Selects: 911 Is Not a Joke

Josh and Chuck delve into the world of 911 in this classic episode. See omnystudio.com/listener https://omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Speaker names marked ? are inferred from speaking time and the show’s known hosts — they are not voice-verified.

• 0:00Speaker 00

  This is an iHeart Podcast. Guaranteed Human.

• 0:04Josh Clark?

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• 1:28Josh Clark?

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• 1:35Speaker 02

  Hey, everybody. Chuck here on your Saturday selects. And hey, guys, you know what I'm gonna do? I'm gonna take us on a little walk down memory lane from 2020. And my picks for the next, geez, maybe up to 20 weeks for me. And then Josh picks his, so maybe 40 weeks, almost a year, are gonna be walking back through the year of COVID, kind of what was going on thematically that year and before and after. And we'll see if there's, there's any fruit to bear as far as looking back. I hope this is more interesting than your usual select, but we're gonna start it off with February 13th, 2020, pre-COVID, by about a month-ish, with our episode, 911 is not a joke, all about 911 and how it works. Great episode.

• 2:21Speaker 02

  Check it out.

• 2:25Speaker 03

  Welcome to Stuff You Should Know, a production of iHeartRadio.

• 2:34Josh Clark?

  Hey and welcome to the podcast. I'm Josh Clark. There's Charles W. Chuck Bryant over there. There's guest producer Josh T. rocking it out. And this is Stuff You Should Know.

• 2:47Speaker 02

  Take two a dish.

• 2:49Josh Clark?

  Yeah, one of the rare second takes.

• 2:52Speaker 02

  That's right. We lost a whole 14 seconds of try number one.

• 2:57Josh Clark?

  Right. It wasn't any good, anyway. That's what it was. Josh turned into like Elvis Costello. It was like, no, no, stop, stop.

• 3:04Speaker 02

  Oh, wow. Look at that reference. A little SNL callback?

• 3:09Josh Clark?

  Yeah, it was.

• 3:09Speaker 02

  Nice.

• 3:10Josh Clark?

  So, as you can tell Chuck, I'm pretty excited about this episode, which is kind of surprising because talking about 911 seems like it might be the most boring thing we could talk about.

• 3:21Speaker 02

  Oh, you think?

• 3:22Josh Clark?

  Untrue.

• 3:23Speaker 02

  What, with all the people dying and cats stuck in trees?

• 3:27Josh Clark?

  Sure.

• 3:29Speaker 02

  What else? I should name everything you shouldn't call 911 for.

• 3:32Josh Clark?

  Uh, let's see. Neighbor's playing his music too loud? That's one.

• 3:36Speaker 02

  Exactly.

• 3:38Josh Clark?

  Yeah, there's a bunch of stuff you shouldn't call 911 for, which we'll talk about.

• 3:42Speaker 02

  Sure.

• 3:43Josh Clark?

  But one thing, like I'm familiar with 911. I remember growing up as a child in the 80s. And I was like, I remember hearing about this new system that was coming around when I was growing up in Toledo.

• 3:55Speaker 02

  Yeah.

• 3:56Josh Clark?

  And I was like, that doesn't make any sense because 911, it turns out, has been around at least since 1968 in the US. It's been around way longer.

• 4:04Speaker 02

  In parts of the US, though.

• 4:05Josh Clark?

  In UK.

• 4:06Speaker 02

  Yeah.

• 4:07Josh Clark?

  True, but I like to think of Toledo as kind of a happenin' spot.

• 4:11Speaker 02

  Sure.

• 4:11Josh Clark?

  Toledo didn't get a fully functional 911 system until 1989.

• 4:16Speaker 02

  Did you look it up?

• 4:18Josh Clark?

  Yeah.

• 4:19Speaker 02

  So you guys resorted to the previous method, which was run down the street screaming for neighbors?

• 4:26Josh Clark?

  Just swinging your cat by its tail.

• 4:28Speaker 02

  Yeah.

• 4:29Josh Clark?

  That was your siren?

• 4:30Speaker 02

  Yeah, I seem to remember, I don't know exactly when we got it, but... I think I remember it happening, like, because if I remember correctly, when I was a kid, we had one of those little cards next to the kitchen phone that had police, fire, and whatever else. So that had to have been pre-911, or else we wouldn't have had that dumb thing.

• 4:48Josh Clark?

  Right.

• 4:49Speaker 02

  That would just confuse the children.

