Why was 911 chosen as the emergency phone number?
369683
Hello !\n\n"The number 911 was chosen by borrowing the 9 from the British number and choosing 11 because it was similar to the numbers in 2-1-1 (long distance), 4-1-1 (information, later called "directory assistance"), and 6-1-1 (repair service), which had already been in use by AT&T since 1966."\n\n\n© ßogdan @ CyE CORP.
1128668
911,,, for you u stalker
240956
911 operater can pen point the phone and have the local police the look into this area right now tell them about the child and he may be in danger. Your phone bill has a number toll free call them tell them your problem and concern see if they can help right now also i hope you find your son. Good Luck.
110444
you dont have to notify the authoritys as your 911 servece will infrom them of your adress for you.
942008
It was a band called 911. Good song. But not as good as the original. \n                    Hope this answered your question.
537431
I totally agree! If you have nothing to hide, why worry? \n\nIf it will get terrorist caught, drug dealers brought down, child predators put away, rapist thrown behind bars, etc.\n\nWhat a wonderful world it would be..\n\nPersonally, I thought the CIA flagged calls from terrorist all along! I was so surprised to find out that it wasn't so. I feel much safer knowing that this is being done now... Maybe that is why we haven't had another 911.
776506
In short, no.\n\nWhen a person dials 911 on a traditional phone, computers at the phone company route the call the the proper center based upon the number you are calling from if it is a landline.  \n\nIf you dial 911 using a cell phone the call is often routed by the phoen company's computers based upon the location of the cell tower, which might not be the right call center for the jurisdiction of the incident.  Your call must then be transferred to the correct center for processing.\n\nIn either case, the routing of the call is happening at the phone company's computers.\n\nBut with VOIP (Voice Over Internet Protocol) phone calls, the call is routed differently.  If you are calling another VOIP user on the same network  (one skype user calls another) the call is never handled by the phone company (unless it is also the ISP).  If you use a VOIP account to call a landline phone, the call does not enter the phoen company's switching system until it is near the recipient of the call, possibly in another state or country!  \n\nThe limitations of VOIP calls means that it is difficult to determine where the call originates from.  That information is needed to determine which call center should receive the call for a 911 call.\n\nThe only way to use a VOIP account to dial emergency services is to learn an administrative phone number for the emergecny communications center in your area.  Still this could be a problem based upon how calls are sometimes transferred for further processing prior to dispatch.\n\n911 centers are continuing to look at emerging technologies.  In the future it may be possible cal 911 by SMS text message, instant message, or VOIP.  For now, a landline phone or cell phone is still the way to go.
312701
911..!!! dont waste time on the comp
311367
If you do phone them 24 times in a row you are an absolute idiot.  You are tying up the telephones at the station.  If a real emergency occurs the people may not get through.  If you do keep phoning I do hope they find you and charge you.
433388
I've always used the numbers at the bottom.  It worked for me...Maybe there are A LOT of people trying to get on that do-no-call list!
614850
because they dont want anyone to know where they are calling from. Or, they dont want their name to come up on your caller id.  Or the cant afford a phone, thats why they are criminals
1112311
911,lol,jk-*67 how do u not kno that????
231467
You know, everyone seems awfully eager to rush to judgement here.  It's a legitimate question, come on!\n\nI'd call 911 and let them take it from there.
15335
The new emergency number had to be three numbers that were not in use in the United States or Canada as the first three numbers of any phone number or area code, and the numbers had to be easy to use. The Federal Trade Commission along with AT&T (which held a monopoly on phone services at that time) originally announced the plans to build the first 911 system in Huntington, Indiana. Bob Gallagher, President of the Alabama Telephone, was annoyed that the independent phone industry had not been consulted. Gallagher decided to beat AT&T to the punch line and have the first 911 emergency service built in Haleyville, Alabama.  \nI got that from: http://inventors.about.com/library/inventors/bl911.htm\nHere is more information: http://www.911dispatch.com/911/history/\n\nAs for the similarties, we do not know for sure, but it may have been that Bin Laden was trying to make a symbolic gesture by using the date 9/11.
765507
99% probabilty of another 911. No one knows from where and how and with what it will strike. They are taking things beyond imagination, may be from movies. The real world is converting into real movie world. In movies every thing is possible and know in real is becoming possible.
1165652
Depends on your city,  but normally the police department has just a regular listed number you call for non emergencies.  Some cities also have special non emergancy numbers.\n\nYou can still of course merley call 911and report any need for a police officer.\n\nNow will they come, that again is what city you live in,  I live now in a little town called Sparta TN,  I saw two men in a lot beside my house very early one morning, I called the police since they seemed odd looking around on the ground.\nIn three minutes I had two police cars and another car showed up in a few more mintues ( slow day I guess)\n\nIn Atlanta GA, they won't come if you car has been broken into, they merely give you another number to call and just do a police report over the phone.  I even actually caught someone who broke into a car in front of my house,  my wife called 911 three or four times but they were so busy with more serious police calls, it took over an hour to get a police officer to show up.  ( by that time, I had to release this person after discussing the error of his way with him)
665419
In 1968, AT&T chose the number 911 because it met the requirements that it be brief, easy to remember, dialed easily, and that it worked well with the phone systems in place at the time. The number 911 was chosen by a staff member of Senator Ernest Gruening, a Democrat from Alaska who had taken a trip to Europe and had seen that the British had a 9-9-9 nationwide emergency number. The number 911 was chosen by borrowing the 9 from the British number and choosing 11 because it was similar to the numbers in 2-1-1 (long distance), 4-1-1 (information, later called "directory assistance"), and 6-1-1 (repair service), which had already been in use by AT&T since 1966. Senator Gruening introduced a "sense of Congress" resolution to introduce the concept which was immediately supported by the fire and police chiefs' associations and attracted many cosponsors. It was introduced during the Vietnam War when funds were severely restricted, which is why it was introduced as a "sense of Congress" (meaning that the idea was one that Congress backed but wasn't funding) resolution rather than a regular funded bill. The introduction attracted national news attention at the time, as well as an editorial in Time Magazine. The resolution is part of the public record and can be obtained from Congress.