555 telephone number
Encyclopedia
Telephone number
s with the prefix 555 are widely used for fictitious telephone number
s in North America
n television
shows, film
s, 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 - except for the 800 area code where only 800-555-0199 is reserved - and the other numbers have been released for actual assignment.
Area code 555 in the North American Numbering Plan
is reserved for Directory Assistance applications.
All possible 555 numbers are documented in the International Directory of Fictitious Telephone Numbers: 2011 by Martin John Callanan
(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 exchange
s used letters and numbers in phone numbers. More recent works set in this period typically use this convention as well. For example, in Back to the Future
Dr. Emmett Brown
's 1955 phone number is "KLondike 5-4385" while the 1985 Jennifer Parker character writes the number 555-4823 on the clock tower flier telling Marty to call her at her grandmother's. In 2011, the fictional Netflix
Relief Fund satirized
the company's price increase of that year and used the fictional number 1-555-368-7147.
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.
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.
In the Seinfeld
episode The Pool Guy
, Kramer gets a new phone number which is 555-FILK, which he keeps getting wrong numbers from with 555-FILM (movie phone).
Many times in Rugrats
, the number 555-5555 is used. It's used for many businesses and places in the show.
operator.
Also, in some areas of cellphone reception, 1-800-555-1234, a commonly used fictional number, is Nations' Tel in the Pacific Northwest and may reach a number that claims to be in use by the IRS. It is now used by 'NCH Software of USA', a software development company.
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-TAXI, and the owners of that number could connect the call to a local car service. 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. Despite the fact that the service is virtually unavailable so far, most of the available 555 numbers have already been reserved.
In addition, 555 use is only restricted in North America. Neglecting this fact resulted in a lawsuit in the late 1980s: in his daily The Far Side
panel, cartoonist Gary Larson
included a graffiti of a 555 number by which prank call
s could be made to Satan
. When the panel was printed in Australia (where 555 was at the time a standard exchange), the owner of the 555 number became the subject of much harassment, and sued Larson and his syndicate for defamation. The suit was unsuccessful.
555 numbers are mentioned in the 1993 action film The Last Action Hero, starring Arnold Schwarzenegger
. The character of Danny Madigan (played by Austin O'Brien
) tries to convince Schwarzenegger's character that he is inside a movie by pointing out that 555 numbers give at most 9,999 possible telephone numbers(although there are technically 10,000 possible phone numbers: 0000-9999), clearly not enough for all phone users in Los Angeles. Schwarzenegger's character replies that area codes would solve that problem and O'Brien's character drops the subject.
The practice of publishing specific numbers assigned for fictitious use gained demand after some telephone customers were flooded by errant dialers using the phone number popularized by Tommy Tutone
with the song 867-5309/Jenny
.
Telephone number
A telephone number or phone number is a sequence of digits used to call from one telephone line to another in a public switched telephone network. When telephone numbers were invented, they were short — as few as one, two or three digits — and were given orally to a switchboard operator...
s with the prefix 555 are widely used for fictitious telephone number
Fictitious telephone number
Ranges for fictitious telephone numbers are common in most telephone numbering plans. All such numbers from around the world are documented in the International Directory of Fictitious Telephone Numbers: 2011 by Martin John Callanan...
s in North America
North America
North America is a continent wholly within the Northern Hemisphere and almost wholly within the Western Hemisphere. It is also considered a northern subcontinent of the Americas...
n television
Television
Television is a telecommunication medium for transmitting and receiving moving images that can be monochrome or colored, with accompanying sound...
shows, film
Film
A film, also called a movie or motion picture, is a series of still or moving images. It is produced by recording photographic images with cameras, or by creating images using animation techniques or visual effects...
s, computer games
Computer Games
"Computer Games" is a single by New Zealand group, Mi-Sex released in 1979 in Australia and New Zealand and in 1981 throughout Europe. It was the single that launched the band, and was hugely popular, particularly in Australia and New Zealand...
, 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
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
and Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
. In fact, only 555-0100 through 555-0199 are now specifically reserved for fictional use - except for the 800 area code where only 800-555-0199 is reserved - and the other numbers have been released for actual assignment.
Area code 555 in the North American Numbering Plan
North American Numbering Plan
The North American Numbering Plan is an integrated telephone numbering plan administered by Neustar which encompasses 24 countries and territories, including the United States and its territories, Canada, Bermuda, and 16 nations of the Caribbean...
is reserved for Directory Assistance applications.
