In the early days of the Internet, there was this website with a list of payphone numbers from all over the United States. In my state, there were only three entries, and my home phone number was one of them. It was listed as being outside a publicly traded chain restaurant.
On occasion, radio stations would do bits where they would call a random payphone from the website. My house was called 3 times for the same bit by different radio stations. Within a month apart, I spoke to two different stations from New Zealand. MoreFM was one of them, but I don't remember the other. I do remember that that were very disappointed when I told them I had just spoken to MoreFM a month prior. Also MoreFM was the only station that didn't end the bit when I explained it was not a pay phone
> Curious what the purpose of calling a pay phone is? (wasn't possible in my country)
If you want to let somebody know you can't talk right now but you will call them back in 10 minutes, this makes it possible without having them use another quarter (coin currency in US) to call you back in 10 minutes, or requiring them to feed quarters in while you wait on hold for 10 minutes.
Also plenty of other reasons that we've all seen in spy movies :)
> Curious what the purpose of calling a pay phone is? (wasn't possible in my country)
Mostly for the humor value for an on-air radio show. I’m sure were pre-arranged just to make sure they got something usable, but I can see the occasion where a random person walking by and hearing the pay phone RINGING would cause them to pause. As a teenager I would have picked it up in a heartbeat (even not having heard the radio shows).
As for other “purposes” I’ve seen some crime/drama shows where the bad guy tells someone to go to the corner pay phone and answer it when it rings at a specific time. Horrible idea now as the phone systems would easily record the number that called it, but up until the early 2000’s it would be one option. Today I would guess dropping a burner phone in an envelope for the “victim” would be a more likely movie trope…
(Source: I’m from the US and remember a few radio stations doing this in the 1980’s and 1990’s.)
> Horrible idea now as the phone systems would easily record the number that called it
I think the idea was that you'd be calling from another pay phone, probably a different one each time so the number didn't matter.
You could do the same with pagers. Your drug dealer would own a pager, you'd call the pager from a random pay phone and send that pay phone's number as a message. The dealer would then use a different pay phone to call you back.
Unlike cellphones, pagers were often one-way, receive-only devices, so you couldn't use them to track somebody's location.
The test prefix for test or example DOIs is 10.5555, following the American phone number convention. I have 10.5555/12345678 seared in my muscle memory.
Yeah, it would be nice if the reserved numbers were random so that they didn't stand out. Sure, some nerds will still memorize the list but even with 20 numbers it would be basically indistinguishable to the average person compared to the xxx-555-xxxx for NANP.
Accordingly for a movie that showed aspects of phone phreaking techniques and culture, Hackers (1995) mentions at least three 555 numbers:
212-555-4240: The number of the modem at OTV that Dade social-engineers out of the security flunkie, allowing him to dial into the cable channel's systems
555-4817: Lisa Blair's phone number, which Lord Nikon recalls out of his photographic memory at the party.
555-4202: Kate's number, which Phreak connects to by rapidly pressing the prison phone's switchhook ten times (effectively pulse-dialing 0) and then asking the operator for help dialing
Given how stylized the movie is as a whole, the prominence of several obviously-fake phone numbers is the least of the things that break realism.
I was once on a bus and I could hear some teenagers talking. One asked a girl for her phone number and she told him a number starting with 07709, the UK's "555". I only knew that because a Doctor Who episode had recently used the same prefix.
This used to be the BBC number for call ins, particularly the kids TV show 'Swap Shop', but also for so much else during the 1970s and 1980s.
This number was retired in 1990 when the London ran out of phone numbers and switched to two different prefixes, 071 and 081. The former was advertised on TV as 'Inner London' and the latter as 'Greater London'. This bit of marketing kept everyone happy.
There was still a problem with numbers and the need to go for eleven digits. Hence, in 1995, the codes for London changed again, to 0171 and 0181. This was PHONEDAY.
But still, more numbers were needed, plus the tech behind the scenes was ever-evolving. Hence, in 2000, the numbers changed again for London, for everything to start with 020, so 0171 became 0207 and 0181 became 0208.
But then everyone got mobile phones and we no longer heard about how the economy was growing so quickly that we had this apparent incessant need for even more phone numbers. Furthermore, mobile phones had contacts built into them, so there was no need to remember phone numbers, which was just as well as eleven digits were not so easy to memorise, particularly when the prefixes had changed around so much.
Hence, my personal choice of fictional number. Apart from anything else, it enables me to see how well forms are validated, plus 01 811 8055 is only going to ever be recognised as a 'famous' number by Brits over a certain age.
If youre watching an Australian show and see a mobile phone ring and it shows the callers number, ring it. You'll likely annoy someone who works on the show.
Why Australian shows? Do they happen to show real numbers more often, or get annoyed more often, or do you have some odd specific reason to want Australians who work on TV shows annoyed?
