"At the tone, Pacific Standard Time will be... Eight Thirty Three...and 10 seconds...*beep*
Posted by mcg_090@reddit | Xennials | View on Reddit | 171 comments
Blinkin1968@reddit
(920) 734-0123
BoredAccountant@reddit
My dad would call this line at least once a month so he could make sure all the clocks in the house were set correctly.
OneHumanBill@reddit
555-1212
DoveOnTheInternet@reddit
This is it. Way before you had to add your area code to everything
ArchitectVandelay@reddit
Fuck, I miss seven digit phone numbers.
weedtrek@reddit
Lol, I remember using four digit numbers and people complaining when our town switched to seven.
ArchitectVandelay@reddit
Wow, I didn’t know until just now that there was such a thing as a four digit phone number. Crazy times. I draw the line at 9 though. It’s getting ridiculous.
realitythreek@reddit
867-5309
GarblingCumfarts@reddit
I lived in an 867 area (south-west indiana) and that was a real number that they'd let just go to the answering machine. Sometimes they'd pick up just to fuck with people. It was like a reverse prank call.
primusperegrinus@reddit
I got it
jennifer_m13@reddit
Ours was 844- and any four numbers. It gave you the time and temp.
RockShowSparky@reddit
Ours was 853-1212, outlined a T on the keypad. At the tone, GTE time will be…
DjQball@reddit
No that was the local number for 411! The time number was 555-1234!
OneHumanBill@reddit
We also had a 1234 but I don't remember what it did. Maybe I even got them backwards?
SameSpecialist8284@reddit
123 in the uk.
stay_goldism_@reddit
499-1212 over here
HighRootz@reddit
853-1212 for me
Money_Magnet24@reddit
Same
Polymox@reddit
That was directory assistance for us.
modulus801@reddit
844-1212 for me. And it still works
PatronSaintOfCunts@reddit
233-3000
PumpkinThen@reddit
244-5611
Gweveraugh@reddit
GR 2-1212
LBadwife@reddit
I sent more than a handful of confused teenage boys to this hotline when they asked for my number back in the day 🤣
Sempophai@reddit
It helped when programming the VCR clock.
JacPhlash@reddit
Also helped with the power went out and you had to reset all the clocks that were plugged in
treemoustache@reddit
We also used the TV channel that had 24 hour weather (in text).
GarblingCumfarts@reddit
I liked it when it was the weather channel + infomercials. It was the best of both worlds.
dragon_fiesta@reddit
My hometown had a camera that panned across weather measuring stuff. In the summer a fly would get into the building and me and my friend would get way too excited about it showing up on tv
Steveseriesofnumbers@reddit
Some sweet ass smooth jazz on the Weather Channel.
KnownNormie@reddit
911-1212 still works
rm78noir@reddit
Damn straight.
Zarniwoooop@reddit
Also help when I was too high and didn’t trust my mind.
Sad_Training_1595@reddit
I feel this.
DomFunf@reddit
At the moan, the time will be... uhhh moan sounds
DangerBrewin@reddit
Had to scroll way too far to find someone else who remembers Mona!
DomFunf@reddit
She had a name?! Lol
DangerBrewin@reddit
The one I remember calling had a message that went something like “Hi, you’ve reached Mona. At the moan the time will be 9:19. Ahhh… Ahhhhh… AHHHHHHHHH!!!!
DomFunf@reddit
Yup thats the one
wild--ride@reddit
937-499-1212
Federal_Cookie@reddit
My friends and I used to dial 0 from a pay phone and ask the Operator.
GrindinWulf@reddit
Back when I was in the 5/6 grade, I used to call a number on three-way with my friends and we would play games. I think there was one where you hunted ghosts all touch tone based.
b33lzebubba775@reddit
We had something like that, and another one that told choose your own adventure style stories. "Press 1 to run away, press 2 to punch the monster on the nose..." something like that.
GrindinWulf@reddit
Exactly!!!
Old-List-5955@reddit
I still remember it, and it actually still works. (903)729-6011.
MadamInsta@reddit
CONNECTICUT: "SPRINGS" 777-4647
Now you have to add 203 area code.
AccountOfMyDarkside@reddit
Was everyone else's number (xxx)222-2222, or was that just my state?
Cephalopod_Dropbear@reddit
345-5611 Time and temp! And they had a joke of the day!
Meglade@reddit
I called it when I was expecting a phone call later than was allowed at my house. Just sat and waited for the call waiting beep (or fell asleep lol)
chattelcattle@reddit
Same same same.
Stop_Already@reddit
I used to call my bank and listen to the automation to wait for calls. Glad I’m not the only one. Haha.
