4-year-old learns deactivated cell phone still calls 911; hilarity ensues
Posted
July 5, 2007 at
7:43 pm by
Prescott
Ah, the cell phone, the great diversion for fussy babies and cranky toddlers the world over. What parent hasn’t handed their tot the cell phone so they could do their grocery shopping or order a non-fat latte in peace? Heck, we even have made it habit of giving our old phones to the kids when we upgrade — there must be at least two or three Motorolas at the bottom of the toy box. Apparently that’s not such a hot idea — by law, the FCC requires that even deactivated phones still be able to reach 911 emergency services. Did you know that? I sure didn’t.
A 4-year-old in the Chicago suburbs found that out through trial and error, and was so delighted to have someone pick up on the other end that she called back — 287 times. The police were finally able to get the girl’s location when on the last call she indicated she was having a Big Mac Attack and they convinced her to give her address so they could deliver it. But instead of a Happy Meal the folks in blue brought a stern lecture for Mom.
I was really hoping they would have reported what kind of phone it was so I could go get one — the battery must have a hell of a long talk time.
Tags: carpentersville, cell-phones, illinois, News-&-Politics |
2 Responses to “4-year-old learns deactivated cell phone still calls 911; hilarity ensues”
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1. Beta Mum said:
July 7, 2007 @ 2:35 pm
When the children get older it’s not just the phones you have to watch.
Last week we received a book from Amazon.
It was a big, hardback book called “Shadow Quilts: Easy to Design Multiple Image Quilts” which cost £16.98 plus postage.
Neither my partner nor I had ordered it.
So had a quilter with a cash flow problem been hacking into our Amazon account?
I called to find out.
I was told that as the book was ordered using one-click, it was impossible for anyone outside our house to do it.
As the deed was done at about 5.30pm, my suspicions immediately fell on the two people who’ve been downloading random toolbars and coating my mouse with unidentifiable glutinous substances.
The children.
They’re never shown any interest in quilting, but they like Hama beads and perhaps they see this as the next step.
I’ve now disabled one-click, and am hoping we’ll be safe until they memorise our credit card numbers.
2. 911 Prankster said:
July 8, 2007 @ 12:38 pm
Ah…that brings back memories from my childhood when we used to go out as teenagers and use the pay phones to prank the 911 operators. That was back in the day before caller ID, when we were able to stay home for hours prank calling people. Now these days you need a pre-paid cell or phone card. Geez, the funs gone out of everything, hasn’t it?!?!