All possible 555 numbers are documented in the International Directory of Fictitious Telephone Numbers: 2011 by Martin John Callanan
Fictional usage
The phone companies began encouraging the producers of television shows and movies to use the 555 prefix for fictional telephone numbers, roughly during the 1960s. One of the earliest uses of a 555 number can be seen in Panic in Year Zero!Panic in Year Zero!
Panic in Year Zero! , sometimes known as End of the World, is a science fiction film directed by and starring Ray Milland. The original music score was composed by Les Baxter...
(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 exchange
Telephone exchange
In the field of telecommunications, a telephone exchange or telephone switch is a system of electronic components that connects telephone calls...
s used letters and numbers in phone numbers. More recent works set in this period typically use this convention as well. For example, in Back to the Future
Back to the Future
Back to the Future is a 1985 American science-fiction adventure film. It was directed by Robert Zemeckis, written by Zemeckis and Bob Gale, produced by Steven Spielberg, and starred Michael J. Fox, Christopher Lloyd, Lea Thompson, Crispin Glover and Thomas F. Wilson. The film tells the story of...
Dr. Emmett Brown
Emmett Brown
Doctor Emmett Lathrop "Doc" Brown, Ph.D. is a fictional character and one of the lead characters in the Back to the Future film trilogy, in which he is the inventor of the first time machine, which he builds out of a DeLorean sports car...
's 1955 phone number is "KLondike 5-4385" while the 1985 Jennifer Parker character writes the number 555-4823 on the clock tower flier telling Marty to call her at her grandmother's. In 2011, the fictional Netflix
Netflix
Netflix, Inc., is an American provider of on-demand internet streaming media in the United States, Canada, and Latin America and flat rate DVD-by-mail in the United States. The company was established in 1997 and is headquartered in Los Gatos, California...
Relief Fund satirized
Satire
Satire is primarily a literary genre or form, although in practice it can also be found in the graphic and performing arts. In satire, vices, follies, abuses, and shortcomings are held up to ridicule, ideally with the intent of shaming individuals, and society itself, into improvement...
the company's price increase of that year and used the fictional number 1-555-368-7147.
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.
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.
In the Seinfeld
Seinfeld
Seinfeld is an American television sitcom that originally aired on NBC from July 5, 1989, to May 14, 1998, lasting nine seasons, and is now in syndication. It was created by Larry David and Jerry Seinfeld, the latter starring as a fictionalized version of himself...
episode The Pool Guy
The Pool Guy
"The Pool Guy" is the 118th episode of NBC sitcom Seinfeld. This was the eighth episode of the seventh season. It aired on November 16, 1995. The end credit states "In Memory of our Friend Rick Bolden"; Rick Bolden was one of the musicians who worked on the show's theme song.-Plot:Elaine befriends...
, Kramer gets a new phone number which is 555-FILK, which he keeps getting wrong numbers from with 555-FILM (movie phone).
Many times in Rugrats
Rugrats
Rugrats is an American animated television series created by Arlene Klasky, Gábor Csupó, and Paul Germain for Nickelodeon. The series premiered on August 11, 1991, and aired its last episode on June 8, 2004....
, the number 555-5555 is used. It's used for many businesses and places in the show.
Real uses of 555 numbers
Throughout North America, 1-XXX-555-1212 will connect to directory assistance for the specified XXX area code, 1-800-555-1212 will connect to directory assistance for all 1-800 numbers and 1-800-555-1111 will connect to a Bell CanadaBell Canada
Bell Canada is a major Canadian telecommunications company. Including its subsidiaries such as Bell Aliant, Northwestel, Télébec, and NorthernTel, it is the incumbent local exchange carrier for telephone and DSL Internet services in most of Canada east of Manitoba and in the northern territories,...
operator.
Also, in some areas of cellphone reception, 1-800-555-1234, a commonly used fictional number, is Nations' Tel in the Pacific Northwest and may reach a number that claims to be in use by the IRS. It is now used by 'NCH Software of USA', a software development company.
In 1994, the North American Numbering Plan Administration
North American Numbering Plan
The North American Numbering Plan is an integrated telephone numbering plan administered by Neustar which encompasses 24 countries and territories, including the United States and its territories, Canada, Bermuda, and 16 nations of the Caribbean...
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-TAXI, and the owners of that number could connect the call to a local car service. However, according to a 2003 New York Times
The New York Times
The New York Times is an American daily newspaper founded and continuously published in New York City since 1851. The New York Times has won 106 Pulitzer Prizes, the most of any news organization...
article, the desired functionality requires the cooperation of local phone authorities, and most phone companies have been reluctant to cooperate. Despite the fact that the service is virtually unavailable so far, most of the available 555 numbers have already been reserved.
