Most active commenters

    ←back to thread

    Phone numbers for use in TV shows, films and creative works

    (www.acma.gov.au)
    284 points nomilk | 20 comments | 30 Oct 25 21:49 UTC | HN request time: 0.627s | source | bottom
    1. jolt42 ◴[30 Oct 25 22:49 UTC] No.45766314[source]▶
    If Jenny's number was 555-5309 I don't think it would have worked in a song.
    replies(5): >>45766552 #>>45766659 #>>45766918 #>>45767620 #>>45768630 #
    2. aidenn0 ◴[30 Oct 25 23:17 UTC] No.45766552[source]▶
    KLondike 5-5309 kind of works though.
    replies(1): >>45768100 #
    3. drob518 ◴[30 Oct 25 23:29 UTC] No.45766659[source]▶
    Rumor was that everyone who had 867-5309 changed it shortly after it released. Except for Jenny. She had a fantastic dating life long before Tinder.
    replies(2): >>45766795 #>>45766814 #
    4. davidgh ◴[30 Oct 25 23:44 UTC] No.45766795[source]▶
    Rumor also has it that in virtually any major grocery store in the USA you can put in any (valid) area code and 867-5309 and it will work as a rewards member number to get you the discounts. I have done it when traveling and have had success.
    replies(2): >>45766820 #>>45767450 #
    5. user3939382 ◴[30 Oct 25 23:46 UTC] No.45766814[source]▶
    I heard of a business trying to sell it but couldn’t for licensing so sold the business and the number was incidental.
    6. silisili ◴[30 Oct 25 23:47 UTC] No.45766820{3}[source]▶
    Yeah, whoever owns those numbers has to be rolling in rewards points. It's my loyalty number at Kroger, Publix, Speedway, etc.

    Heck it might be worth trying to purchase said number for the rewards, come to think of it.

    replies(1): >>45768756 #
    7. hn_acc1 ◴[31 Oct 25 00:04 UTC] No.45766918[source]▶
    If you shop at Safeway (Albertsons?) and need a member's discount, but don't have a membership/number, 510-867-5309 works. Staff members have specifically mentioned it.
    replies(6): >>45766943 #>>45767508 #>>45768337 #>>45768576 #>>45768749 #>>45775627 #
    8. macintux ◴[31 Oct 25 00:08 UTC] No.45766943[source]▶
    There was a fairly large local grocery chain who just required the last 4 digits of the phone number to get a discount. I’m not sure who thought that was a good idea, but they’ve since gone out of business (I’m reasonably certain there’s no direct correlation between those facts).
    9. toast0 ◴[31 Oct 25 01:37 UTC] No.45767450{3}[source]▶
    I used one of those at CVS and the printout was rather long; even the cashier was impressed.
    10. madcaptenor ◴[31 Oct 25 01:48 UTC] No.45767508[source]▶
    Generally 867-5309 in the local area code works for most rewards programs.
    replies(1): >>45767601 #
    11. estimator7292 ◴[31 Oct 25 02:06 UTC] No.45767601{3}[source]▶
    I worked retail in the US, can confirm in multiple area codes
    12. saghm ◴[31 Oct 25 02:10 UTC] No.45767620[source]▶
    Seven is an important digit for the cadence because its the only one with two syllables. I guess you could double-up the last two fives and say "zero" instead of "0" to make it fit.
    13. riffic ◴[31 Oct 25 03:31 UTC] No.45768100[source]▶
    Pennsylvania 6-5000 was a real phone number too

    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/PEnnsylvania_6-5000

    replies(1): >>45768314 #
    14. Nursie ◴[31 Oct 25 04:05 UTC] No.45768314{3}[source]▶
    Huh, I didn’t know the song, but I guess that explains the 80s movie “Transylvania 6-5000”…
    15. jrockway ◴[31 Oct 25 04:09 UTC] No.45768337[source]▶
    Something burned into my brain is "call 836-7000 or visit transitchicago.com" which was an announcement that played seemingly every 30 seconds on CTA buses back when I lived there. I was in California once and tried 312-836-7000 as the loyalty card phone number at Safeway and it worked. So I guess I'm not the only one. (847- 773- etc. would probably also work. That's why I thought the message was so cool... they got the number in every Chicagoland area code!)

    I have shared this story on Reddit before and I got banned from r/AskReddit for "doxing". That phone number is super secret and must not be publicized! Whoops!

    16. neilv ◴[31 Oct 25 04:59 UTC] No.45768576[source]▶
    One time I used 867-5309 at a chain store, the young male checkout clerk had an instant of a look of recognition, and promptly sang the number, really well.
    17. raw_anon_1111 ◴[31 Oct 25 05:09 UTC] No.45768630[source]▶
    For the old RNB crowd it was 777-9311…
    18. devilbunny ◴[31 Oct 25 05:38 UTC] No.45768749[source]▶
    (xxx)555-1212 works surprisingly often. I've used it more than a few times while traveling.

    About ten years ago or so, Kroger finally integrated the loyalty programs across all their brands of stores (City Market, Harris Teeter, Kroger, King Soopers, Ralphs, Fred Meyer, and others, but those are the ones I have been in), so you can use pretty much any older area code you like to try it out.

    19. devilbunny ◴[31 Oct 25 05:40 UTC] No.45768756{4}[source]▶
    I would assume that as many are using it for the discount, there are at least a substantial portion who use it for gas discounts at Kroger gas stations. You can get up to 30 cents per gallon off if enough has been spent lately.
    20. bebb ◴[31 Oct 25 19:14 UTC] No.45775627[source]▶
    It's funny to see where that number ends up. Even on government websites, e.g. https://staging.housingbayarea.mtc.ca.gov/listing/ext/40d6d4...