
As the Harvard Sentences would put it, “Open your book to the first page.” So, if you’re feeling ambitious and want to hear some weirdly soothing sentences on your phone, give it a call at (858) 651-5050.

I discovered this number through a testing tool provided by T-Mobile, and it’s pretty much the most poetic, automated thing I’ve ever heard. This number is just one of many test numbers that you’ll find hanging around, and they tend to exist to help phone companies make your service better. So why is there this number just hanging out there, with some random Harvard Sentences being spouted off at all times of day? Well, it’s an easy way to test your mobile phone quality-the “can you hear me now” guys at Verizon and other companies rely on these things to ensure the signal quality is strong. The idea was to test how much a person could mishear before they lost the meaning of a sentence. Some garbled version of the sentences would be played on tape, and volunteers attempted to make sense of what they heard. The sentences are deliberately simple and short-monosyllabic words punctuated by exactly one two syllable word sentence. Sarah Zhang, who wrote an excellent piece on the phenomenon for Gizmodo last year, notes that Harvard researchers focused on the audio testing capabilities of the sentences specifically designed sentences that could be misheard in poor audio conditions. They generally follow a specific pattern-largely single syllables, with one or two multi-syllable words. These phrases, which can be viewed here, have been updated periodically over the years to reflect modern sensibilities. The sentences, colloquially called the “Harvard Sentences” and first introduced by the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) in 1969 as the “IEEE Recommended Practice for Speech Quality Measurements,” have roots in World War II, when Harvard scientists at the school’s Psycho-Acoustic Laboratory helped to test different kinds of noises for wartime military communications. These phrases-there are dozens of them-were chosen because they were phonetically balanced, and therefore should be recognizable and understandable in many audio conditions. Because these sentences were basically decided upon to highlight the nuances of speech. It’s as if the words were chosen from random novels, less for how much they make sense and more about how well each individual sentence flows together.Īnd you’d be right.
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It’s a series of phrases, recited by both male and female speakers, that sound a little too … well, perfect. If you dial (858) 651-5050, you’ll hear what sounds like the most unusual poem ever produced. “Fishing in a mountain stream is my idea of a good time.“ More importantly, they aren't afraid to admit they are geeks and their 800 number proves it.The strange phone number with the best pronunciation you can find Unless of course they used 800-Junk-HunksĨ00-44-Store Public Storage may not have gotten the exact vanity number they were looking for but you get the point and it's easy to remember.Ĩ00-905-Geek Geeks on Call can help you get your computer or IT issues fixed in a hurry.

Backwards but you still get the point.Ĩ00-Junk-USA College Hunks Hauling Junk found just the right 800 number.
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Since it's Friday we thought we'd have a little fun and show some of the lesser known 800 numbers out there.Ĩ00-Giant-Men The Gentle Giant moving company sure knows how to grab our attention.Ĩ00-Virus-No McAfee makes it known just what their product does. Most of us are familiar with big names like 1-800-FLOWERS, 1-800-CONTACTS or 1-800-MATTRESS but there are so many other numbers out there, creative ones.


Vanity numbers are a great way to market your business and help your customers find, contact and remember you. Being in the business of providing 800 numbers, we love to see what other people are using, especially when it comes to vanity numbers.
