[Telecom] Louisiana town changing its 666 phone prefix

> "REEVES, La. After decades of living with what Mayor Scott Walker=20
>> calls a stigma, residents of this southwest Louisiana village are=20 >> getting a new telephone exchange, one without the biblical=20 >> connotations attached to their current 666." >>=20 >Only in America. Sigh.

And not only Louisiana.

I often park in lot "1" at the University of Maryland at College Park. The spaces are numbered, and - you guessed it - jump from 665 to 667, so that no one need worry about having to use the parking space of the Beast.

Dale Neiburg

Dale Neiburg ** NPR Satellite Operations ** 202-513-2640

"The radio business is a cruel and shallow money trench, a=20 long plastic hallway where thieves and pimps run free, and=20 good men die like dogs. There's also a negative side." --Hunter S. Thompson

IIRC, Valley Forge, PA had 666 and no one cared. Still is in use, AFAIK.

I know of buildings skipping the 13th floor (though not all), but I wasn't aware that 666 was so troubling.

In answer to the question about why 9 for 911, the Bell Labs Record around the time it was first developed should answer that question. I believe it was used to avoid mistakes and because the other codes were in use. Note that there were still places with 11n when 911 came out. 211 used to be the for Long Distance and may have been in use in some places.

Area codes 212, 213, 312, etc,. were assigned to those large cities because of the fewest dial pulls.

As to the expression, "You can get in on the ground floor", I believe it refers to joining an organization when it was still small and starting out, then you or your investment would grow along with the organization.

***** Moderator's Note *****

I'll stick with the elevator: the ground floor is the best one when you have to walk up. Ergo, getting in on the ground floor is a savvy move for a company looking to start or expand, since it saves a lot of steps.

Bill Horne Temporary Moderator