• 4:51Josh Clark?

  Right. Call these numbers first, and then if they don't answer, call 911.

• 4:54Speaker 02

  Yeah, then do the super easy thing that will route it to the correct person, child.

• 4:59Josh Clark?

  Your parents have just taken out a substantial life insurance policy on you.

• 5:03Speaker 02

  Yeah, for a...

• 5:04Josh Clark?

  That's a long, that's a long game, right there.

• 5:06Speaker 02

  It is.

• 5:07Josh Clark?

  So Chuck, as new as 911 is, even though it seems old, right? Especially for younger listeners, I would guess that it seems pretty...

• 5:16Speaker 02

  They probably think it's been around since, you know...

• 5:18Josh Clark?

  Horse and buggy days?

• 5:19Speaker 02

  Yeah.

• 5:20Josh Clark?

  Since rotary phone days?

• 5:21Speaker 02

  Yeah.

• 5:21Josh Clark?

  Right. So, as, as, as old as it is, or as new as it is, it's gotten pretty...

• 5:29Speaker 02

  Robust?

• 5:30Josh Clark?

  Very robust.

• 5:32Speaker 02

  Yeah, every year, these are some stats that our buddy Dave Ruse helped us compile. 240 million calls in the US, that is 650,000 calls a day.

• 5:44Josh Clark?

  Yeah, that's like 900,000 calls a minute.

• 5:49Speaker 02

  No.

• 5:50Josh Clark?

  Are you sure? I just did that back of the envelope.

• 5:52Speaker 02

  You made me double take, though.

• 5:54Josh Clark?

  I noticed.

• 5:55Speaker 02

  And another important thing here is that 80% of calls these days are from your wireless phone.

• 6:02Josh Clark?

  That's a big deal.

• 6:02Speaker 02

  It is, which we'll get to, but that changed things.

• 6:05Josh Clark?

  Yeah, the big spoiler is, is that the 911 system that we currently use in the United States is hopelessly antiquated, and they're working on improving it, and nothing that we should say about how antiquated it is should keep you from calling 911. It still generally works, but it's having trouble, or it's had trouble traditionally, keeping pace with the massive sweeping changes in telecommunications that has gone on in the last couple decades.

• 6:35Speaker 02

  Yeah, because telecom is always trying to move forward, and they don't think like, "Oh, but maybe we should slow the pace for 911."

• 6:40Josh Clark?

  Right, exactly. And plus, I mean, 911 is, we'll see, those systems are built alongside the other system, so when the other system leads forward, they have to go through and rebuild this, this system that's just for 911.

• 6:54Speaker 02

  Because you can't get rid of an old system because people, well, we'll get to that stuff.

• 6:57Josh Clark?

  We'll get to that. Let's not spoil it.

• 7:00Speaker 02

  But we were laughing earlier about things that you should and should not call for. Some of these are debatable, I think.

• 7:08Josh Clark?

  Oh, yeah?

• 7:08Speaker 02

  I think so.

• 7:09Josh Clark?

  Says who?

• 7:10Speaker 02

  Says me.

• 7:11Josh Clark?

  Okay.

• 7:11Speaker 02

  We'll get to the last one, really, is the only one that's debatable. But obviously, if there's a fire or smoke that you think is a fire.

• 7:19Josh Clark?

  Where there's smoke, there's fire.

• 7:21Speaker 02

  Medical emergency, and you can't, you know, obviously, get in an ambulance, or get in your car and run someone to the emergency room if you can. If it's quicker, and you can do so safely.

• 7:31Josh Clark?

  It's quicker and cheaper.

• 7:33Speaker 02

  Oh, well, sure.

• 7:34Josh Clark?

  Cost of gas, maybe a couple tolls, who knows, compared to like, an ambulance ride?

• 7:39Speaker 02

  No, that's a, that's a good point. But I mean, I imagine if you're home just loaded and your kid gets hurt.

• 7:45Josh Clark?

  Right.

• 7:46Speaker 02

  You should probably call 911.

• 7:47Josh Clark?

  Call, yeah, call 911.

• 7:49Speaker 02

  Car accidents, of course, if they are major enough and like, have injuries.

• 7:54Josh Clark?

  Yeah.

• 7:54Speaker 02

  Call, call 911.

• 7:56Josh Clark?

  You should be able to tell, like, if somebody's like, oh, that kind of hurt my neck, you don't have to call 911.

• 8:01Speaker 02

  Right.

