Futuris Company (FTRS)

[k_trader]

Back in the days of old rotary phones, the North American Numbering Plan Association determined that 911 was the easier number to dial on purpose, while still being hard to dial on accident.

When you wanted to make an emergency call, you had to rotate the 9 all the way to the end of the rotor and then let it return to the start. The 1-1 was easy because you didn't have to take as much time rotating the dial and letting return to it's original position.

When they designed this system, they also identified that N11 (211-911) would be used as the "generic" service codes to be used by all telephone companies, making the system easier to use.

That is the reason that, in most areas, you can dial 411 to get Directory Assistance.

Here is a list of the N11 "standard" codes. Not all codes may be used in your area, but many of them probably are.

http://www.nanpa.com/number_resource_info/n11_codes.html

Hope this helps...

Repost from AnswerBag
http://www.answerbag.com/q_view/31002