Phone numbers

Why, when any of the characters gives out a phone number, do they say KL5-xxxx, instead of 555-xxxx? Is this a New York thing?

Standard television jargon. All TV show phone numbers start with 555.

Back before they started listing phone numbers in all numbers the first two digits stood for the exchange, and they were based on words, some of them based on neighborhoods. KL stood for Klondike, MU stood for Murray Hill; in the town where I grew up GI stood for Gilbert and SW stood for Swarthmore. Up until about forty (?) years ago the standard way to give your phone number was GI7-xxxx.

"Boho Mojambo" wrote in message news:Yg7%c.13974$vy.13872@attbi_s52...

On Mon, 13 Sep 2004 21:43:10 -0400, "Jack McCullough" wrote:

Yea, and in my town FU stood for F..k You

"Rolando" wrote in message news:Uv6%c.16468$[email]...

In the old days, I would say early sixties, in NY, where I grew up, that's how it was. BE-6 or BEnsonhurst-6 was the prefix, after, and I am guessing or disremembering about 1964ish BE-6 became 236-XXXX, if that makes sense. I guess "they" thought all digits was more modern. Karen It's Kramer's world, we just pay rent

In article , "Frayed" wrote:

For more fun with old time telephone exchanges, see:

<http://ourwebhome.com/TENP/TENproject.html>

• Mark

Very cool information. Thanks. I knew there had to be something to this. Kind of interesting that Jerry would incorporate this bit of history into the show.

"Mark Mellin" wrote in message news:[email]...

I thought they used 555 as the pre-fix because NO PHONE NUMBERS exist with the first 3 numbers 555. Therefore some poor soul in New Jersey is not bombarded with phone calls from idiot viewers seeing if "the number is real'. Side note- I recall hearing that Tommy Tutone used the actual phone number of a local sheriff in his one hit song -"Jenny- 867-5309" and it was not appreciated by the sheriff.

Gee, I wonder why? A whole generation of kids were getting stoned and calling his house!

What's the over/under on how many times he picked up his phone and heard, "Is Jenny there? heh heh!"

Well, yea, the 555 prefix is used for that reason. My original question was why they say "KL5" instead of 555.

"DFrank1068" wrote in message news:[email]...

the

bombarded

number of

http://archives.cbc.ca/IDC-1-75-1139-6262/science_technology/telephones/clip7#

Click on the "Did you know".

"Rolando" wrote in message news:osc%c.16649$[email]...

was

with

Girls give me 555 numbers all the time. But I don't have the nerve to call them. Afraid of rejection Have they been brushing me off?

capitian wrote in news:[email]:

Does any of the numbers spell out 555-NO-ELAINE?

I don't remember exactly when the prefixes "officially changed" to three numbers, but my sister still says "MU-5", or "Murray Hill-5" (instead of "685") when she's talkin' phone numbers... probably because that's all we heard growin up.

Ask her. She'll say, "What could it hurt?... It's a neighborhood thing."

jg

In article , Jeff Gagnon wrote:

Right, and some prefixes carry a certain cachet, which may or may not be important to some New Yorkers, perhaps in analogy to Elaine's woes when assigned a new area code in _The Maid_:

(from <http://membres.lycos.fr/tnguym/telephones2.html>) Elaine gets a new area code '646' because the rest of New York City '212' is all used up - causing a new boyfriend to dump her. [The Maid]

• Mark

Oh it's got cachet baby! It's got cachet up the yin-yang!

In article , Cyrus Afzali wrote:

No, I actually was thinking of prefixes or exchanges from times of yore, when they too had some sort of geographical meaning (though perhaps not in NYC?).

Now everybody has to dial a one first? Even when they've been given a fake number? Blimey!

• Mark