# Tell us an interesting random fact you stumbled across (Part 2) **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [July 25, 2024, 3:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-2/1004785 "2024-07-25T15:06:02Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 214
**Author:** ![hajario](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hajario/32/171_2.png) [@hajario](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hajario)\ **Post date:** [March 5, 2026, 4:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-2/1004785/4261 "2026-03-05T16:58:45Z")
> [@Nyvaak](#): > > It probably started out that way (I’m guessing here) but in more populous areas it evolved into a system that just included memorable words. I grew up in the PYramid-8 exchange, had an uncle in the LIncoln-1 exchange and a friend whose number was in IVanhoe-9 I concur. Where I lived in West Los Angeles was 39 which was EXmont. Nearby was 65 which was OLympic which was around Olympic Blvd which was named for the 1932 Olympics. ---
**Author:** ![RealityChuck](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/realitychuck/32/195_2.png) [@RealityChuck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RealityChuck)\ **Post date:** [March 5, 2026, 7:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-2/1004785/4262 "2026-03-05T19:08:00Z")
Small towns usually had one exchange, but a city needed more numbers. Originally, they were just two letters and four numbers, but that added a number to the prefix (MUrry hill 7 in NYC, for example). The town next door to me had up to three digits on the phone number until they standardized it in the early 60s. All calls were handled by an operator and you could say “355, please” and be connected. They added a leading zero (or two and even three) for these. ---
**Author:** ![billy-jack](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/ac91a4/32.png) [@billy-jack](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/billy-jack)\ **Post date:** [March 5, 2026, 7:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-2/1004785/4263 "2026-03-05T19:29:04Z")
> [@hogarth](#): > > My grandparents were part of a party line and calls to them were identified by two long rings and one short ring. My grandparents were on one, too. My aunt was on the smae line, jus different rings. My aunt and my grandmother used to listen to each others calls. When we got our telephone (I was a junior in high school at the time) we were on a party line, too. The son of one of our neighbors on the party line started dating a young woman in who lived a couple of hundred miles away in the next state over and he started talking to her for a couple of hours a day on the telephone in the evenings. My parents looked at getting a private line and discovered that it was less expensive to get all four lines on the party line. So they did that. We ended up with four lines – one downstairs in the living room, one downstairs in my parents bedroom, one upstairs, and one out in the shop. So that gave us all four lines on the party line. It didn’t matter which ring, you answered it. So four different telephone numbes. But our telephone service was out of the next state and our area code was different from the aera code in the next state where our telephone was out of. And one prefix for the handful of telephones in our state and another prefix for the telephones covered in the next state. And the telephone company’s wasn’t sophisicated enough to keep them straight so you could call any number in our exchange with either area code and either prefix. So for each telephone, you had a choice of four numbers (including the area code and the prefix). Since we had four numbers, one for each phone on our private party line, we had sixteen different numbers to call home. That turned out to be useful. Back then, it was more expensice to call intrastate long distance than interstate. So someone in our state could call us with the other state’s area code and pay interstate charges. ---
**Author:** ![billy-jack](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/ac91a4/32.png) [@billy-jack](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/billy-jack)\ **Post date:** [March 5, 2026, 7:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-2/1004785/4264 "2026-03-05T19:46:22Z")
> [@Crafter\_Man](#): > > When I was on the elevator, I was most fascinated by how dangerous it was when it was in motion. If someone were to stick their head over the gate, their head would be gone in a matter of seconds. The first time I ever went up to the top of a grain elevator, the man-llift inside the grain elevator was a platform that only had a chain across the doorway. Also, there was no floors except at ground level and at the very top. It was open all the way down between them. I was in junior high and stood as far away from the doorway as possible. There wre four of us inside and plenty of room for more, but I’d hate to see that crowded. The man-lift that I’ve been on the most time is not large enough for two people. One cold Sunday night in the winter about five years ago, I had to go up to the top of the elevator I have to go up most.. I was the only one around and didn’t tell anyone where I was going. About half way up the grain elevator, the mam-lift came to a sudden stop when I shifted my weight and wouldn’t move. I tried calling out on my cell phone, but had no coverage inside there. I was resigned to spending the night up there but after about five minutes, it started working again. The lights were on the whole time so it wasn’t a power issue. My guess is that when I shifted my weight, I activated an emergency brake that held it there for about five minutes before releasing. ---
