TIL fake "555" phone numbers you see in movies and TV shows were once legitimate numbers that anyone could register, but Verizon would charge you $2,500 to use them

Not sure why they would open these numbers up for access anyway, a lot of PABXes are programmed to recognize the 555 prefix as bogus and just drop the call without even attempting to dial it over national lines

I've always hated 555 numbers, because they immediately dispel the illusion. They should just use invalid numbers that have an area code that starts with 1 or, better yet, an exchange code that starts with 1.