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{{examples}}
== [[Advertising]] ==▼
▲== Advertising ==
* A liquor brand once ran a series of billboards that resembled personal ads, complete with real phone numbers. Those who called heard a recorded message about the product.
* There was a television ad in the 1980s about an old guy who drove a very old, reliable car. The point was that this brand of car would last forever if you serviced it fastidiously. If you didn't believe that, you were invited to call the old guy at his real phone number.
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* LifeLock, a company offering identity theft protection, not only offered a $1 million guarantee that your identity would not be stolen, but also dared thieves to do so in its advertising. Todd Davis, the owner, placed his real Social Security number (457-55-5462) in commercials, averting this trope. Inevitably, within days of the commercial airing, [http://www.wired.com/politics/security/commentary/securitymatters/2008/06/securitymatters_0612 someone was able to take out a $500 payday loan in his name].
== [[Anime]] and [[Manga]] ==▼
▲== Anime and Manga ==
* In ''[[Initial D]] Fourth Stage'', the URL of the racing team Project D is "<nowiki>http://project.d</nowiki>". ".d" is not a valid real-life top-level domain.
* Manga in general place symbols like Xs and triangles over some of the phone numbers displayed outside a business or an address book. Same can go for license plates since Japanese plates are mostly numbers.
== [[Comic Books]] ==▼
== Comedy ==▼
* Comedian Mitch Hedberg had a variation in his act. "I would like the phone number 222-2222. Whenever someone asked about it, I could just say, 'Press 2 for a while. When I answer, you'll know that you've pressed 2 enough.'▼
* In the stage show of the British comedy series ''[[Bottom]]'', they reveal the character's phone number to be 444-4444.▼
** These are actually both totally legitimate phone numbers in the US and Canada. Local taxis, newspapers and food delivery companies routinely try to request these numbers as they're easy to remember.▼
*** A law firm in [[Milwaukee]] uses this long number, but after their original ad announcer retired the new guy has given up on the continuous repetition and just said "Dial 414, then all fours". Another law firm has the number (444-4444) in Syracuse.▼
* Then there's the [[Incredibly Lame Pun|incredibly lame bilingual pun]]: A German boy asks an English-speaking girl for her phone number. She replies, "999-9999". The German boy says, "All right, don't tell me then."'▼
** [[Don't Explain the Joke|"Nein," pronounced like "nine," is German for "no".]]▼
* ''[[Monty Python's Flying Circus]]'' did a BBC album of some of their TV sketches in 1970, with the "Mouse Problem" sketch among them. What was added that wasn't on TV was the telephone number of Mr. A ("Although his ''real'' name is George Jackson, 32A Milton Avenue, Hounslow, Middlesex. Telephone 01-246-2847.")▼
▲== Comic Books ==
* In the "Sam Spayed" story in ''[[Garfield His 9 Lives]]'', he once has to call the number 555-1234. (He's not good at remembering numbers.)
== [[Fan Works]] ==▼
▲== Fan Works ==
* [[Calvin and Hobbes|Calvin's]] parents' phone number, as shown in ''[[Calvin and Hobbes: The Series]]'', is apparently 555-7186.
* ''The [[Last Action Hero]]'' [[Lampshade Hanging|lampshades]] this trope when Danny pinpoints it to convince Jack Slater that they're [[Trapped in TV Land|inside a movie]]. Naturally, it doesn't convince him.
{{quote|'''Danny:''' "See? All the phone numbers start with 555!"
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* The ''[[Ghostbusters]]'' showed the same 555 number in their in-universe commercial (seen in this page's image) that Jim Rockford had on the TV series ''[[The Rockford Files]]''.
== [[Literature]] ==
* [[Junie B. Jones]] on Telephone Numbers: "Its name is 555-5555. It's hard to remember, because I keep forgetting the 5."
