Buzz
Whenever an actor in a film or TV show starts reading off a phone number, viewers instinctively know that the first three digits will be 5-5-5. But why did 555 become the go-to prefix for fake phone numbers, and are any of these 555 numbers actually real? Let’s explore the answers.
Why do movies and TV shows rely on the 555 number for fakes? Consider anyone who once had the phone number 867-5309, which became infamous after Tommy Tutone’s hit song. Some segment of the population—likely mostly adolescent boys—finds it amusing to call any number they spot on screen. To prevent such prank calls, the entertainment industry began using the 555 prefix as early as the 1950s. Back then, it was known as “KLondike 5” or “KLamath 5,” in line with the old exchange naming system.
It’s difficult to pinpoint exactly why 555 became the standard for fake numbers. In Easy as Pi: The Countless Ways We Use Numbers Every Day, author Jamie Buchan suggests that the repetition of the digit made the combination easy to remember, helping it catch on. Buchan also points out that since no major U.S. cities had names starting with the letters J, K, or L (which are assigned to the number 5 on a phone), the KLondike/KLamath prefix wasn’t highly sought after.
Since the early 1970s, at least one 555 number has been available for callers to dial and receive a response—555-1212 is a standard number for directory assistance. The other 555 numbers are mostly known for being fake, used in films and TV shows. Notably, 555-2368 has reached a special level of fame, likely due to its appearance in old phone advertisements. Calling 555-2368 will connect you with the Ghostbusters, the hotel room from Memento, Jim Rockford from The Rockford Files, Jaime Sommers from The Bionic Woman, and more.
Real Fake Numbers
What you might not know is that there are actually several 'real' 555 phone numbers. Since 1994, the North American Numbering Plan Administration has allowed individuals and businesses to apply for their own 555 numbers. These numbers were meant to work across the continent; dialers could call 555-XXXX and reach the same number regardless of the area code. The idea was to offer a universal number, like one for a taxi, that would work anywhere in the country.
Things didn’t unfold as planned, though. While many people and businesses claimed their 555 numbers—except for the range 555-0100 through 555-0199, reserved for fictional use—they soon realized that owning a number doesn’t do much if you don’t also have a phone company to connect it. Phone providers balked at the idea, arguing that setting up the system would be prohibitively expensive. In 2003, Verizon told The New York Times that adding nationwide 555 service would cost them $108 million. Verizon offered to set up the 555 numbers for owners, but the same Times article noted that this required a $2,500 setup fee per area code.
Some skeptics believe the phone companies were deliberately dragging their feet to prevent 555 numbers from eating into the profits of 800 numbers. While that theory may have some validity, the 555 system still hasn’t been implemented in any significant way. The list of entities and individuals that own these numbers is an amusing read, mostly consisting of newspapers, hospitals, random individuals, and the state of Nevada.