In addition, 555 use is only restricted in North America. Neglecting this fact resulted in a lawsuit in the late 1980s: in his daily The Far Side
The Far Side
The Far Side is a popular single-panel comic created by Gary Larson and syndicated by Universal Press Syndicate, which ran from January 1, 1980, to January 1, 1995. Its surrealistic humor is often based on uncomfortable social situations, improbable events, an anthropomorphic view of the world,...
panel, cartoonist Gary Larson
Gary Larson
Gary Larson is the creator of The Far Side, a single-panel cartoon series that was syndicated internationally to newspapers for 15 years. The series ended with Larson's retirement on January 1, 1995. His 23 books of collected cartoons have combined sales of more than 45 million...
included a graffiti of a 555 number by which prank call
Prank call
A prank call is a form of practical joke committed over the telephone. Prank phone calls began to gain an America-wide following over a period of many years, as they gradually became a staple of the obscure and amusing cassette tapes traded amongst musicians, sound engineers, and media traders...
s could be made to Satan
Satan
Satan , "the opposer", is the title of various entities, both human and divine, who challenge the faith of humans in the Hebrew Bible...
. When the panel was printed in Australia (where 555 was at the time a standard exchange), the owner of the 555 number became the subject of much harassment, and sued Larson and his syndicate for defamation. The suit was unsuccessful.
555 numbers are mentioned in the 1993 action film The Last Action Hero, starring Arnold Schwarzenegger
Arnold Schwarzenegger
Arnold Alois Schwarzenegger is an Austrian-American former professional bodybuilder, actor, businessman, investor, and politician. Schwarzenegger served as the 38th Governor of California from 2003 until 2011....
. The character of Danny Madigan (played by Austin O'Brien
Austin O'Brien
Austin O'Brien is an American actor. He may be best known for playing the co-lead Danny Madigan in the Arnold Schwarzenegger-movie Last Action Hero, followed by his turn into romance as Nick Zsigmond in My Girl 2, and a part in both The Lawnmower Man and its sequel.Austin O'Brien got married on...
) tries to convince Schwarzenegger's character that he is inside a movie by pointing out that 555 numbers give at most 9,999 possible telephone numbers(although there are technically 10,000 possible phone numbers: 0000-9999), clearly not enough for all phone users in Los Angeles. Schwarzenegger's character replies that area codes would solve that problem and O'Brien's character drops the subject.
The practice of publishing specific numbers assigned for fictitious use gained demand after some telephone customers were flooded by errant dialers using the phone number popularized by Tommy Tutone
Tommy Tutone
Tommy Tutone is a New Wave band, best known for its 1982 hit "867-5309/Jenny", which peaked at #4 on the Billboard Hot 100. Although it is usually referred to as a San Francisco band, it was actually based in Willits, California, at the time that "Jenny" was released...
with the song 867-5309/Jenny
867-5309/Jenny
"867-5309/Jenny" is a song written by Alex Call and Jim Keller and performed by Tommy Tutone that was released on the album Tommy Tutone 2, on the Columbia Records label. It peaked at number four on the Billboard Hot 100 chart and number one on the Billboard Top Tracks chart in 1982...
.
See also
- Fictitious domain name
- Fictitious telephone numberFictitious telephone numberRanges for fictitious telephone numbers are common in most telephone numbering plans. All such numbers from around the world are documented in the International Directory of Fictitious Telephone Numbers: 2011 by Martin John Callanan...
Further reading
- International Directory of Fictitious Telephone Numbers: 2011, Martin John Callanan
- Personal 555 Number Is Still Mostly Fiction
- Why doesn't the phone company use the "555" prefix?
- TV Acres Compilation of 555 numbers in movies
- Fictional Telecom - Phone numbers for use in drama
External links
- http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/FiveFiveFive555 at TV TropesTV TropesTV Tropes is a wiki which collects and expands on various conventions and devices found within creative works. Since its establishment in 2004, the site has gone from covering only television and film tropes to also covering those in a number of other media such as literature, comics, video-games,...
] - An extensive list of 555 numbers given in movies and TV shows
- 555 SPOT: a growing list of 555 numbers
- North American Number Plan - page on 555 Numbers
- CNAC list of Canadian 555-xxxx information providers
- The Straight Dope, Why do phone numbers in TV shows and movies all start with 555?