* [[Warren Ellis]]' novel ''[[Crooked Little Vein]]'': When told to call (555) 555-5555 for help, Mike demonstrates his detective skills by pointing out that the number won't work, as it's only used by Hollywood. To which the Chief of Staff responds, "We gave it to them. It works for us."
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* [[Nero Wolfe]] lived on West 35th Street, Manhattan; the number varied, but consistently put his house in the river.
* The [[Babysitters Club]] could be reached at KL5-3231.
* ''[[The Dresden Files
▲== Live Action TV ==
* ''[[iCarly]]'': 1-555-SEND-ME-A-SACK
* The "Broom Cupboard" episode of ''[[The Unit]]'' features a foreign phone number containing 5555
* ''[[24]]'' once used the illegal IP address version.
* A "KL5" phone number can be seen on a background poster in ''[[Ned's Declassified School Survival Guide]]'', raising the question of how many members of the target demographic would even ''recognize that as being a phone number''.
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* The KACL studio number in ''[[Frasier]]'' is 555-KACL.
* ''[[Doctor Who]]'': The Doctor's mobile phone number 07700 900461 was given out, causing thousands to [http://www.dailymail.co.uk/tvshowbiz/article-1032510/Dial-doctor-2-500-Dr-Who-fans-try-ring-Time-Lords-mobile.html try contacting him using it].
* The ''[[Law &
** Subtly lampshaded in one episode when the detectives themselves have this one pulled on them. The detectives have had a suspect's vital information given, and it lists an address. When an officer reads that address off to Detective Briscoe, he says a line to the effect of "The middle of the Hudson River."
** Another perp's home address was the Police Academy. One even had the gall to use the business address for One Police Plaza as his address. Sometimes, criminals ''do'' think of these things.
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* As noted above, for quite some time it was subverted with ''[[Scrubs]]''. Calling Turk's new cell number actually brought fans to a phone on the set, giving fans a chance to provide feedback or even just have a friendly chat with the cast and crew of the show.
* ''[[Earth: Final Conflict]]'' had ''several'' domains bought out and fake websites assembled with background data and character notes. As the show was made during the late 90's, it was one of the first to make extensive use of this, but considering the [[Gene Roddenberry|family]] behind it, it's not too shocking.
* ''[[Married... with
* ''[[Cold Case]]'' has 215-555-0196 in the episode ''Saving Sammy''.
* A Terry Gilliam-animated "commercial" on ''[[Monty Python's Flying Circus]]'' features Shrill Petrol with the new miracle ingredient GLC 942-4075 (after 6 PM, 942-4047).
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* 165 Eaton Place, the Bellamys' house on ''[[Upstairs, Downstairs]]'', doesn't exist. For the exterior scenes in the show, the producers used the real house at 65 Eaton and painted a "1" next to the address (as well as the adjacent houses).
==
* A dating columnist once put her real phone number on the cover of a [https://web.archive.org/web/20090104075552/http://www.timeout.com/newyork/articles/features/26283/call-julia magazine.]▼
* [[Nickelodeon]] magazine has a format for E-mail addresses and domain names for their pranks: they use the .not suffix as an [[Incredibly Lame Pun]] on .net, e.g., whatever@wherever.not or www.fakecompany.not.▼
* Renowned Russian rocker [[Boris Grebenschikov]] has a song about the phone number 2-12-85-06, which was a fake number... until the Russian area code system was changed and "2-" was added to a lot of numbers. There is now a washhouse in St. Petersburg that keeps getting calls from B.G. fans all over the country.
* [[Soulja Boy]]'s song "Kiss Me Thru The Phone" starts off by reading out a number. In the US, this number called a relevant recorded message. [http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/england/manchester/8127460.stm Fans in the UK were just bothering an innocent family].