(edit: I see now the domain is .gov.au specifically)
If you shop at Safeway (Albertsons?) and need a member's discount, but don't have a membership/number, 510-867-5309 works. Staff members have specifically mentioned it.
Something burned into my brain is "call 836-7000 or visit transitchicago.com" which was an announcement that played seemingly every 30 seconds on CTA buses back when I lived there. I was in California once and tried 312-836-7000 as the loyalty card phone number at Safeway and it worked. So I guess I'm not the only one. (847- 773- etc. would probably also work. That's why I thought the message was so cool... they got the number in every Chicagoland area code!)
I have shared this story on Reddit before and I got banned from r/AskReddit for "doxing". That phone number is super secret and must not be publicized! Whoops!
(xxx)555-1212 works surprisingly often. I've used it more than a few times while traveling.
About ten years ago or so, Kroger finally integrated the loyalty programs across all their brands of stores (City Market, Harris Teeter, Kroger, King Soopers, Ralphs, Fred Meyer, and others, but those are the ones I have been in), so you can use pretty much any older area code you like to try it out.
One time I used 867-5309 at a chain store, the young male checkout clerk had an instant of a look of recognition, and promptly sang the number, really well.
There was a fairly large local grocery chain who just required the last 4 digits of the phone number to get a discount. I’m not sure who thought that was a good idea, but they’ve since gone out of business (I’m reasonably certain there’s no direct correlation between those facts).
Rumor also has it that in virtually any major grocery store in the USA you can put in any (valid) area code and 867-5309 and it will work as a rewards member number to get you the discounts. I have done it when traveling and have had success.
I would assume that as many are using it for the discount, there are at least a substantial portion who use it for gas discounts at Kroger gas stations. You can get up to 30 cents per gallon off if enough has been spent lately.
Seven is an important digit for the cadence because its the only one with two syllables. I guess you could double-up the last two fives and say "zero" instead of "0" to make it fit.
I have one of these that I use when dealing with retailers for which the phrase "I don't have a smartphone" does not compute. Saves the hassle of having to explain it every time, and so far I'm the only one using my made up number, so they "remember me" or whatever. But they can't actually call, and that's the point.
"The song's title, "777-9311", was Prince guitarist Dez Dickerson's actual telephone number at the time the song was written. Once the song became a hit, the phone calls started coming in, and Dickerson ended up having to change his phone number." https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/777-9311
In the early days of the Internet, there was this website with a list of payphone numbers from all over the United States. In my state, there were only three entries, and my home phone number was one of them. It was listed as being outside a publicly traded chain restaurant.
On occasion, radio stations would do bits where they would call a random payphone from the website. My house was called 3 times for the same bit by different radio stations. Within a month apart, I spoke to two different stations from New Zealand. MoreFM was one of them, but I don't remember the other. I do remember that that were very disappointed when I told them I had just spoken to MoreFM a month prior. Also MoreFM was the only station that didn't end the bit when I explained it was not a pay phone
> website with a list of payphone numbers ... my home phone number was one of them
Did you find out how this came to be, or just random typo?
Curious what the purpose of calling a pay phone is? (wasn't possible in my country)
> Curious what the purpose of calling a pay phone is? (wasn't possible in my country)
If you want to let somebody know you can't talk right now but you will call them back in 10 minutes, this makes it possible without having them use another quarter (coin currency in US) to call you back in 10 minutes, or requiring them to feed quarters in while you wait on hold for 10 minutes.
Also plenty of other reasons that we've all seen in spy movies :)
If you haven't seen this movie. An old one but good one https://m.imdb.com/title/tt0183649/plotsummary/
Also: Die Hard 3
> Curious what the purpose of calling a pay phone is? (wasn't possible in my country)
Mostly for the humor value for an on-air radio show. I’m sure were pre-arranged just to make sure they got something usable, but I can see the occasion where a random person walking by and hearing the pay phone RINGING would cause them to pause. As a teenager I would have picked it up in a heartbeat (even not having heard the radio shows).
As for other “purposes” I’ve seen some crime/drama shows where the bad guy tells someone to go to the corner pay phone and answer it when it rings at a specific time. Horrible idea now as the phone systems would easily record the number that called it, but up until the early 2000’s it would be one option. Today I would guess dropping a burner phone in an envelope for the “victim” would be a more likely movie trope…
(Source: I’m from the US and remember a few radio stations doing this in the 1980’s and 1990’s.)
In the 1990s I picked up a payphone outside East Croydon station (UK) and it turned out to be "Amy from Penge".
I wish there was more to this story but we just chatted for a little bit and hung up.
> Horrible idea now as the phone systems would easily record the number that called it
I think the idea was that you'd be calling from another pay phone, probably a different one each time so the number didn't matter.