**Author:** ![fachverwirrt](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/94ad74/32.png) [@fachverwirrt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/fachverwirrt)\ **Post date:** [March 5, 2026, 7:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-2/1004785/4265 "2026-03-05T19:55:59Z")
> [@digs](#): > > But my “interesting random fact” is that I had a friend whose number took forever to dial with a rotary dial: 588-8080… you had to push those 8’s and Zeros all the way around the dial, then waaaaait for it to clickclickclick back before you could enter the next number. We had a rotary phone. Back before the Internet, if you lost power, you would need to call the power company to report the outage. We lived quite rurally, so we couldn’t count on neighbors to make the call; if we didn’t, our power might very well not get fixed. The number was something like (making this up) 1-800-988-9090, which took forever. Once, after a big storm, I kept getting a busy signal and had to dial that number dozens of times. My fingers were very tired. ---
**Author:** ![billy-jack](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/ac91a4/32.png) [@billy-jack](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/billy-jack)\ **Post date:** [March 5, 2026, 8:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-2/1004785/4266 "2026-03-05T20:48:52Z")
> [@fachverwirrt](#): > > We had a rotary phone. Back before the Internet, I was surprised to rum across a cell phone that looked like an old style desk phone including a rotary dial. Except for the cord, they don’t look unusual. It might be fun to have something like that to take with you when you go to eat. Set it on your table (or on the counter at the drug store lunch counter) and be ready if someone wants to talk to you. Hopefully, it would also have the old style ringer, too. But it turns out that you can also get a portable cell phone with a rotary dial: [![](https://odditymall.com/includes/content/rotary-cellphone-0.jpg) ](https://odditymall.com/includes/content/rotary-cellphone-0.jpg) ---
**Author:** ![Lumpy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lumpy/32/446_2.png) [@Lumpy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lumpy)\ **Post date:** [March 5, 2026, 9:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-2/1004785/4267 "2026-03-05T21:31:47Z")
> [@Melbourne](#): > > I knew someone who sent a stamp through the mail. Address on the back. > > I tried it, but it didn’t work for me. I may not have used the correct postage, but it probably just got lost anyway. Nowadays it would be below the minimum dimensions for mailed items. ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [March 5, 2026, 11:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-2/1004785/4268 "2026-03-05T23:26:21Z")
> [@digs](#): > > And we used those letters on the phone keys! Like _CH_umley-477 (named for the area near Chumley Ravine… later translated to 244-7700). “Garfield one, two three two three” Let’s see who recognizes it. ---
**Author:** ![Folacin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/folacin/32/3195_2.png) [@Folacin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Folacin)\ **Post date:** [March 6, 2026, 3:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-2/1004785/4269 "2026-03-06T15:55:48Z")
> [@Chronos](#): > > Garfield one, two three two three I cheated and googled it - you’d have to be local to know it. On the other hand, Pennsylvania 6, 5000 is more likely to be recognized? ---
**Author:** ![Earl\_Snake-Hips\_Tucker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/earl_snake-hips_tucker/32/3269_2.png) [@Earl\_Snake-Hips\_Tucker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Earl_Snake-Hips_Tucker)\ **Post date:** [March 6, 2026, 4:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-2/1004785/4270 "2026-03-06T16:08:10Z")
The ‘music,’ such as it was, for the ‘Hamster Dance’ was originally written and performed by 11-time Grammy winner Roger Miller in the Disney cartoon “Robin Hood” (1973). Hamster Dance speeded it up to the squeaky rendition ---
**Author:** ![Dr.Drake](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ad7895/32.png) [@Dr.Drake](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dr.Drake)\ **Post date:** [March 6, 2026, 4:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-2/1004785/4271 "2026-03-06T16:19:42Z")
Is Pennsylvania 6-5000 PA6-5000 or PE6-5000, and was this unambiguous to everyone but me? ---
**Author:** ![Folacin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/folacin/32/3195_2.png) [@Folacin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Folacin)\ **Post date:** [March 6, 2026, 4:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-2/1004785/4272 "2026-03-06T16:27:47Z")
I don’t actually know, but I assume PE, since the song long predates the USPS two letter abbreviations. ---
