when I was in college it was still quite easy to find old crank phones... NOT in use, but laying around.

One of our favorite pastimes was to take the old crank out and then at parties form a circle, holding hands.... one person the designated 'cranker'. Start slow... get faster and faster to see who would break the chain first.... like musical chairs, but using electricity.

Of course, that would never happen.... in reality. The cranker, (or at least none us when assigned designated cranker), were able to resist the temptation to give a count down to a 'slow' start and then spin that sucker as fast as we could spin it sending everyone in the circle's hair shooting skyward and having everyone involved break the chain simultaneously. - JamesJM