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* The incomplete form used for a website name in the ''Animainiacs'' song [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HpzuIDPwEU4 "LA Dot"]"You can find me on my webpage spot w w w dot dot dot
* Glenn Miller's song "PEnnsylvania 6-5000" was - and still is - the number of Manhattan's Hotel Pennsylvania (+1-212-PE6-5000) where the band often performed in their network radio broadcasts. The hotel in turn served (and was named for) a train station on the Pennsylvania Railroad.
* The phone number in the [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fWNaR-rxAic music video] for [[Carly Rae Jepsen]]'s "Call Me Maybe".
== [[Newspaper Comics]] ==
* Aversion: The newspaper comic ''[[Dilbert]]'' once had a story line about a "Date-a-Dilbert" service. The cartoonist thought it needed a real phone number, so he put his own number in the strip. It got hundreds of calls, mostly from women who really wanted to date a Dilbert.
* In ''[[Ginger Meggs]]'', one of Ginger's friends has a poster up saying "Missing since 4:00PM Ph: XXXX XXX XXX". The phone number is of a colleague of the cartoonist.
== [[Periodicals]] ==
▲* A dating columnist once put her real phone number on the cover of a [https://web.archive.org/web/20090104075552/http://www.timeout.com/newyork/articles/features/26283/call-julia magazine.]
▲* [[Nickelodeon]] magazine has a format for E-mail addresses and domain names for their pranks: they use the .not suffix as an [[Incredibly Lame Pun]] on .net, e.g., whatever@wherever.not or www.fakecompany.not.
== [[Radio]] ==
* [[Douglas Adams]] used a seven-digit number for a measurement of probability in ''[[The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy]]''. Due to the Infinite Improbability Drive, the number turned out to also be the phone number of the Islington flat where Arthur met Trillian at a party. Unfortunately, Adams averted the trope and used the number of his own flat, also in Islington. The official script book contains a footnote that the tenant who lives there now has nothing to do with ''Hitchhiker'', and doesn't appreciate prank calls.
** In some editions of the five-book trilogy, Adams writes about how the whole story came to be. The anecdote concludes with a section called "How To Leave Earth." Adams suggests calling (in order) NASA, The White House, The Kremlin, and The Vatican, giving working phone numbers for each, averting the trope.
== [[Recorded and Stand Up Comedy]] ==
== Video Games ==▼
▲* Comedian Mitch Hedberg had a variation in his act. "I would like the phone number 222-2222. Whenever someone asked about it, I could just say, 'Press 2 for a while. When I answer, you'll know that you've pressed 2 enough.'
▲* In the stage show of the British comedy series ''[[Bottom]]'', they reveal the character's phone number to be 444-4444.
▲** These are actually both totally legitimate phone numbers in the US and Canada. Local taxis, newspapers and food delivery companies routinely try to request these numbers as they're easy to remember.
▲*** A law firm in [[Milwaukee]] uses this long number, but after their original ad announcer retired the new guy has given up on the continuous repetition and just said "Dial 414, then all fours". Another law firm has the number (444-4444) in Syracuse.
▲* Then there's the [[Incredibly Lame Pun|incredibly lame bilingual pun]]: A German boy asks an English-speaking girl for her phone number. She replies, "999-9999". The German boy says, "All right, don't tell me then."'
▲** [[Don't Explain the Joke|"Nein," pronounced like "nine," is German for "no".]]
▲* ''[[Monty Python's Flying Circus]]'' did a BBC album of some of their TV sketches in 1970, with the "Mouse Problem" sketch among them. What was added that wasn't on TV was the telephone number of Mr. A ("Although his ''real'' name is George Jackson, 32A Milton Avenue, Hounslow, Middlesex. Telephone 01-246-2847.")
▲== [[Video Games]] ==
* ''[[Uplink]]'' does both of these. It uses random phone numbers in almost all ranges (02, 05, 06, 07, 08 and 09 from memory) - the avoiding of 01 is almost certainly to force an appearance of non-residential numbers (the only use of telephone numbers is for individual people's voicemail systems). It also uses bogus IP addresses all the way down to 0 and up to 999. It does get one IP address right, though - your own gateway is at 127.0.0.1, the local host loopback IP.
