555/Headscratchers: Difference between revisions
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** Any number displayed with no country and area code will be tried everywhere - or at least everywhere local numbers happen to be that length. God's number in ''[[Bruce Almighty]]'' (page, 776-2323) was not in use in Buffalo (+1 716 776-2323) but it might be a radio station in Denver (+1 303), a news stand in Hull (+1 819) or a local church in yet some other area code. The DVD release changed the number to 555.
** [http://www.songfacts.com/detail.php?id=1670 This is why] [[wikipedia:Bruce Almighty#Telephone numbers|this trope ]] [[wikipedia:Diary (song)|is used]]. Note that Scrubs did do what was suggested with a real phone number to someone on set, and when the show ended, the number had to be taken out of service completely.
** And no, even 555 is not guaranteed to be free of individual subscriber's numbers... if dialled overseas. It's also (mostly) not reserved in area code +1-800. The reservations on 555 (information numbers), 950 (alternate long distance carriers), 959 and usually 958 (test numbers) are specific to the North American numbering plan. Codes which used to be safe (such as "area code 311") yesterday might dial City Hall today; the reservation on 0 or 1 in the second digit of North American numbers to indicate an area code was abolished in 1995 (so the "6060-842" which was a safe fake number to put on the B-side of the B52's "Rock Lobster" single at the end of the 1970's could well be somebody's working number today).
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