean and heterosexual image so they wouldn't be banned.
Enclosed ones with doors?
Around here they were all little nooks at best.
in the UK, yeah -- all the way to the early 2000s you could get free shelter
Pay phones =/= phone booths.
You saw them in restaurants and bars, but the companies didn't want the hassle of maintaining full on booths.
Right even the ones on the street weren’t “booths” they were more like stands. At least in the US.