* In the licensed NES game of ''[[Who Framed Roger Rabbit?]]'', a clue tells you to call Jessica Rabbit at a certain 1-800 number. (Of course, [[No Fourth Wall|this was an actual number that you, the player, were expected to call in Real Life so you could receive the necessary clues to continue the game]]. Many players, not knowing this, spent hours searching for an in-game phone that the characters could use. [[Guide Dang It]] indeed.)
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* The [[Manic Miner]] cheat code "6031769" is said to have been author [[Matthew Smith]]'s (Liverpool) telephone number at the time.
* In his ending in ''[[Marvel vs. Capcom 3]]'', Taskmaster [[Cut Lex Luthor a Check|advertises his mercenary training academy]] with the number given as 555-TASK. He still gets lots of signups though, as in the next 'panel' he's rolling in money. Presumably these numbers work in the Marvel universe.
* Somehow averted in ''[[Ripper]]'' - [[The Spoony Experiment|Spoony]] points this out.
{{quote|Spoony: For those of you playing at home, try calling these numbers and see who picks up!}}
* In the cult NES game ''[[Nightshade]]'', the hieroglyphs in the villain's hideout allegedly say, "Are you reading this? Then so are your customers! Contact Sutekh at [[Card-Carrying Villain|555-EVIL]]"
== [[Web Animation]] ==
* Parodied in the ''[[Homestar Runner]]'' episode "[https://web.archive.org/web/20131104135542/http://www.homestarrunner.com/senormortgage.html Senor Mortgage]" with the number 555-55-55855-55-5-SENOR-MORT-GAGE-TODAY.
** An early version of an early Homestar cartoon advertising a (fake, at the time) album of Strong Bad's greatest hits featured a real phone number, 1-800-BAD-SONG. The Brothers Chaps had assumed that no one would actually try to call it. They changed the cartoon shortly after a limo company complained that people were calling trying to purchase the album. The new phone number is 1-800-555-SBSINGS.
== [[Web Comics]] ==
* [http://www.irregularwebcomic.net/comic.php?current=1259 Ishmael's mother's number] in ''[[Irregular Webcomic]]''.
* [http://www.viruscomix.com/page400.html This] ''[[Subnormality]]'' comic: As North American area codes can't have 9 as a second digit, the number it uses [(590) 238-1665] isn't valid.
* ''[[The Adventures of Dr. McNinja]]'' goes all out: [http://www.drmcninja.com the main site] for this webcomic currently features his fake phone number (301-555-4982), fake fax number (301-555-4983), fake address (23 Haunted Wood Drive), but then subverts the trope by taking place in the very real Cumberland, Maryland. (After teasing readers to figure out where the doctor practiced, future stories featured the doctor purchasing an MTO sandwich from Sheetz and noting that "The real mayor of Cumberland gave my family a dog once.")
** [[Write What You Know]]: Although the 555 exchange is obviously fictional, 301 is indeed the area code for Cumberland, Maryland.
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* In ''[[Girls with Slingshots]]'' unlucky guy Jim gets a number from a girl which contains area code 555. He doesn't realize that it's a fake.
== [[Western Animation]] ==▼
▲== Western Animation ==
* A ''[[Rugrats]]'' Christmas episode had the phone number 555-NOEL. Confused, Angelica just typed in 555-5555... and actually got someone.
** Also, the episode where Angelica thinks she's going to get a baby brother. She calls in to a psychology-type show using the number 555-5555 (again).
* ''[[The Simpsons (animation)|The Simpsons]]'' also parodied this trope by having Chief Wiggum receive a lead in a case: a telephone number. "555- aw, geez, that's gotta be phony."
** Note that they got this number by using police equipment to ''trace the call.'' There's a reason that this man is the father of [[The Ditz]].
