My grandmother from rural Saskatchewan said that back then they would exchange their radio batteries when they went to town.

Her husband, my grandfather, lived in Regina but worked on a traveling threshing crew and mentioned seeing a windmill driving an old generator from a car to charge batteries at one stop.

At work that phone would be called a secondary contamination source....and in an aquarium perhaps a refugium?

Same, but for the cleanliness and safety of my phone.

Only 50? I think that's pretty good when considered on its own but STC doesn't look at the whole picture. STC ratings and requirements for discrete wall and floor assemblies are a thing but with suites/party walls apparent STC is what mattered whether it was the provincial code or local bylaws. ASTC is king.

Something I've seen with renovations is construction companies not understanding how to attenuate sound, and not bothering to learn or, even better, consult someone who knows.

Well meaning PMs read up on products and throw them at the problem and it's treated as a great success because there are no hard targets, just a general desire to reduce noise, and that happened.