ECN Forum Forums General Topics of the Trade General Discussion Area Telephone Trivia: Why 555 ?

Reverse Lookup is something quite useful. In Austria you can get a CD version of the white pages with reverse lookup. In Germany this is illegal.

per Think Good's,
There actually was a poor elderly lady that had the phone # 867-5309...her name was Jenny.

Wow, I seem to have started something here!

On the ring-back numbers, there was no standard code. The codes were assigned individually for each office, and in some types of switching equipment (e.g. step-by-step) the choice may well have been influenced by the ease or difficulty with which a certain number could be trunked into the selectors. Apart from the test ring-back numbers, there were also codes which were given out to normal subscribers to enable them to dial other people on the same party line.

Numbers seem to pop-up in songs quite regularly: There's a Chuck Berry record ("Promised Land") which quotes a Virginia number TIdewater 4-1009. I have no idea whether 844 was a valid prefix within the 703 area back then.

By the way folks, that PEnnsylvania 6-5000 number in NYC is long-lived! Go ahead and try it: (212) 736-5000.



[This message has been edited by pauluk (edited 04-02-2003).]

Paul, the PE6-50-00 number is still in service.

The reason for "Pennsylvania" is because the Hotel Pennsylvania is right across the street from the Pennsylvania Railroad station.

(SUgar Hill)1-57**

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Electriceagle:

Radio Shack should not be asking you for any personal information anymore. They stopped that practice ages ago (although it's only recently that they're publicizing it).

[This message has been edited by SvenNYC (edited 04-02-2003).]

Sven,
Yes, I've seen the hotel and traveled from Penn Station.

Calling from here though, it's a rather expensive way to listen to a few bars of the song. Much chepaer to play my old Glenn Miller record!