Drew Barrymore, Ross Mathews and TikTok star Barbara Costello were definitely feeling their ages when two Gen Zers struggled to properly use a rotary phone on this morning’s episode of The Drew Barrymore Show.
It all started when BFFs Mara and Grier, who met in preschool, appeared on the hit daytime talk show, where they were tapped for a game of retro trivia.
Mathews kicked off the game by asking the duo to identify what he later revealed was a disk. After suggesting the object was a “CD” or “scale,” they ultimately concluded that Mathews was holding some sort of “technology,” which technically wasn’t wrong.
“That is a disk,” Mathews finally said. “Just so you know, the disk was first introduced by IBM in 1971 and everybody used it in the ‘80s and ‘90s and a little bit in the 2000s but you don’t need it now so you can throw that away when you’re done with it.”
Despite their rough start, Mara and Grier went on to ace the following two questions, correctly identifying pineapple upside-down cake and doing the old-school motion to roll down a car window rather than clicking a button.
However, Mathews seemed to stump the Gen Zers when he pulled out a rotary phone and asked them to dial 411.
“So, I know you go one way. I think I was shown one time,” one of them said. “I think it’s like doing a lock. I think you like … OK.”
The two nervously giggled as looks of confusion swept across their faces, while a stunned Barrymore and Costello were laughing off to the side. Mathews then instructed them to start their task by picking up the phone before informing them that they would normally hear a “dial tone” if the phone was actually plugged in.
“I feel like you would go one way, the other way, then back,” one said before shocking everyone and correctly dialing the phone number.
Mara and Grier ended up winning $500 each and a dinner for two at Empire Steakhouse in New York City, courtesy of The Drew Barrymore Show.
The Drew Barrymore Show airs on weekdays on CBS. You can check the website for local airtimes.
