# What was the old telephone number to get the time? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [August 22, 2014, 6:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-was-the-old-telephone-number-to-get-the-time/696177 "2014-08-22T06:19:11Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Leaffan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/leaffan/32/299_2.png) [@Leaffan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Leaffan)\ **Post date:** [August 22, 2014, 2:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-was-the-old-telephone-number-to-get-the-time/696177/21 "2014-08-22T14:03:30Z")
> [@netracer61](#): > > … there was another number you could dial then hang up and the phone would ring, cant remember that one though. Here it was 41091, and it would ring but with an extended length and less pause time in between. ---
**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:** [August 22, 2014, 2:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-was-the-old-telephone-number-to-get-the-time/696177/22 "2014-08-22T14:44:08Z")
Ours was 555-1212, for both time and weather. Yes, the phone company did actually use 555 for something. ---
**Author:** ![kopek](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kopek/32/337_2.png) [@kopek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kopek)\ **Post date:** [August 22, 2014, 2:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-was-the-old-telephone-number-to-get-the-time/696177/23 "2014-08-22T14:46:46Z")
PA it was WE6-1212 --------- gave you time and temp. ---
**Author:** ![johnpost](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/f17d59/32.png) [@johnpost](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/johnpost)\ **Post date:** [August 22, 2014, 2:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-was-the-old-telephone-number-to-get-the-time/696177/24 "2014-08-22T14:55:17Z")
> [@Chronos](#): > > Ours was 555-1212, for both time and weather. Yes, the phone company did actually use 555 for something. 0100 - 0199 are reserved for fake phone numbers. the rest could be real. ---
**Author:** ![rjk](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/ed655f/32.png) [@rjk](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rjk)\ **Post date:** [August 22, 2014, 3:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-was-the-old-telephone-number-to-get-the-time/696177/25 "2014-08-22T15:06:40Z")
**Zyada** remembered 844-6611 from her childhood in Fort Worth. It still works for time and weather, and an ad for some bank. The weather is apparently different, depending on the exchange you are calling from. I don’t remember the number in Saskatchewan when I was growing up, but have the impression it was something like x11. I think the callback number was similar. ---
**Author:** ![Missy2U](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/3bc359/32.png) [@Missy2U](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Missy2U)\ **Post date:** [August 22, 2014, 3:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-was-the-old-telephone-number-to-get-the-time/696177/26 "2014-08-22T15:19:08Z")
> [@netracer61](#): > > It was 976-1212 in virginia, there was another number you could dial then hang up and the phone would ring, cant remember that one though. In Chicago too. Or was 976-1212 weather? DARN IT!!! Now I have to call my mother and ask her or it will be making ME crazy all day! ---
**Author:** ![jtur88](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/e9c0ed/32.png) [@jtur88](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jtur88)\ **Post date:** [August 22, 2014, 3:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-was-the-old-telephone-number-to-get-the-time/696177/27 "2014-08-22T15:48:58Z")
They still exist. According to my area-wide telephone directory, there are time and temperature numbers in Yoakum, Hallettsville, Ganado and Goliad, Texas. When you dial the number, you get a brief ad from the sponsor, and the date, time, temperature, and forecast. ---
**Author:** ![Amateur\_Barbarian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/59ef9b/32.png) [@Amateur\_Barbarian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Amateur_Barbarian)\ **Post date:** [August 22, 2014, 4:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-was-the-old-telephone-number-to-get-the-time/696177/28 "2014-08-22T16:10:04Z")
I once fulfilled a Cecil-like inquest by calling POPCORN right at 2:00 am on Daylight Savings Day. It went from “The time is One Fifty Nine and Fifty Seconds” to “The time is \ Exactly!” and “…and Ten Seconds” until it hung up after about a minute. When I called back a few minutes later, it was “…Three Oh Two and Twenty Seconds.” I am not sure how the system handled the change over, but it was in an indeterminate state for at least a minute or so. All of the time recordings were done by the voice of Ma Bell, whose name is in a reference at hand but uselessly indexed under her name, which I can’t remember. I met her once in my telephony industry days. ---
**Author:** ![janis\_and\_c0](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/janis_and_c0/32/21_2.png) [@janis\_and\_c0](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/janis_and_c0)\ **Post date:** [August 22, 2014, 4:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-was-the-old-telephone-number-to-get-the-time/696177/29 "2014-08-22T16:14:32Z")
> [@Amateur\_Barbarian](#): > > I_snip_All of the time recordings were done by the voice of Ma Bell, whose name is in a reference at hand but uselessly indexed under her name, which I can’t remember. I met her once in my telephony industry days. Jane Barbe ? ---
**Author:** ![Kimballkid](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/b5a626/32.png) [@Kimballkid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kimballkid)\ **Post date:** [August 22, 2014, 4:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-was-the-old-telephone-number-to-get-the-time/696177/30 "2014-08-22T16:19:47Z")
> [@Omar\_Little](#): > > Well I guess the time and temperature would be different in every town to some degree. Celsius or Fahrenheit degrees? 😃 We just called the operator. 555-1212 I remember as information, but it may have given the time and temperature also. ---
