emergency services No.

[wallis1007]

Not really sure where to post this. Why is the emergency services No. 999.

[SeaJayPea]

Looks like it was a technical thing to do with telephone boxes when the service was introduced in the 1930's. Remember that hardly anybody had a phone in their homes in those days and most folk used call boxes.

See this article:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/999_%28emergency_ telephone_number%29

Cheers

[BillySugger]

It's 666 upside down . The good & the bad . the ying and yang

[Octavius]

More here....

http://www.fire.org.uk/advice/999history.htm

[jonesytwotwo]

It is because the position of 9 on the old circular dial on the telephone. So even if you were blind or disabled, you would be able to locate 9 being the last figure on the dial.

[jonesytwotwo]

I believe in US emergency is 1 1 1 for the same reason