**Author:** ![garygnu](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/garygnu/32/2924_2.png) [@garygnu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/garygnu)\ **Post date:** [March 6, 2026, 4:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-2/1004785/4273 "2026-03-06T16:35:54Z")
> [@Jackknifed\_Juggernaut](#): > > This reminds me of the trick where kids would call their parents “collect”. Parents would decline the call, as just the call attempt itself informed them that the child was safe or reached their destination. Then, of course, there’s “You have a collect call from Bob Wehadababyitsaboy.” ---
**Author:** ![Frodo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/frodo/32/302_2.png) [@Frodo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Frodo)\ **Post date:** [March 6, 2026, 4:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-2/1004785/4274 "2026-03-06T16:37:42Z")
Of the Northern Virginia Wehadababyitsaboys? ---
**Author:** ![RealityChuck](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/realitychuck/32/195_2.png) [@RealityChuck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RealityChuck)\ **Post date:** [March 6, 2026, 5:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-2/1004785/4275 "2026-03-06T17:36:22Z")
> [@Dr.Drake](#): > > Is Pennsylvania 6-5000 PA6-5000 or PE6-5000, and was this unambiguous to everyone but me? PE. It was always the first two letters. NYC has the Murray Hill exchange and advertisers had to make it clear their phone number prefix was MU. ---
**Author:** ![PatrickLondon](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/patricklondon/32/4422_2.png) [@PatrickLondon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PatrickLondon)\ **Post date:** [March 7, 2026, 12:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-2/1004785/4276 "2026-03-07T12:40:03Z")
There was a folky lament for the loss of named exchanges and the introduction of direct dialling in London: THE TELEPHONE SONG by Sydney Carter Standing alone in the damp and the dark Of a filthy old phone box in Finsbury Park I dialed Fremantle they give me a FRO, I asked for a Primrose, they give me a PRO. CHORUS So, Say who you are, love, and not ‘Hello’ Give me your name and give me your number. Say who you are, love, and not ‘Hello’ If I press button ‘A’ all my pennies will go. My mother is waiting at Lancaster Gate, I promised to phone at a quarter to eight. I’ve done all the things that they tell me to do But instead of my mother I keep getting you. There’s many the girl that I’ve got to know Through a fault on the line of the GPO, I’d do it again but it wouldn’t be right. I promised to telephone mother tonight. ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [March 7, 2026, 1:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-2/1004785/4277 "2026-03-07T13:18:49Z")
> [@Dr.Drake](#): > > Is Pennsylvania 6-5000 PA6-5000 or PE6-5000, and was this unambiguous to everyone but me? When I was in college, the band traveled with the basketball team to a tournament, and we were staying in the Hotel Pennsylvania. Everyone joked about how we already knew the hotel’s phone number… until someone tried to call it and failed. Because we assumed PA. ---
**Author:** ![Elmer\_J.Fudd](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/elmer_j.fudd/32/1211_2.png) [@Elmer\_J.Fudd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elmer_J.Fudd)\ **Post date:** [March 7, 2026, 1:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-2/1004785/4278 "2026-03-07T13:29:11Z")
> [@PatrickLondon](#): > > There was a folky lament for the loss of named exchanges and the introduction of direct dialling in London: In the States, Allen Sherman had this response… [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/hCFLanFgUPI/maxresdefault.jpg "The Let's All Call up AT & T and Protest to the President March") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hCFLanFgUPI) ---
**Author:** ![Melbourne](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/b5e925/32.png) [@Melbourne](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Melbourne)\ **Post date:** [March 7, 2026, 11:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-2/1004785/4279 "2026-03-07T23:32:42Z")
> [@PatrickLondon](#): > > If I press button ‘A’ all my pennies will go. I don’t know if America ever had “Button A” phones. In London (Finsbury Park) and Australia, there were public telephones where you loaded the coins, then pressed button 'A" to connect the microphone. If you didn’t press the button, you could get your coin back. ---
**Author:** ![Lucas\_Jackson](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lucas_jackson/32/303_2.png) [@Lucas\_Jackson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lucas_Jackson)\ **Post date:** [March 8, 2026, 3:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-2/1004785/4280 "2026-03-08T15:04:28Z")
> [@Railer13](#): > > The song was written by Jerry Jeff Walker. He released it as a single in 1968, and it peaked at #77 on the Billboard chart. I believe it was based on an actual event - JJW’s stint in jail. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-2/1004785.md?page=213) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-2/1004785.md?page=215)