**Author:** ![Roderick\_Femm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/roderick_femm/32/14875_2.png) [@Roderick\_Femm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Roderick_Femm)\ **Post date:** [August 22, 2014, 4:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-was-the-old-telephone-number-to-get-the-time/696177/31 "2014-08-22T16:20:48Z")
In Portland, Oregon, if my memory is correct, RAWBEEF (729-2333) also worked for the time, maybe before POPCORN but it carried on for quite a while after POPCORN started. This would have been in the 50’s and 60’s. ---
**Author:** ![dude77](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ce73a5/32.png) [@dude77](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dude77)\ **Post date:** [August 22, 2014, 4:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-was-the-old-telephone-number-to-get-the-time/696177/32 "2014-08-22T16:24:08Z")
still 305-324-8811 in dade county ---
**Author:** ![gazpacho](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/6f9a4e/32.png) [@gazpacho](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gazpacho)\ **Post date:** [August 22, 2014, 4:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-was-the-old-telephone-number-to-get-the-time/696177/33 "2014-08-22T16:29:45Z")
> [@Isilder](#): > > the number in Southern California is still +714-853-1212. In northern California dial 916 > POP CORN. These numbers do not work for me in San Diego. ---
**Author:** ![Amateur\_Barbarian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/59ef9b/32.png) [@Amateur\_Barbarian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Amateur_Barbarian)\ **Post date:** [August 22, 2014, 4:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-was-the-old-telephone-number-to-get-the-time/696177/34 "2014-08-22T16:32:05Z")
> [@janis\_and\_c0](#): > > Jane Barbe ? Jane Barbie, actually. That let me look it up in one of the most idiosyncratic and annoying reference manuals I’ve ever seen, where “Barbie, Jane” was “see: Jane Barbie” and for which there is no additional (or useful) cross-references. Nothing like an entry you can only find if you already know it. She attended some trade shows and I met her late in her career. ---
**Author:** ![johnpost](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/f17d59/32.png) [@johnpost](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/johnpost)\ **Post date:** [August 22, 2014, 4:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-was-the-old-telephone-number-to-get-the-time/696177/35 "2014-08-22T16:32:18Z")
> [@Amateur\_Barbarian](#): > > All of the time recordings were done by the voice of Ma Bell, whose name is in a reference at hand but uselessly indexed under her name, which I can’t remember. I met her once in my telephony industry days. Jane Barbe Joanne Daniels Pat Fleet all did voice work for the phone company. ---
**Author:** ![SylverOne](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/c0e974/32.png) [@SylverOne](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SylverOne)\ **Post date:** [August 22, 2014, 4:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-was-the-old-telephone-number-to-get-the-time/696177/36 "2014-08-22T16:51:20Z")
The number for Time and Temperature is still in service where I live, and whenever I’m out shopping and they ask for a phone number, I always give that number. ---
**Author:** ![Flyer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/flyer/32/7298_2.png) [@Flyer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Flyer)\ **Post date:** [August 22, 2014, 4:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-was-the-old-telephone-number-to-get-the-time/696177/37 "2014-08-22T16:52:39Z")
Just in case anybody is interested, the current phone number for the time is (303) 499-7111. That’s the atomic clock in Boulder, CO. Mind you, you have to convert it to your time zone, but nothing’s perfect. ---
**Author:** ![Amateur\_Barbarian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/59ef9b/32.png) [@Amateur\_Barbarian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Amateur_Barbarian)\ **Post date:** [August 22, 2014, 5:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-was-the-old-telephone-number-to-get-the-time/696177/38 "2014-08-22T17:13:33Z")
> [@johnpost](#): > > Jane Barbe > Joanne Daniels > Pat Fleet > > all did voice work for the phone company. Jane B. (officially Barbe, widely known as Barbie) is the long-time one and the Voice of Time as we know it. At a trade show, it must have been around 2000 (she died in 2003), someone asked her to “do the voice.” She belted out, “The Time is… RETIRED… EXACTLY!” Cracked up everyone in earshot. ---
**Author:** ![Skald\_the\_Rhymer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ecccb3/32.png) [@Skald\_the\_Rhymer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skald_the_Rhymer)\ **Post date:** [August 22, 2014, 5:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-was-the-old-telephone-number-to-get-the-time/696177/39 "2014-08-22T17:18:51Z")
In Memphis it’s 526-5261. Still works, at least as of a week ago. ---
**Author:** ![CurtC](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/ce73a5/32.png) [@CurtC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CurtC)\ **Post date:** [August 22, 2014, 6:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-was-the-old-telephone-number-to-get-the-time/696177/40 "2014-08-22T18:22:43Z")
> [@Chronos](#): > > Ours was 555-1212, for both time and weather. Yes, the phone company did actually use 555 for something. Are you sure you’re remembering that right? \-555-1212 was the standard for directory assistance. If I was in Texas and wanted help finding the phone number for a person in New Mexico, I would dial 505-555-1212. That worked anywhere in the country. I guess your local exchange could have set it up so that someone calling that number from within the same area code would get the T&T. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-was-the-old-telephone-number-to-get-the-time/696177.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-was-the-old-telephone-number-to-get-the-time/696177.md?page=3)