Area Code Day

Tomorrow, November 10th, is Area Code Day. Time to celebrate those three noble characters at the beginning of your phone number!

Area codes don't mean as much as they used to, with service overlays and the proliferation of cell phones muddling geographic areas to the point of confusion. Look at New York City, even as its legendary 212 remains the recipient of rap music shoutouts--there's 646, 718, 917, and even 347 sitting around waiting for their own cultural heroes.

But perhaps the meaning of Area Code Day is to celebrate this constant telecommunications flux. Cell phone service providers can take advantage of Area Code Day to stage their own promotions, perhaps offering custom cell phone accessories personalized with users' area codes as a giveaway if they buy a new service package. Ah, a nice, commercial holiday...what a relief!

Wikipedia has a nauseatingly thorough explanation of area codes, if you really can't get enough...otherwise, you can always lose yourself in old copies of the Yellow Pages.