You could do the same with pagers. Your drug dealer would own a pager, you'd call the pager from a random pay phone and send that pay phone's number as a message. The dealer would then use a different pay phone to call you back.
Unlike cellphones, pagers were often one-way, receive-only devices, so you couldn't use them to track somebody's location.
> Horrible idea now as the phone systems would easily record the number that called it, but up until the early 2000’s it would be one option.
Sure, but you would presumably also be at a payphone, and not use the same ones over and over. Short calls and leave quickly.
I don't have any more money, if it runs out, call me back at this number.
I'd like to make a collect call, please. First name "Bob"; last name is... "Wehadababyitsaboy".
My childhood equivalent is first name your son last name MomComeTakeMeFromThePool!
Did you get any swag?
Ages ago I did work for VFX house. We got a few numbers for the film and maintained an OGM on those lines for like 12 years.
I love when film has a real world tie in
Edit: more media should do this. Fun Easter eggs on IP or numbers from the film.
Excuse me, but what is an OGM?
Probably Out-Going Message.
The test prefix for test or example DOIs is 10.5555, following the American phone number convention. I have 10.5555/12345678 seared in my muscle memory.
Seeing 770-555-5555 on screen has always been a huge pet peeve for me. It really kills the suspension of disbelief for me.
Recently I've noticed the 555 prefix being used less, in favor of prefixes starting with 1, which are also invalid in the real world.
I thought 1 is the country prefix for the USA?
It is, although I'd imagine many Americans aren't aware of this.
Yeah, it would be nice if the reserved numbers were random so that they didn't stand out. Sure, some nerds will still memorize the list but even with 20 numbers it would be basically indistinguishable to the average person compared to the xxx-555-xxxx for NANP.
Accordingly for a movie that showed aspects of phone phreaking techniques and culture, Hackers (1995) mentions at least three 555 numbers:
212-555-4240: The number of the modem at OTV that Dade social-engineers out of the security flunkie, allowing him to dial into the cable channel's systems
555-4817: Lisa Blair's phone number, which Lord Nikon recalls out of his photographic memory at the party.
555-4202: Kate's number, which Phreak connects to by rapidly pressing the prison phone's switchhook ten times (effectively pulse-dialing 0) and then asking the operator for help dialing
Given how stylized the movie is as a whole, the prominence of several obviously-fake phone numbers is the least of the things that break realism.
>rapidly pressing the prison phone's switchhook ten times (effectively pulse-dialing 0)
Eleven times; 1 was two clicks.
Back in Bell of Pennsylvania days, 555 was a legitimate prefix. It was used to reach BoPA offices.
It still is, for every area code I believe. It's the same as calling 411 where I am. (Information)
I was once on a bus and I could hear some teenagers talking. One asked a girl for her phone number and she told him a number starting with 07709, the UK's "555". I only knew that because a Doctor Who episode had recently used the same prefix.
The UK also has something similar https://www.ofcom.org.uk/phones-and-broadband/phone-numbers/...
My fictional British phone number is:
01 811 8055
This used to be the BBC number for call ins, particularly the kids TV show 'Swap Shop', but also for so much else during the 1970s and 1980s.
This number was retired in 1990 when the London ran out of phone numbers and switched to two different prefixes, 071 and 081. The former was advertised on TV as 'Inner London' and the latter as 'Greater London'. This bit of marketing kept everyone happy.
There was still a problem with numbers and the need to go for eleven digits. Hence, in 1995, the codes for London changed again, to 0171 and 0181. This was PHONEDAY.
But still, more numbers were needed, plus the tech behind the scenes was ever-evolving. Hence, in 2000, the numbers changed again for London, for everything to start with 020, so 0171 became 0207 and 0181 became 0208.
But then everyone got mobile phones and we no longer heard about how the economy was growing so quickly that we had this apparent incessant need for even more phone numbers. Furthermore, mobile phones had contacts built into them, so there was no need to remember phone numbers, which was just as well as eleven digits were not so easy to memorise, particularly when the prefixes had changed around so much.
Hence, my personal choice of fictional number. Apart from anything else, it enables me to see how well forms are validated, plus 01 811 8055 is only going to ever be recognised as a 'famous' number by Brits over a certain age.
My fictional British phone number is: 0118 999 88199 9119 725 3
From the hilarious TV Series "IT Crowd":
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HWc3WY3fuZU
From the amazing, in more ways than one, Graham Linehan <3
well if "bashing trans women" qualifies as amazing...
The streaming services in recent years decided to remove that IT Crowd episode entirely, which is unfortunate as it was very funny.
Why should I care about his opinions on identity politics? I find his comedy funny. He could be Hitler for all I care.
Well, that's not so hard to remember.
If youre watching an Australian show and see a mobile phone ring and it shows the callers number, ring it. You'll likely annoy someone who works on the show.
