Originally published at: Entertaining phone numbers to call | Boing Boing
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Where’s 867-5309? There’s nothing more entertaining than a good time with Jenny.
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Is Beechwood 4-5789 still in operation? What’s the 10-digit replacement?
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C’mon now, how is there no number to use for an emergency rickroll?
Or is there…?
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I had a list of funny phone numbers to dial as a teenager.
NSFW, “At the moan, the time will be…”,“Ahammmoooah”
**Source:**Youtube clip of “Mona” from c90s-00s, posted by user GaryGamino on 2009 09 03
Mona Time was funny, and accurate. There was also an actor that has his voice reel on an 800 number. I discovered it when I called the phone number printed on an early solid state voice recorder called the Voice-It; I can’t remember if weather the number on the device was printer wrong of if I dialed the number wrong, but for a time it was funny to dial a number and hear some guys voice demo reel.
I also had a list of “short numbers” and telephone tools, one of which told you what number you were dialing from. Also, as a side note, if you are ever in an elevator and the phone rings- pick it up and ask them to verify the number- should you want to know what that number is. I was surprised that those phones worked just like regular phones, less the ability to dial any number out.
Edit to add: This brought back a flood of memories of weird phone numbers of the past. The “short codes” were truncated numbers that within a local exchanged did things like do a ring call back or verify a number and they changed form time to time. I also remember an automated phone tree that said something like, “This is an unmanned number. This system will notify all agencies in the chain. At the tone, slowly give your location, the phone number and the type of incident, then repeat the location and phone number your are to be contacted at.” Then it would just click off, eerie and haunting. I think there were a few numbers that were guessed to be numbers stations as they just answered with a set of seemingly random numbers. I also remember when I worked telemarking for a very short while (it was terrible and I needed work), someone would come across answering machines from people that were offering personal services. Somebody there kept a list of the more salacious phone numbers, and when I was hired one of the “stars” slipped me a phone number to dial- and yes they were offering services by the hour, alluding to what they were offering by using their most over the top seductive voice- and they like Mona, ended with a long faux orgasmic moan.
There was also a number that had a human read weather report. I called more than once and sometimes it was semi-current and other times it hadn’t been updated.
I’ll end this flood of memories with a fond one, NORAD once had a phone number where one could call to get updates on Santa. As a young kid I listened to the local AM news station reporting where Santa was, but as a preteen I got some warmth calling that number, even though I knew exactly where Santa was.
I don’t think these memories would have been resurrected had Boingboing not posted this article.
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Back in the day, there was a phone number with an operator training recording: “5 cents ding, 10 cents ding-ding, 25 cents gong!”
To get to it, you had to dial 604 information, interrupt with 2600 Hz, then dial an extension with 2600 from there. That probably doesn’t work these days.
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The Marvelettes were on the Motown label, so area code 313 for Detroit.
(313) 234-5789. A quick google finds [name redacted] who had that number until Aug 2016, when they moved to Minnesota.
Confirmation:
“Timing is everything. Marvin Gaye, Mickey Stevenson, and George Gordy, brother of Motown Records boss Berry Gordy Jr., wrote “BEechwood 4-5789,” but, for reasons unknown, it wasn’t recorded by The Marvelettes until May 19, 1962, 8 days after the switchover, and wasn’t released until July 11, 2 months later. With Detroit’s Area Code, this number would now be (313) 234-5789.”
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https://unclemikesmusings.blogspot.com/2021/05/scores-on-this-historic-day-may-11-1962.html
"…the oldest telephone number still in use in New York City today is that of the Hotel Pennsylvania in Manhattan, across 7th Avenue from Penn Station (for which the hotel was named) and, since 1968, the current Madison Square Garden. The number was PEnnsylvania 6-5000. So if you had a phone with a dial, you would find the number 7, which was for the letters P, R and S (Q was bypassed); and then the 3, for D, E and F; and then 6, 5, and the zero three times.
The Glenn Miller Orchestra often played the Hotel’s ballroom, and a song was composed for them, with the title of “PEnnsylvania 6-5000.” To this day, if you call the number, you first get the 1940 recording of the Orchestra speaking the number."
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+1-301-688-6311.
Ask for Paul or Georgie.
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What this post made me think of was a recent spam email claiming I had renewed my McAfee subscription for a year at a cost of ~$260 USD.
Well. It’s an obvious scam. So I called them just to hear who picked up the phone. I was curious because it actually used a toll free number, which gives the veneer of legitimacy at least. For reference: 888-263-8904
Nobody picked up the phone. It was an automated message; nobody to screw with. So I hung up.
I have now received ~5 calls back because of my calling the number provided in the spam email. This particular scam they seem like they are reliant on people calling the number in the email. So it is very low-effort to waste their time - just call once.
I have picked up a few times when they called back. Mostly I pretend to be distracted, and either indicate I am fine with the credit card charges, or that I am busy and they should cancel the subscription, thanks, goodbye. But I am sure creative people with more time on their hands could have fun with it.
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The phone number 634-5789 is a reference to the Marvelettes’ 1962 hit “Beechwood 4-5789”.
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Ask for Janice.
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For a decade I used a crazy home-brewed comedy message on my answering machine, and later on voicemail. At a certain point complete strangers started calling just to play the message to their friends and I had to ditch it.
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We have a functioning pay phone in the foyer of our library. I’m tempted to call the number from there just to mess with them!
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I have been known to write
For a good time call 202 762 1401
on walls around DC.
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