• 8:01Josh Clark?

  You could call, here's the other thing, if we're saying, don't call 911, that doesn't mean like, don't alert anybody.

• 8:06Speaker 02

  Right.

• 8:06Josh Clark?

  But there are, there's a, your police have their own phone number, your local police have their own phone number.

• 8:11Speaker 02

  They do.

• 8:11Josh Clark?

  Look it up and call that, the non-emergency number.

• 8:14Speaker 02

  Right. And then, obviously, the last category is some sort of crime being committed, violence being committed.

• 8:22Josh Clark?

  Sure.

• 8:22Speaker 02

  Call 911.

• 8:24Josh Clark?

  Yep. So, that's, like, no one's gonna argue with that.

• 8:28Speaker 02

  I think so.

• 8:28Josh Clark?

  Okay. There are plenty of instances where you shouldn't call 911, and yet, people reliably call 911 for stuff like this.

• 8:37Speaker 02

  And I think that's because it's been drilled into everyone's head. It's kind of a double-edged sword. You can't drill that into everyone's head. 911, 911, all you gotta do is call 911, and then not expect to get some cat stuck in the tree calls.

• 8:50Josh Clark?

  You keep going back to that, well.

• 8:52Speaker 02

  We actually had, did that when I was a kid.

• 8:54Josh Clark?

  Did you, you called 911 for that?

• 8:55Speaker 02

  Well, you know the funny story? It's not very funny to my dad, but we had a cat stuck in a tree.

• 9:01Josh Clark?

  Okay.

• 9:01Speaker 02

  My dad went up, and he got stuck in the tree.

• 9:04Josh Clark?

  And he just climbed up too high?

• 9:05Speaker 02

  Yeah.

• 9:06Josh Clark?

  And he got freaked out?

• 9:07Speaker 02

  I think so.

• 9:08Josh Clark?

  That's right.

• 9:09Speaker 02

  I mean, I was a kid, so. You know, they weren't saying, "Your father's very afraid and has screwed up."

• 9:15Josh Clark?

  Right.

• 9:15Speaker 02

  I was just a kid kinda like, "Well, now dad's up there and now there's firemen here helping my dad out of a tree."

• 9:21Josh Clark?

  Right. Cats and dads get stuck in trees.

• 9:23Speaker 02

  Yeah, and looking back, I think that's totally probably what happened.

• 9:26Josh Clark?

  Sure.

• 9:27Speaker 02

  I think he got way up there and was freaked out.

• 9:29Josh Clark?

  Yeah.

• 9:29Speaker 02

  Yeah.

• 9:30Josh Clark?

  Yeah, that's cute.

• 9:30Speaker 02

  I'll have to ask him about that one day.

• 9:32Josh Clark?

  Um, okay, so your dad's stuck in a tree. I would say that's a call 911 situation.

• 9:36Speaker 02

  Yeah.

• 9:37Josh Clark?

  Cat's stuck in a tree? No. Unless you live in Pleasantville, don't call 911 for that.

• 9:41Speaker 02

  Yeah, that's true.

• 9:42Josh Clark?

  Um, if you have a question about the speeding ticket you got the other day, that's not a call that you would place through 911. Again, you can just call. There's even a number on the back of the ticket. Don't be dumb. Okay?

• 9:56Speaker 02

  Hey, bringing that back?

• 9:58Josh Clark?

  Just for that second.

• 9:59Speaker 02

  Okay.

• 9:59Josh Clark?

  What else, Chuck?

• 10:00Speaker 02

  Oh, of course, anything dealing with your animals unless... Well, I'm not even gonna say that.

• 10:06Josh Clark?

  What?

• 10:07Speaker 02

  I was gonna say if there's an animal attacking someone.

• 10:09Josh Clark?

  Yeah, you would call 911.

• 10:10Speaker 02

  Call 911 for that. Come out and shoot this dog.

• 10:13Josh Clark?

  Basically. It could be rabid.

• 10:15Speaker 02

  It's terrible.

• 10:16Josh Clark?

  Call Hectate out.

• 10:17Speaker 02

  Uh, but otherwise, if the cat in the tree, lost animals, injured animals, noisy neighbors... I love that Dave puts power outage in here, and in parentheses, "Call your power company."

• 10:30Josh Clark?

  Right.

• 10:31Speaker 02

  It's that last one, I think, is a little... It kind of opens a can of worms, and that is the suspicious person thing.