Why Australian shows? Do they happen to show real numbers more often, or get annoyed more often, or do you have some odd specific reason to want Australians who work on TV shows annoyed?
(edit: I see now the domain is .gov.au specifically)
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fictitious_telephone_number
If Jenny's number was 555-5309 I don't think it would have worked in a song.
If you shop at Safeway (Albertsons?) and need a member's discount, but don't have a membership/number, 510-867-5309 works. Staff members have specifically mentioned it.
Something burned into my brain is "call 836-7000 or visit transitchicago.com" which was an announcement that played seemingly every 30 seconds on CTA buses back when I lived there. I was in California once and tried 312-836-7000 as the loyalty card phone number at Safeway and it worked. So I guess I'm not the only one. (847- 773- etc. would probably also work. That's why I thought the message was so cool... they got the number in every Chicagoland area code!)
I have shared this story on Reddit before and I got banned from r/AskReddit for "doxing". That phone number is super secret and must not be publicized! Whoops!
(xxx)555-1212 works surprisingly often. I've used it more than a few times while traveling.
About ten years ago or so, Kroger finally integrated the loyalty programs across all their brands of stores (City Market, Harris Teeter, Kroger, King Soopers, Ralphs, Fred Meyer, and others, but those are the ones I have been in), so you can use pretty much any older area code you like to try it out.
One time I used 867-5309 at a chain store, the young male checkout clerk had an instant of a look of recognition, and promptly sang the number, really well.
There was a fairly large local grocery chain who just required the last 4 digits of the phone number to get a discount. I’m not sure who thought that was a good idea, but they’ve since gone out of business (I’m reasonably certain there’s no direct correlation between those facts).
Generally 867-5309 in the local area code works for most rewards programs.
I worked retail in the US, can confirm in multiple area codes
Rumor was that everyone who had 867-5309 changed it shortly after it released. Except for Jenny. She had a fantastic dating life long before Tinder.
Rumor also has it that in virtually any major grocery store in the USA you can put in any (valid) area code and 867-5309 and it will work as a rewards member number to get you the discounts. I have done it when traveling and have had success.
Yeah, whoever owns those numbers has to be rolling in rewards points. It's my loyalty number at Kroger, Publix, Speedway, etc.
Heck it might be worth trying to purchase said number for the rewards, come to think of it.
I would assume that as many are using it for the discount, there are at least a substantial portion who use it for gas discounts at Kroger gas stations. You can get up to 30 cents per gallon off if enough has been spent lately.
I used one of those at CVS and the printout was rather long; even the cashier was impressed.
I heard of a business trying to sell it but couldn’t for licensing so sold the business and the number was incidental.
Seven is an important digit for the cadence because its the only one with two syllables. I guess you could double-up the last two fives and say "zero" instead of "0" to make it fit.
KLondike 5-5309 kind of works though.
Pennsylvania 6-5000 was a real phone number too
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/PEnnsylvania_6-5000
Huh, I didn’t know the song, but I guess that explains the 80s movie “Transylvania 6-5000”…
For the old RNB crowd it was 777-9311…
Does this mean 634-5789 is a real number?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FuC0T-_ONIA
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Futurama used the alien alphabet to get around this because, as the commentary said, they didn't want to use another 555- number.
The Simpsons went more meta: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2qh1JlNaOxo
Wow! Had no idea. I wonder how do they monitor if they use these for setting up an account for some offers.
The only people who would give one of these numbers out in real life are people who otherwise don't want to give you a real number.
Anyone who needs a number for a legitimate reason should do their own validation anyway.
You can try calling them but they return "number disconnected" messages.
I have one of these that I use when dealing with retailers for which the phrase "I don't have a smartphone" does not compute. Saves the hassle of having to explain it every time, and so far I'm the only one using my made up number, so they "remember me" or whatever. But they can't actually call, and that's the point.
For any website registration that asks for a phone number I put in one of these for my area.
This is dope, will be nice to see how many robo crawlers are crawling these numbers.
Always use theses in testing don't ask me how I know.
"The song's title, "777-9311", was Prince guitarist Dez Dickerson's actual telephone number at the time the song was written. Once the song became a hit, the phone calls started coming in, and Dickerson ended up having to change his phone number." https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/777-9311
I don’t see Beachwood 4-5789 on that list.
I don't think Marvin Gaye was using ACMA's list.
For a good time call (303) 499-7111
For dirty deeds ring 3-6 2-4 3-6.
Man, I miss the days when telephones were just telephones. The world just seems less mysterious now.
That was almost never the case. We just didn't know any better
https://www.nanpa.com/numbering/555-line-numbers
* in Australia
I would imagine the .au on the Australian Communications and Media Authority's domain gives that away.
this only applies in country code 61. most folks here would be in another numbering plan:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_telephone_country_code...
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