KDiggity8@reddit
I THOUGHT I WAS THE ONLY ONE!!!
Except I used the local bus schedule line, or... HELLO AND WELCOME TO MOVIEFONE!
ialsohaveadobro@reddit
"...er... Why don't you just say the NAME of the movie you want to see?..."
KDiggity8@reddit
Love it!
ADMotti@reddit
Co-signed. I called the Channel 8 weather line in Cleveland when I was expecting a call after midnight from a girl 😂
ialsohaveadobro@reddit
Channel 8 you got me up late
Still too young (too young) to really date
But I know a sweet someone (someone) who will wait
Until I get that beep after the weather....
ArchitectVandelay@reddit
Absolute brilliance. I’m in awe 👏
working_and_whatnot@reddit
This is still broadcast on a handful of shortwave frequencies 24/7 to set atomic clocks and tune radios to. https://www.nist.gov/pml/time-and-frequency-division/time-distribution/radio-station-wwv
haymelz@reddit
Apparently 202 762 1401 still works?
dam58b@reddit
KC's still works. 8168441212
myfirstthrowawayhey@reddit
And golf tips..
Quetzalsacatenango@reddit
It was either that or drive by a bank.
According_Love2510@reddit
Pre-cellphone days, I used to give guys I didn’t like who were bugging me for my number the time and temp number from the bank one town over. Simpler times
Scarlett_Begonias_@reddit
765-742-1212
doodlefartss@reddit
I used to call the weather one to see what I should wear to school in the 80s.
Lazermissile@reddit
You could also call G R A N D M A (472-6362) for the time here.
jamessheldon444@reddit
Anyone ever do the trick where you can dial 958-xxxx (<-- last 4 of that phone's #), wait for the weird tone, hang up, and then the phone rings and does the same weird tone when you pick up?
Or the trick to get a free payphone call by sticking one side of an unfolded paper clip into the small hole under the dial pad, and the other in the center hole of the mouthpiece?
vabello@reddit
You still can. US Naval Observatory - 719-567-6742
MelHamRN@reddit
Yes, I called the Time and Temp line daily.
If able I’d wait for weather on the 8s on the TV to figure out what to wear for the day.
Then called the movie line to see if any good shows were playing.
truffles76@reddit
Flavor Flav put them out of business
erino3120@reddit
You called it when it was late and didn’t want the house phone to ring and you could answer the call waiting. But make sure you hang up that line because if you don’t when you hang up with your intended caller the phone will ring and it will be time and temp.
EastTXJosh@reddit
I'm sure they did it elsewhere, but in my little town when you called the number, you also got the temperature and weather forecast.
zffjk@reddit
US naval observatory Master Clock. Tick tick. At the ton, 0800 hours, three minutes, exactly. Beep.
augustwest30@reddit
I would use the shortwave radio station to set my clocks. I even had a clock that would set itself from the radio signal.
Gian_Luck_Pickerd@reddit
The US Naval Observatory Master Clock in DC still has a number that gives the time in Eastern Time and UTC.
202 762 1401
Hilsam_Adent@reddit
It also has two FTP servers connected to its master clocks, the primary in DC, tick.navy.mil and the backup in Colorado (the base is now under Space Force purview, but the clock still belongs to the Navy) tock.navy.mil. They're both Cesium Beam Clocks that are accurate to a few picoseconds.
stlredbird@reddit
The back of the phone book used to have numbers you could call to hear a joke, play trivia, all sorts of crap to do when you’re bored at Grandma’s.
Global-Jury8810@reddit
I know that voice was recorded by a real person, but the way that it’s played out is really unsettling.
musashi-swanson@reddit
“Time & temp”
I could also call to hear a recording of what movies were playing.
SameSpecialist8284@reddit
123 is the number here in the uk and it still works
https://youtube.com/shorts/6BlkfYSy2_E?si=C-3wW1f6JJsS9B5B
Voiced by Alan steadman.
boldone89@reddit
Or if you were fancy, you could spend $80 on a clock radio that you could turn to the naval observatory master clock, AM and FM. If you were REAL fancy, you could get all that AND a cassette player/recorder!
rm78noir@reddit
We used to get the time and current weather. Good times.
SubstanceNo1544@reddit
🍿
_ficklelilpickle@reddit
Ours was called the third stroke man.
“At the third stroke, it will be blah blah blah, and blah seconds. beep beep beep”
I forget the number now. 1194 maybe? This was in Australia.
billyjoelsangst@reddit
Before everyone had cell phones and smart watches this was often the only way to check the official time
Steveseriesofnumbers@reddit
ANY phone can do that.