• 10:39Josh Clark?

  All right.

• 10:39Speaker 02

  Because, uh, you know, they say to call for suspicious activity, which theoretically is a suspicious person.

• 10:49Josh Clark?

  Right.

• 10:49Speaker 02

  I think the distinction is, uh, in what we see, and we'll get into this later, racial biases. You know, people in neighborhoods calling the cops on someone because they're black and walking down my street.

• 11:02Josh Clark?

  Right.

• 11:03Speaker 02

  Which happens.

• 11:03Josh Clark?

  Right.

• 11:04Speaker 02

  Uh, that is not a suspicious person.

• 11:06Josh Clark?

  Mm-hmm.

• 11:07Speaker 02

  Um, even... I mean, if there's nothing going on, I know people try to justify it. But then local police say, you know, hey, always call us. If you think something might be going on.

• 11:18Josh Clark?

  Right.

• 11:18Speaker 02

  And that's where it gets dodgy because that comes down to a human being's perception.

• 11:23Josh Clark?

  So.

• 11:24Speaker 02

  Which can be very tilted.

• 11:25Josh Clark?

  As Dave puts it, he put it a couple of ways I thought were pretty smart. He said, people aren't suspicious, behavior is suspicious.

• 11:33Speaker 02

  Yeah, and they say specifically to call 911 for suspicious activities.

• 11:37Josh Clark?

  Right.

• 11:38Speaker 02

  But again, these are people. So it's just such a weird fine line you're walking there.

• 11:42Josh Clark?

  The other little litmus test that I've seen is, if you stop just for a second. Because this is suspicious behavior. You see somebody like breaking into a car, like assaulting somebody, that's, that's beyond suspicious. That's like the act.

• 11:55Speaker 02

  That's the act. It's a crime being committed.

• 11:58Josh Clark?

  So you have a second when you see a suspicious person to stop and think like, would I, would I call 911 if this person were white?

• 12:05Speaker 02

  Right.

• 12:06Josh Clark?

  Or if you're a black person doing this, say, would I call 911 if this person were black? And if the answer is no, then maybe you shouldn't call. Maybe they're not acting that suspiciously.

• 12:14Speaker 02

  Yeah, it's just interesting on these Facebook neighborhood pages. It's kind of evenly divided between people saying, uh, don't call 911 for this. This is just a guy going door to door perhaps.

• 12:26Josh Clark?

  Right.

• 12:26Speaker 02

  Uh, other people saying, no, you know what? If it's 9:45 or 10 o'clock at night and someone's knocking on your door.

• 12:32Josh Clark?

  Yeah.

• 12:33Speaker 02

  In our neighborhood.

• 12:34Josh Clark?

  It seems like suspicious behavior.

• 12:35Speaker 02

  Maybe you should call the cops and let them work it out. And for the cops, they say, you know, call us. That doesn't mean we're going to dispatch eight cars to your home. But we might work you through the situation.

• 12:46Josh Clark?

  Mm-hmm.

• 12:46Speaker 02

  And it's all going to be fine.

• 12:48Josh Clark?

  Yes.

• 12:49Speaker 02

  But this is the only one where I thought was a little bit like, you shouldn't just say like, don't call 911 when you see a suspicious person.

• 12:56Josh Clark?

  No, you certainly shouldn't say that. At the same time, though, I think one of the big hesitations for calling 911 these days is like the, either the increase, or the increase in reporting of people, innocent people-

• 13:11Speaker 02

  Yeah.

• 13:12Josh Clark?

  -who had 911 called on them, being killed-

• 13:14Speaker 02

  Yeah.

• 13:14Josh Clark?

  -by the cops.

• 13:15Speaker 02

  Exactly.

• 13:16Josh Clark?

  That, and that, death would not have happened, their death wouldn't have happened-

• 13:20Speaker 02

  Right.

• 13:20Josh Clark?

  -had a person been suspicious of them and called 911. And the fact, you know, when, when news of something like that gets out, it will make you second guess that kind of thing, like you're-

• 13:32Speaker 02

  For sure.

• 13:32Josh Clark?

  You're, it, it makes you realize you're bringing like, people who are armed and jumpy-

• 13:38Speaker 02

  Mm-hmm.

• 13:38Josh Clark?

  -out to a situation where it's just somebody walking around, or whatever. And when you look at it from that respect, it can make you second guess the whole thing.

