For years, even decades, virtually everyone in the United States had the same phone. Nobody really thought about it, it didn't even matter what it was called - it was just The Phone. Well, The Phone was called the Western Electric 500, and when landline phones ruled the world, the Western E lectric 500 ruled the landlines. It was so ubiquitous for so long that even if you've never touched a landline, you've encountered the 500. The Phone app on your iPhone? Looks like a 500. On this episode of Version History, we tell the story of the Western Electric 500, and the deeply strange world it came to represent. David Pierce, Nilay Patel, and pro … Read the full story at The Verge. ...read more read less