The phone was used for all sorts of pre-internet information back then. Pretty innovative. I remember calling up the university agricultural extension to get plant info by entering various codes (entering, as in rotary dialing each number). Also the futuristic registering for college classes through a touch tone phone vs. standing in lines.
I remember calling up for.movie times. Sitting there waiting for every fucking movie to be listed before finally hearing yours and hitting the button, them listening to every fucking date before hitting for Saturday, then hearing every fucking time until the evening ones come up and your friends yells something at you and you miss the time.
For a while, the town I lived in had a big sheet they distributed with a ton of different free phone services you could use- including games! A bunch of choose-your-own adventures which would be updated regularly, I think once a week. It was great as a kid.