The use of 555 in popular media isn’t just a fun in-joke, though. Silly as it might sound, it serves as an important way to protect real lives, and defend people’s privacy. 

For example, look back to 1981, when a hit single titled “Jenny,” by Tommy Tutone, soared across the airwaves. Of course, nobody ever calls this song “Jenny” today. They call it 867-5309, the phone number that blasts over and over again in the song’s chorus. It’s a catchy tune, and a fun song, but it was significantly less fun for all the real folks who had this number, according to Snopes, and then had to deal with their phones ringing off the hooks with prank calls. Lest you think this activity has slowed down today, a New Jersey disc jockey actually asked for the famous phone number in 2004, and reported that he received around thirty such calls a day. 

So yes, real numbers have real consequences. Unfortunately, Hollywood sometimes forgets this lesson. In 2003, when the Jim Carrey flick Bruce Almighty made the mistake of using a non-555 number, a Florida woman named Donna Augustin told People Magazine that she was receiving a flood of calls, sometimes at 1am, from people asking to speak to God.