CocoCami

Answer: Http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Watergate_scandal - The Watergate Scandal. Burglars broke into the Democratic National Committee Headquarters at the Watergate Hotel. The implication is that Forrest is why they were caught. Also, in 1972, you didn't need electricity to power phones. You still don't unless the phone is cordless. When the guard answers the phone, the name he gives is the actual name of the guard who discovered the famous burglary - without the help of a call from Forrest - Frank Wills. Wills was a 24 year old privately contracted security guard in the Watergate office building, which was a connected structure with a different purpose from the Watergate hotel. The two structures sit across the street from the each other, and the Watergate burglars were caught with several portable 2 way radios, indicating that someone besides Forrest was watching them, probably to give the a warning if the police showed up. As it came out later in the investigation, the Watergate burglars were not the sharpest tools in the toolkit, and they apparently turned off their radios due to their noise, so that the warning from the hotel spotter - if he had time and was competent enough to give one - was not heard. This scene, except for the specific call from Forrest Gump, is pretty accurate since the police and Mr. Wills were responding to a call of a "possible burglar" in the Watergate Office complex.

CocoCami

Answer: The land line phones back then did work with the power out. The power to operate them cam from the phone company. You are thinking cordless bases that need power.