I don't know about you, but I find something really sweet about this.
According to San Francisco ABC 7:
There's a new pay phone in San Francisco's Mission District. But this phone only calls one number. And on the other line is a stranger in Abilene, Texas.
It's an effort to connect people across the political spectrum.
The initiative, via bio-tech company Matter Neuroscience, placed one pay phone outside of a tattoo parlor in San Francisco and another outside a bookstore in Abilene. (Yep, that checks out!)
Via the company's Instagram page, here's what the two phones look like at their respective locations:
And the company is making it clear what the whole purpose of the experiment is:
In San Francisco, the phone outside Black Serum Tattoo on Valencia Street says, "Call a Republican."
In Texas, the one outside Seven and One Books in downtown Abilene says, "Call a Democrat."
Apparently there has been a good deal of interest in this nice little project!
Here's one representative example of a cross-country / cross-political conversation:
"A Cybertruck just drove by. What do you think of those?," Berkeley Resident Milo Duhamel asked the person in Abilene. He said the person talked about their distaste of autonomous vehicles.
One liberal in San Francisco, meanwhile, made a surprising connection with a fellow American in Abilene:
"She's unhappy with the world politics at the moment as well."
You love to see that kind of connection!
The company will reportedly release some of the conversations being had on its phone, and is planning to possibly deploy the concept in other cities as well.
So if you see one of these phones in your town — don't be afraid to pick it up!
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