Donkeh101@reddit
“At the third stroke, it will be 1:38pm”.
Aescwicca@reddit
(202) 762-1401
US Naval Observatory Master Clock... still works. Call it every so often for giggles. Used to use it to set my watch at work before I got one that syncs with the atomic clock out of NORAD automatically.
chicacherrie82@reddit
What about the phone line that, in addition to time and forecast, had choose your own adventure games, horoscopes, jokes of the day, serialized stories, etc?
It was called City Line where I am; Some reddit threads tell me it was Talking Fingers in some cities. Maybe it had other regional names too.
Calling that was a main form of my summer entertainment as it was a free local number. I wish we could find old recordings of it.
hellllllsssyeah@reddit
My phone number in SF in 2001 was incredibly close to it and people would call us asking for the time.
Either that or my parents were spies
VisiblePlatform6704@reddit
In my country there used to be a number where you dialed and immediately hung up the phone, and your phone will ring.
I used to play pranks to my dad and mom with that LOL. I'll dial that downstairs and then hear them shouting "HELLO!!!?? HELLO!!?" after picking up upstairs XD.
somerandomdude1960@reddit
And the movie line with movie times
saturnlast@reddit
385-7101 in Iowa for the time and temp. Plus, you used to give it out to people when you didn't want to give them your real number.
Ok_SysAdmin@reddit
Time and temp
OldArtichoke433@reddit
Time, Temp and weather! Yes programming your clocks I would call for the time.
Nipplasia2@reddit
18005551212 I think…
unicorn-beard@reddit
throwawayfromPA1701@reddit
DJ ate her lunch in the phone booth, calling that number.
Used-Spring-4664@reddit
412-391-9500 still gives time and temp in Pittsburgh
Acceptable-Fold-3192@reddit
St. Louis one still works. (324)321-2522
eatajerk-pal@reddit
Haha that’s awesome. After seeing this post and comments I thought we were the only lucky ones who got the temperature too.
Ambitious_Jelly8783@reddit
It still exists where I am at. Called the other day tells you the time and temp.
Correct_Pace8899@reddit
Omg, I would sit on the Popcorn line when I knew my boyfriend was trying to call me when I was mad at him 😆😆😆
That busy signal sure showed him lol!!
ialsohaveadobro@reddit
I had a gf in college who memorized the script for the local number: "HELP when help is needed..."
watts6674@reddit
Popcorn
Beneficial_Weird_409@reddit
There's still one in Memphis TN. 901 526 5261. Go ahead and call it if you want to know the time and temperature in Memphis
ScrumptiousPrincess@reddit
Just in case you didn’t have a watch, or a clock, or a sundial.
WoodenMonkeyGod@reddit
Pro move to use it to accept an incoming call without it ringing in the dead of night
Texas_Kimchi@reddit
555-1212!
MashedPotatoesDick@reddit
853-1212
TurtleToast2@reddit
SPRINGS
ThisIsACompanyCar@reddit
Just called it a couple of weeks ago for funsies.
Weird-Ninja8827@reddit
I think there may still be shortwave radio station that broadcast the same thing.
BaD-princess5150@reddit
My dad called it Telly the time keeper and I thought it was a real person that was her job.
DirectorLanky466@reddit
When did they officially get rid of it I wonder? I do remember calling the # as a kid after the power went out so I could reset the VCR timer.
graveybrains@reddit
Because pretty much everything that needs it can connect to an NTP server or pull the time automatically from shortwave radio.
HowDareYouAskMyName@reddit
They asked when, not why
GrimbyJ@reddit
This specific one went away in 2007
https://www.kqed.org/news/11853891/you-used-to-be-able-to-call-pop-corn-and-get-the-time-what-happened-to-that
bscottlove@reddit
501 521 8463. Been in operation for 50+ years
commonsensus@reddit
I used to be able to call 1-800-GOLFTIP in the 80s and 90s, but I think it's a s*x line now
JacksonMcGillicutty@reddit
Short Wave Radio is where the real party was.
jimmythetuba@reddit
Hell, there used to be a phone number I'd call to hear what/when was playing at the local movie theatre.
kalitarios@reddit
♪ ^♪ ^^♪ ^^^♪ ^♫
"Give someone time to answer the phone! Remember to let the phone ring at least 20 times before hanging up. The time, is five... (pause for dramatic effect) seventeen."
dontletyourcrownslip@reddit
I used to do this sometimes to tie the line up when my sister wanted to get on AOL
dzuunmod@reddit
Well, a box of red and a pill or three
And I'm calling time and temperature just for some company
I wish you were here, I wish I was too
I'll drink myself to sleeplessness, I always do
PracticalPlatypi@reddit
Ours was called “time and temperature” and would helpfully give you both.
frikidiki79@reddit
Popcorn!
