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It’s a sign of an advanced civilization when they reserve such short words for only the most apropos definitions.
30 points
It’s a form of compression. Shortest words are used most often, or in an emergency.
Such as 0118, 999, 881, 999, 119, 725…3
2 points
192 used to be directory services but they changed it to 118, and then a bunch of copy cats used 118 as a prefix for all kinds of unofficial stuff. Plus 999 and 112 in the UK are still very iffy depending on where you are.
4 points
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When I was a kid, I used to dial 911 all the time. Because all you’d get was a recording.
“The 9 1 1 emergency number is not in effect in the area where you are. If this is an actual emergency please hang up and dial your local emergency responder.”