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Wednesday, September 7, 2016

Over 240 million calls are made to 911 in the U.S. each year. Most of us take this service for granted. In fact, 15-20 percent of incoming 911 calls are not even emergencies. But we didn't always have this luxury to waste.

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Today's Random Fact:

The world's oldest emergency phone number is the U.K's 999 number that was introduced on June 30, 1937. It was implemented after a call to the fire brigade was held in a queue with the telephone company. The delay cost five women their lives in the fire.

The first-ever 911 call in the United States happened on February 16, 1968, in Haleyville, Alabama. It wasn't until 1999 that Congress directed the FCC to make 911 the universal emergency number for the United States for all telephone services.

Known as the "The City Where 911 Began," Haleyville, Alabama, holds a 911 festival every year that honors all police, fire, and emergency personnel.




Bonus Fact:

In 2006, 5-year-old Robert Turner called 911 when his mother collapsed form heart problems. The call taker thought he was making a prank call and told the little boy that she would send help and hung up. The boy waited three hours and, with his mother still unconscious, called 911 again. This time, a different call taker told the boy that he would get in trouble if he kept playing around. Scared, the boy hung up. His mom died.