This was a fascinating read. I remember going down this rabbit hole back in the days of SIM-unlocking cell phones. GSM has a lot of "secret" numbers; HowardForums (HoFo) had a list of them back in the day.
Their "secret government phone numbers" post was even more interesting!
When's the last time anyone actually dialed a phone number by hand into their own phone? These days, you just click a tel: URL and the phone number is in your dialer, ready to go.
So the idea that shorter dialing codes would ever be a hot commodity seems pretty far fetched.
I'm sure this is a rarity these days, but it's actually really important to memorize at least a few important phone numbers of all kinds so they're accessible no matter what as long as you're conscious and able to communicate to people around you. It's actually sort of shocking how few people remember even their most basic, daily use numbers (parents, wife, husband, kids, kid's school etc) and would be helpless to call anyone crucial if they lost their phone and also have an emergency. Bad idea that.
This was a fascinating read. I remember going down this rabbit hole back in the days of SIM-unlocking cell phones. GSM has a lot of "secret" numbers; HowardForums (HoFo) had a list of them back in the day.
Their "secret government phone numbers" post was even more interesting!
Man, I love reading esoteria like these
When's the last time anyone actually dialed a phone number by hand into their own phone? These days, you just click a tel: URL and the phone number is in your dialer, ready to go.
So the idea that shorter dialing codes would ever be a hot commodity seems pretty far fetched.
I'm sure this is a rarity these days, but it's actually really important to memorize at least a few important phone numbers of all kinds so they're accessible no matter what as long as you're conscious and able to communicate to people around you. It's actually sort of shocking how few people remember even their most basic, daily use numbers (parents, wife, husband, kids, kid's school etc) and would be helpless to call anyone crucial if they lost their phone and also have an emergency. Bad idea that.
100% agree. It's insane how there are many people who don't know their partner's 10-digit phone number by memory.
I dial numbers by hand into my own phone frequently.
> These days, you just click a tel: URL
This is something I very rarely do, because it's very rare that I'm getting a phone number from a website I've browsed to on my phone.
I tend to dial my husband's phone number by hand because it's often quicker than searching or scrolling through my contacts
I do this all of the time. But, yeah, shortcodes aren't nearly as necessary as they were pre-iPhone.