• 13:48Speaker 02

  Yeah, and things can look, uh, it can look like potential malfeasance that's not, you know, like a lot of people, you see a lot of people saying, "Well, I think someone's casing my house, um, because a car pulled into my driveway and sat there for two minutes."

• 14:02Josh Clark?

  They asked me if I wanted to know more about Sierra Club.

• 14:04Speaker 02

  Right. Or someone stopped and was taking pictures of my house, like, you never know, somebody might be taking picture of the oak tree that they're trying to learn about, or, or just looking up something on their phone and standing in the direction of your house.

• 14:19Josh Clark?

  Right. Nine times out of 10, they're trying to figure out more about the oak tree near your house.

• 14:23Speaker 02

  Oh, I'm trying to give people the benefit of the doubt, you know?

• 14:27Josh Clark?

  No, I'm with you.

• 14:28Speaker 02

  Anyway, it's just, that's where it gets a little dodgy.

• 14:31Josh Clark?

  For sure.

• 14:32Speaker 02

  And we'll have statistics, uh, statistics later on about actual racial bias, because it's real.

• 14:39Josh Clark?

  Sure.

• 14:39Speaker 02

  Okay. Moving on.

• 14:41Josh Clark?

  You want to take a little break after that? It seems like a good spot.

• 14:44Speaker 02

  Oh, I think I do.

• 14:45Josh Clark?

  Okay, well, everybody, we're taking a rare Josh break. And we'll be right back.

• 14:57Speaker 04

  First thought is like, wow, how are we going to do all this?

• 14:59Josh Clark?

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• 15:26Josh Clark?

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• 15:49Josh Clark?

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• 15:53Speaker 06

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• 15:59Speaker 02

  You know, you're never done decorating your home. You know what I mean?

• 16:02Josh Clark?

  Sure.

• 16:02Speaker 02

  Yeah, because it's a process. There's always something you could do or buy or update. The only question is, what's next? For us, our animals just wear out our rugs so quickly, it's usually a new rug.

• 16:13Josh Clark?

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• 16:31Josh Clark?

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• 16:57Josh Clark?

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• 17:33Josh Clark?

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• 17:57Josh Clark?

  Okay, we're back. That josh break was invigorating.

• 18:00Speaker 02

  I wasn't doing anything. I was just taking a picture of your oak tree. Will you get off my back?

• 18:05Josh Clark?

  Oh, my gosh.

• 18:06Speaker 02

  What kind of oak is that, sir?

• 18:08Josh Clark?

  There's only one kind of oak. No, I know there's a bunch of different oaks. Everyone in Ireland's like, no, that's not true.

• 18:17Speaker 02

  While we're mentioning calling 911, though, you can get arrested. It is a crime to prank call 911.

• 18:25Josh Clark?

  Yeah, you don't want to do that.

• 18:26Speaker 02

  Or to SWAT. It's called swatting.

• 18:27Josh Clark?

  That's a bit... I think that deserves its own podcast.

• 18:30Speaker 02

  Maybe, because there was some... Some guy got killed, right? From a swatting incident?

• 18:35Josh Clark?

  Yeah, I think it's happened more than once.

• 18:37Speaker 02

  Yeah, that's serious stuff.

• 18:38Josh Clark?

  If you don't know what swatting is, we'll just give you the 411 on this abuse of 911. Man, I love myself sometimes.

• 18:46Speaker 02

  That's great.

• 18:48Josh Clark?

  So swatting is where you are a hacker, right? And you can disguise the number that you're coming, you're calling from, to make it look like you're calling from a house that you want the cops to go to.

• 19:02Speaker 02

  Right.

• 19:02Josh Clark?

  And you basically say like, "I'm in this house and I'm holding hostages and what are you gonna do about it, Johnny Law?"

• 19:08Speaker 02

  Yeah.

• 19:08Josh Clark?

  And the law comes out and usually SWAT, I shouldn't say usually, in some cases, the SWAT team will actually enter this house, where people who have no idea what's going on are.

• 19:19Speaker 02

  Right.

• 19:19Josh Clark?

  And maybe that the people who have been swatted, you know, said something mean to the, to the guy who, you know, called the SWAT team out on them. But it's basically, it's not like saying like, there's a, "I think there's a hostage situation in this house." It's, "I'm the guy holding the hostages and here's where I am."

• 19:37Speaker 02

  Something mean like, "And SWAT teams stink."

• 19:40Josh Clark?

  Right, exactly.