** Another episode featured Marge making a call to Chief Wiggum, which resulted in him getting mad and demanding to know where she lived so that he could arrest her - Marge then slowly comes up with the address 123 Fake Street. This turns out to be an aversion, however, since later in the episode Bart and Milhouse try to hide out from some people at...123 Fake Street. [[Hilarity Ensues]].
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** '''Kl'''ondike 5 was used as Homer's number when working as Mr. Plow.
* Used in ''[[Danny Phantom]]'' in the episode ''The Ultimate Enemy''. Mr. Lancer is making a phone call to Fentonworks and dials "555-1221".
* Gigi's number in ''[[Harvey Birdman, Attorney at
* In the ''[[Family Guy]]'' episode "Three Kings", when Richard Dreyfuss gives Roy Scheider his phone number, he starts off with 555. At which point Roy just tells him that if Richard doesn't want to give him his real phone number, don't lie.
** Don't forget [[Alan Rickman]]'s answering machine: "Hello. You've reached Alan Rickman at 555-0122."
* In ''[[Batman: The Animated Series]]'', there is an episode where Joker says that after his laughing gas, people are even laughing at a phonebook. Harley Quinn proceeds to read a few entries; all the numbers, naturally, start with 555.
* ''[[The Adventures of Jimmy Neutron]]'' had the number for turning in convicts be 555-555-5555.
* In the original 1987 ''[[DuckTales (1987)|DuckTales]]'', the Beagle Boys advertised a teleporting gas as insect repellant with a commercial giving the number 555-5-555.
* In ''[[King of the Hill]]'', Nancy Hicks-Gribble works for Channel 84, the joke being that prior to the 1980s, the highest channel that was issued to TV stations was 83.<ref>UHF 83 was the worst possible spot on the dial. 70-83 were mostly used for low-power rebroadcasters to fill gaps in the main stations' coverage; no North American terrestrial originating station has ever signed on above UHF 79. Ultimately, these channels were completely removed (in the early 1980s) to accommodate mobile telephone service.</ref> This could also be a joke on how "backwoodsy" Arlen is, given how low power stations in remote areas are/were usually stuck with high (undesirable) channel locations.
* Interestingly averted on an episode of ''[[Futurama]]''. The writers didn't want to use a 555 number, so they made a number with one of the digits a Greek lambda (784-36λ9). It also made it seem more futuristic.
* In ''[[Regular Show]]'' all the telephone numbers in the episode "Cruisi'n" start with this.
== [[Real Life]] ==
* Cartographers have always had to worry about others plagiarizing and reselling their maps - the problem being that it's very difficult to legally prove if someone copies their work, and (thankfully) it's also not possible to copyright reality or facts (which is what maps are ultimately based on). [https://web.archive.org/web/20081013203855/http://apb.directionsmag.com/archives/4513-Times-Change-No-More-Fake-Streets-in-Rand-McNally-Maps.html There used to be] a clever solution - the mapmakers would deliberately add a fake street in a nondescript area of the map. A fake street ''can'' be copyrighted, and if another map had the same fake street, it would give the original mapmaker solid proof of copyright infringement.
** It's still in use - Google Maps occasionally includes a one-way street that you can't drive onto, such as [https://www.google.ca/maps/place/45%C2%B026'36.0%22N+75%C2%B038'14.7%22W/@45.4418391,-75.6380798,17z/data=!4m5!3m4!1s0x0:0x0!8m2!3d45.443333!4d-75.637415 this one].
** One infamous example: [[wikipedia: Agloe, New York|
* Zig-zagged: circa the 1960s, the telephone number of WCBS in New York City (excluding area code) was 765-4321.
** A few places request this number deliberately to make it easy to remember. In [[Where the Hell Is Springfield?|Springfield]] it's a [https://www.springfieldrona.com hardware store]; in Prince Albert it's a [https://www.questclinic.ca medical clinic].
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