555 (telephone number)

File:Ghostbusters 555 2368.jpg

The oft-used fictional phone number 555-2368, as seen in the movie Ghostbusters

In North America, telephone numbers with the prefix 555 are widely used for fictitious phone numbers in television shows, films, computer games, and other media. Not all numbers that begin with 555 are fictional—for example, 555-1212 is one of the standard numbers for directory assistance throughout the United States and Canada. In fact, only 555-0100 through 555-0199 are now specifically reserved for fictional use, with the other numbers having been released for actual assignment. How exactly this will intersect with the many uses of 555-2368 (long the "standard" fake number) by AT&T and other telephone companies, remains unknown. The number "2368" is a carryover from "EXchange 2368", which was common in old telephone advertisements. This represents "Exchange Central", with 2368 being the numeric version of "CENTral" in alphabetic dialing.

Area code 555 in the North American Numbering Plan is reserved for Directory Assistance applications.

In movies and television

The phone companies started encouraging the producers of television shows and movies to use the 555 prefix for fictional telephone numbers, roughly during the 1970s. One of the earliest uses of a 555 number can be seen in Panic in Year Zero! (1962), with 555-2106. In older television shows from the 1950s or 1960s, "KLondike 5" or "KLamath 5" was used, as at the time the telephone exchanges used letters. More contemporary works set in this period typically use this convention as well. For example, Dr. Emmett Brown's 1955 phone number in Back to the Future is "Klondike 54385".

The use of 555 in cinema stems from an earlier derivation than supposed phone company promotions in the 1970s - having been used in many films from 1930s, or earlier, onwards.

One of the main reasons the prefix exists is to avoid accidentally using real phone numbers in movies and television programs because viewers frequently call the numbers used. An example of this situation is with the 2003 film Bruce Almighty. The makers of the movie opted not to use the prefix, and several people whose phone numbers matched one mentioned in the film were inundated with callers asking for "God", and the number was edited out for television airings of the movie and on most copies of the DVD. Another widespread example is Tommy Tutone's hit 1982 song "867-5309/Jenny", which is a valid number in many area codes. Some of these numbers reportedly still receive prank calls asking for "Jenny". In 1992, filmmaker Michael Moore unthinkingly included footage of himself reciting his telephone number in the documentary Pets or Meat: The Return to Flint. He received 314 phone calls in just the first day following its broadcast on PBS.

Before "555" or "KLondike-5" gained broad usage, and before touchtone phones became standard, scriptwriters would sometimes invent fake exchanges starting with words like "QUincy" or "Zebra". The letters "Q" and "Z" were not used on the old dial phones.

Some movie or television producers, such as those of HBO's Sex and the City, Scrubs, and The Wire have acquired actual telephone numbers solely for the purpose of using them in the movie or on TV. For example, in the film Sneakers, a character is given anything he asks for; he asks for a lady's phone number. The director wanted to have a real phone number so that the two characters would seem actually interested in each other.

Alternatively, a show's producer might choose to use an actual phone number from the place they are portraying. During The West Wing Season 2 episode "In This White House", a character receives a call from phone number 202-456-1414. This is the actual switchboard number for The White House. The phone number was also used in the 1976 film All the President's Men and in 1994's The American President.

In an episode of NewsRadio, a woman gives lead character Jimmy James, who is interested in dating her, a 555 number. After a moment, he realizes "that's one of those made-up TV numbers!"

In other countries, where different numbering schemes are used, different conventions for fictional numbers are used. In the United Kingdom, the telephone regulator, the Office of Communications (Ofcom) has recommended that the area code 01632 be used (for detail see UK telephone numbering plan); for specific area codes a special range of numbers (usually, but not always beginning 4960) has been reserved. The toll-free range 0808 1570xxx is set aside for fictitious uses in TV and radio.

Real uses of 555 numbers

Throughout North America, 1-XXX-555-1212 will connect to directory assistance for the specified area code and 1-800-555-1111 is the number used across North America to reach a Bell Canada operator.

In 1994, the North American Numbering Plan Administration began accepting applications for nationwide 555 numbers (outside the fictitious 555-01XX range). This would mean that a consumer from any area code could dial a seven-digit number such as 555-TACO, and the owners of that number could connect the call to the taco vendor nearest to the customer. However, according to a 2003 New York Times article, the desired functionality requires the cooperation of local phone authorities, and most phone companies have been reluctant to cooperate, perhaps wary of undermining the lucrative business of selling toll-free telephone numbers. Despite the fact that the service is virtually unavailable so far, most of the available 555 numbers have already been reserved.

See also

• North American Numbering Plan
• 2GAT123 - fictitious license plate number
• Channel 37 - fictitious TV station
• Fictitious domain name
• Morley - fictitious cigarette brand used in television and films
• Oceanic Airlines - fictitious airline used in television and films
• example.com
• Heisler Beer - fictitious beer brand used in television and films

References

• Personal 555 Number Is Still Mostly Fiction
• "Jenny Scan 2007 (list of all 867-5309 number responses by area code)". Retrieved 2007-04-19.
• Why doesn't the phone company use the "555" prefix?
• TV Acres Compilation of 555 numbers in movies

External links

• An extensive list of 555 numbers given in movies and TV shows
• North American Number Plan - page on 555 Numbers
• CNAC list of Canadian 555-xxxx information providers
• 555 SPOT: a growing list of 555 numbers
• The Straight Dope, Why do phone numbers in TV shows and movies all start with 555?