Phone company joke for kids

It's the late 1980's, and this technician's boss at a nonprofit agency has a brainstorm.

"He wanted to provide a menu-driven telephone system that would let local boaters and fishermen call in for information on river levels," says the tech.

His further comments: "I was invited to a lunch with the local phone company to discuss it. Being new to the project, I started by asking what percentage of the targeted rural population had touch-tone phone service ... a must-have for menu-driven phone systems. As I remember, the chicken salad was delicious and the project was never discussed again."