5 Awesome Facts About Phone Numbers

1. How Numbers Came to Use

When phones were first invented all you had to do was call the operator and asked to be patched through to a particular person's phone line by name. Dr. Moses Greeley Parker, a friend of Alexander Graham Bell was the first to question this system. The city where he loved had an outbreak of measles and he brought up that if the towns phone operator were to become sick, the replacements would have a hard time running the system. Numbers were the obvious choice as a better solution.

2. The First U.S. Area Codes

Area codes as an idea, first came about in late forties, but were not fully established until 1951 with the intro of New Jersey's 201 area code. Originally, there were 90 codes and they were given based on the population. Cities with the largest population were given codes that were

easier to dial on a rotary (yes, I said rotary) phone. For instance, New York is 212 and Los Angeles 213. More Rural places would get codes like 915.

3. The 411 on Emergency Numbers

Emergency numbers are different from country to country. The standard number for United States and Canada is 911, while in Europe the number is 112. 911 was originally known as nine-eleven but was later changed to nine-one-one as people were getting confused because they could not find the "11" button. In some states in the US it is possible to dial "3473" which spells fire.

4. Fictional Numbers for the Film Industry

There was originally a phone exchange named "Klondike" that was used to generate fake numbers for TV and films in America. The prefix 555 evolved from this system and have been set aside purely for fictional purposes. 01632 is the recommended code in the UK.

5. Last but not least, a Cool Phone Number Magic Trick

This is a cool phone number trick you can use to have your friends scratching their heads thanks to a little math riddle. Use the 7 digits of your phone number. 555-9875. Multiply the first three digits by 80. Add one. Multiply by 250. Add the last four digits of the original phone number. Add the last four digits again. Subtract 250 and divide by two. Mind Blown!

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