[comp.dcom.telecom] Phone Off Hook: How Could it Ring?!?

MJK2660@ritvm.bitnet (Mike Koziol) (12/20/89)

 
A quick scenario: I had just finished a 16 hour shift at work, gone to
the dentist, and had about 4 hours to sleep before going in for
another 16 hour day. As my head hit the pillow I remembered that I had
forgotten to turn off the ringers to the phones, and I didn't even
want to consider getting up to turn them off, I dropped the handset of
my trendline (fastened to the frame on the waterbed for convenience
sake) to the floor. In what seemed a very short time later the phones
started ringing. Even in my incoherent state I realized that I
couldn't answer the phone when it was already off the hook!! What's a
poor boy to do? Hang up he phone, curse myself for not turning off the
ringers, and get up (slowly) and go to work.
 
I can only think of a couple reasons the phones would ring, the switch
wanted to alert me my phone was off the hook, or someone had asked the
operator to "check the line". Any ideas?