h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

In every single American film or TV show, whenever a fictional telephone number is spoken or written it always starts 555 (After the area code). Why?

(And has anybody anywhere ever noticed?)

Simple - It doesn't exist, By convention they use this code to stop crank calls to phone number shown. There is one used in the UK I believe as well.


CH

All 555 prefixes belong to the Bell phone company, for example (area code) 555-1212 is the number for information. They use the 555 prefix so when some mental giant decides to call up "Bad Character A" to cuss him out, he doesn't get Joe Public. This protects the public from those of less than average grip on reality. It also protects the TV and movie industry from lawsuits from people who have the same phone number and are getting harassing calls. Its an agreement between Bell and the industry. Bell was getting a lot of complaints and having to change phone numbers.

Remember the 80s song "Jesse's girl" with the phone number 867-5309. People started calling the number to talk to Jesse's girl or just to see whom the number belonged to. It caused such a problem that one newspaper printed the artist's phone number so people could call him at all hours. Semi-sweet revenge.

The reason I notice is, of course, because my number (in the UK) begins 555, and once our number was used (at least the last 7 digits), and so, from then on I always notice. Yes, of course I guessed there was some sort of convention going on, it just seems odd that every single number everywhere on everything, on signs, scribbled notes etc etc. uses the prefix. And, no, in the UK it doesnt work that way. I am sure they use dead numbers for the same sorts of reasons, but there is not an obvious pattern.

I noticed

It's actually a secret code to the aliens who will invade earth on the 21st of Dec. 2012.

Well Cyber and I have got it sussed, and we'll be out of here on the 20th on the first available passing intergalactic bicycle.

not to be picky Mostly Harmless but it was "Jenny" and not "Jesse's Girl" with the phone # 867-5309.

"Jenny don't you lose my number..."

Zorpheus,

Picky, Picky, Picky.

Mostly

Also, that 867 exchange is a functioning one in Annville Pennsylvania. I understand that song caused a lot of problems.

I live in Annville, and we always tell people that's our phone number if someone we don't like asks us. But as I remember it did cause some problems.

You might be interested in looking at an entry entitled "867-5309/Jenny".

Have a look at the following forum:-

http://www.h2g2.com/FFM51917?thread=76101&skip=0&show=20#p588694

Hey! It didn't come out right - I'm no good at this technical stuff!