Slashdot Mirror

← Back to Stories (view on slashdot.org)

Portable Phone Numbers = Market for Cool Numbers

Posted by CmdrTaco on from the i-want-get-bent dept.

goombah99 writes "The New phone number rules that allow you to keep your phone number when you switch carriers has given rise to phone nascent number property rights. On E-bay you can bid on 867-5309 (made famous by Tommy Tutone's Jenny I got your number). As I write this the bid is over $8000 dollars with seven days to go. What other numbers are famous or valuable? Will we see a land rush like the internet names?"

24 of 395 comments (clear)

  1. Prank Calls by electrichamster · · Score: 5, Funny

    Great, now I can prank call the winnning bidder...

    1. Re:Prank Calls by Txiasaeia · · Score: 4, Funny
      No kidding? What's the use of having a "famous" phone number, esp. if you have to *pay* for all air time?

      >Hello?
      >>Oh hi! You won this number offa e-bay, right? Just thought I'd...
      >*click*

      --
      Condemnant quod non intellegunt.
    2. Re:Prank Calls by DJStealth · · Score: 3, Funny

      You think his/her cell phone will have that Jenny tune as a ringtone?

  2. What other numbers are famous or valuable? by zegebbers · · Score: 5, Funny

    Who wants to buy 3-14-159-265?

    --
    Unpretentious Sydney reviews by unqualified Sydney reviewers
    1. Re:What other numbers are famous or valuable? by twoslice · · Score: 5, Funny
      Who wants to buy 3-14-159-265?

      Shut your Pi hole!

      --

      From excellent karma to terible karma with a single +5 funny post...
    2. Re:What other numbers are famous or valuable? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 4, Funny

      256 also covers a large part of rural alabama. I'd bet they have no clue.

    3. Re:What other numbers are famous or valuable? by killerbobbarker · · Score: 4, Funny

      I want a number like 222-222-2222. That way, when someone asks what my number is, I call tell them: "Just keep pressing 2's... when you hear me, you can stop."

  3. 288-3825 by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 3, Funny

    Which spells BUT-FUCK. Please, don't ask me why I know this.

  4. Nerdy? by isNaN · · Score: 5, Funny

    You'll have to be a *real* nerd to actually buy a "famous" phone number!

    ohh... wait... forgot I was on /. there for a while ;)

    --
    No, i don't like sigs...
  5. eBay by ThomK · · Score: 5, Funny

    Why use eBay? Just call the guy.

    --

    TK

  6. It is a fake! by twoslice · · Score: 5, Funny
    On E-bay you can bid on 867-5309 (made famous by Tommy Tutone's Jenny I got your number).

    I called the number and there was no Jenny there. - Just some guy calling me an asshole for calling him at 3am...

    --

    From excellent karma to terible karma with a single +5 funny post...
  7. My pot dealer has by hackstraw · · Score: 3, Funny


    xxx-9333 (weed)

  8. You can't beat Creative Printing by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Funny

    515-382-5968.

    For those too lazy to find a phoneagram script, their number equates to 515-FUC-KYOU.

    I searched Google but couldn't come up with any other real examples of 382-5968. I would imagine most telcos know about it and don't assign the number, I'm surprised someone managed to actually get it in Iowa.

  9. Can you slashdot a phone number? by ggvaidya · · Score: 5, Funny
    867-5309, eh?

    Can a phone number be slashdotted? :) I think we're about to find out!

  10. Re:If that number costs $8,000... by telstar · · Score: 4, Funny
    "How much is 36-24-36 going to cost?"
    • It depends how many hours you pay her to stick around for...
  11. Re:Lucky Phone Numbers by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 3, Funny

    Wired magazine had an article a couple years ago about Woz's quest to get a one-digit phone number. The closest he got was 800-888-8888, until the 888 toll-free code was made. So he grabbed the all-8 number and immediately started getting crank calls with weird gurgling sounds on the other end. Turns out lots of little kids just find a phone dial and bang on the same button for a while. :)

  12. ironic number by JustKidding · · Score: 5, Funny

    Here in the Netherlands, you can always call the local police station by dailing 0900-8844, which spells 0900-TUIG.
    Tuig means scum in dutch.

  13. Re:That's 362-4360 by Vargasan · · Score: 3, Funny

    "36-24-36"

    She sounds hot! What's her name?

    --
    Putting the romance back into necromancer.
  14. The one *I* want to own is... by artemis67 · · Score: 4, Funny

    1-900-867-5307.

    Sure, I'll answer it all freakin' day long. For a modest charge of $24.95 per call.

    1. Re:The one *I* want to own is... by FurryFeet · · Score: 4, Funny

      You'll be waiting by the phone, while the guy that got 1-900-867-5309 gets all the money.
      That's why literacy is a good thing.

  15. didyaknow that 8675309 is prime? by pedro · · Score: 5, Funny

    Gawd, I'm such a geek :)

    --
    Brak: What's THAT?
    Thundercleese: A light switch.. of TOTAL DEVASTATION!
  16. Most Useful Business I Can Think Of... by Pollux · · Score: 4, Funny

    Owning the number would be more useful for a small-medium business. There is a service company in my area that has xxx-867-5309 and they can put it in their commercials knowing that people will remember it. For a business this is a very valuable thing.

    Ya know, this number's gonna be phone-bombed like mad, and for $14,000 (current bid as of this posting)? I can only think of ONE BUSINESS that would want this many calls...

    Phone-sex hotline.

    "That's right, for a good time, you can FINALLY call Jenny at 867-5309!"

  17. Re:That's 362-4360 by Prior+Restraint · · Score: 5, Funny

    36-24-36? Only if she's 5'3".

  18. Re:Urban Legends Reference Pages: Music (Jenny 867 by ConceptJunkie · · Score: 4, Funny

    My phone number at the time was an anagram of 867-5309. It was 537-0869. I only got prank calls from dyslexic people.

    --
    You are in a maze of twisty little passages, all alike.