Asleep_Onion@reddit
I remember I figured out that 767 (pop) followed by any 4 numbers still worked. So I always just dialed 767-7777
Adrasteia-One@reddit
Haha, kids nowadays would laugh and get a kick out of that (6 7).
rockingdino@reddit
ValancyNeverReadsit@reddit
I don’t remember this number at all… if it still existed in the southeastern US in the 80s and 90s no one had ever told me I could call it (also I hated the phone, so why would I?) but I do remember the equivalent in the Cary Grant movie Bringing Up Baby and can quote that line ad nauseum
IHAVENOIDEA0980@reddit
It was POPCORN where I live.
FoppyRETURNS@reddit
I was a timex addicts and ocd for putting the time on my appliances/VCR. So, I never used this!
UpAndAdam7414@reddit
At the third stroke the time sponsored by Accurist with be … beep beep beep.
LloydRainy@reddit
This is the one I was looking for… oh sweet music to my aging ears…
NoKatyDidnt@reddit
Ohhh my gosh. Memory unlocked. Our local news radio station still does a version of this, but I hadn’t thought about those 3 eerie beeps in forever.
Firebolt164@reddit
Yes!!!!! Growing up it was a local radio station that ran Time and Temp with time and weather forecast. I still remember the number 776-3111
ConnectKale@reddit
Raise your hand if this number is now the number you use for loyalty points.
Bad-Moon-Rising@reddit
That and 867-5309
marysunshine@reddit
“The time at the tone is…”
yamahowzer@reddit
I used to call dial a prayer when I was babysitting to pretend I was calling either their parents or the cops
Ill-Percentage-3276@reddit
And calling Infornation to get people's phone numbers
pimpcoatjones@reddit
337-235-5111 and it still works
LabExpensive4764@reddit
The time AND temp. I called that machine daily. 235-1815
PRN_Lexington@reddit
And the weather!! Used to call that shit on the daily
MartinMerten@reddit
Pink shirt? Gay. That’s a girl? She’s cute. Oh it is a dude? And they think I’m cute? Oh how the turns have been tabled.
SgtDoakesSurprise@reddit
My parents used to call to find out exactly when it was midnight on New Year’s Eve.
Electronic_Gap3253@reddit
It helped when you forgot to wind your clocks/watch!
ArchitectVandelay@reddit
Now I wake up and my phone battery is dead and I a crash out with no idea what day it is and nobody to call and ask 😭
FiveCrappedPee@reddit
Why don't you just tell me the movie you'd like to see?!?!?!?
Ut_Prosim@reddit
What was the number that you'd dial to get the phone company to call you back? People used it to check their ringer, but it also worked to prank parents.
osddelerious@reddit
Was that a thing still in the late 80s? I know it existed earlier on from movies or just knowing. But was it a thing when were were little?
KeyboardMunkeh@reddit
My brothers and I used to call this number repeatedly every 4th of July to see how long it was until sunset so we knew when the fireworks were going to start.
Glum_Mud_4693@reddit
358 1212
knowone1313@reddit
The phone number isn't there anymore?
NoKatyDidnt@reddit
Yep! Had to do this from the community pool one time because the clock was broken.
sweetnourishinggruel@reddit
That was the “power just came back on” number.
KingDaveRa@reddit
Still exists in the UK. 123, the speaking clock.
ExpensiveWords4u@reddit
I recently told my daughter about that 🤣 she was shocked & appalled, she thought I was lying - for context she’s 23
whats_for_lunch@reddit
767-2676
TheMeticulousNinja@reddit
He looks ecstatic to find out what time it is!
MissaLynn_@reddit
Current temperature is 82 degrees Fahrenheit
gofixmeaplate@reddit
It’s funny to think back at how many clocks were not accurate at stores, friends houses, relatives watches. I’d call that number to check and reset any clock. It’s interesting that’s not really a thing anymore
IsraelZulu@reddit
Date, time, temperature, and weather forecast. Just confirmed, the number for my hometown still works.
flaming_bob@reddit
I think the one in Dallas might still be active. 214-844-xxxx
thetrickstergib@reddit
“The Time, sponsored by Accurist”
phallic-baldwin@reddit
And the temperature outside as well
coaxialology@reddit
And movie phone! And, eventually, the OK Soda 800 number.
Kid_Kameleon@reddit
Yep, it was 844 followed by any four digits
linecookdaddy@reddit
Time and temperature man, I called it all the time
Interesting-Goose82@reddit
WhatTimeIsItRightNow com