• 19:41Speaker 02

  So the SWAT team's like, "We're gonna go kill that guy."

• 19:43Josh Clark?

  I'll bet you would never in a million years bring your SWAT team out.

• 19:47Speaker 02

  And whatever you do, don't come in guns blazing.

• 19:50Josh Clark?

  Right.

• 19:51Speaker 02

  Which we're joking about something that's really happened.

• 19:53Josh Clark?

  Sure, so like, I really think we need to talk, at least the short stuff.

• 19:57Speaker 02

  I think so.

• 19:58Josh Clark?

  We'll look into it a little further.

• 19:59Speaker 02

  We'll do one on swatting and one on doxing.

• 20:01Josh Clark?

  Okay.

• 20:02Speaker 02

  The two weird new things that people do now.

• 20:04Josh Clark?

  Right, but, but swatting is definitely a crime.

• 20:08Speaker 02

  Yes.

• 20:08Josh Clark?

  Okay, also, so that you don't make 911 feel like, I think this is great, this is almost like a public service announcement that we're in the midst of.

• 20:16Speaker 02

  Yeah, we do these.

• 20:17Josh Clark?

  So you, you don't get in trouble with the 911, so they don't think that you're pranking them, when you're not. If you ever call 911 accidentally, or say your kid does or whatever, you do not want to hang up the phone.

• 20:31Speaker 02

  Yeah, I did that a few years ago, I feel like, I accidentally called 911, 'cause I think cell phones have a feature that... It enacted like an automatic call by accident.

• 20:44Josh Clark?

  Right.

• 20:44Speaker 02

  And I saw it and I went, oh crap, and I hung up.

• 20:46Josh Clark?

  Right.

• 20:47Speaker 02

  And I got a call back like in a second.

• 20:49Josh Clark?

  That's great. Ideally, you should.

• 20:50Speaker 02

  Yeah.

• 20:51Josh Clark?

  Yumi has a great story from when she was a kid. She got scared. I can't remember, something about her grandmother, who was perfectly fine, but she called 911 and got scared when 911 answered and hung up. And they kept calling back and she kept hanging up.

• 21:07Speaker 02

  That's very cute.

• 21:08Josh Clark?

  So they came out to the house.

• 21:10Speaker 02

  A little welfare check.

• 21:11Josh Clark?

  Yeah, basically. But you don't want to do that. Don't follow the Yumi model.

• 21:16Speaker 02

  No.

• 21:16Josh Clark?

  Of 911. Like, just stay on the phone and be like, I'm really sorry. This is an accidental call. And I'm definitely not the bad guy pretending that this is an accidental call. Make sure you say that, too.

• 21:27Speaker 02

  My name is Timmy. I'm five. It's all good.

• 21:30Josh Clark?

  My name is Little Boy with Brown Hair.

• 21:33Speaker 02

  So I think the history is fairly interesting because England started 9, not 911, but their version, which is 999, way back in 1937 in London.

• 21:47Josh Clark?

  I didn't know this.

• 21:48Speaker 02

  I didn't know it either, but they, they were the first city in the world that created the three-digit model. Apparently, as the story goes, there was a fire in downtown London and people tried to get through the fire department. And they were put on hold and switched around. And so they said, the town crier came out and said, 999 is the answer.

• 22:08Josh Clark?

  Yeah, which, so 999, it's easy to remember.

• 22:12Speaker 02

  Sure.

• 22:13Josh Clark?

  I guess no one else was using 999 at the time. But this is back in the day of rotary phones, right?

• 22:19Speaker 02

  Oh, yeah.

• 22:20Josh Clark?

  So that, that's actually, that was, it was a burden to dial 999 with a rotary dial phone. Should have been, for sure.

• 22:28Speaker 02

  Yeah.

• 22:28Josh Clark?

  I just thought that was kind of clumsy of them.

• 22:31Speaker 02

  Little bit.

• 22:32Josh Clark?

  Clumsy of the Brits.

• 22:34Speaker 02

  But let me see here. I think it was a 12-mile radius around London at first, after World War II, and went wider. And because, you know, Britain liked to do a little world conquering, you can find 999 in cities all over the world.

• 22:51Josh Clark?

  Yeah.

• 22:52Speaker 02

  Where London has, or where England has left there. Imprint?

• 22:56Josh Clark?

  That's a way to put it, for sure.

• 22:58Speaker 02

  Yeah.

• 22:59Josh Clark?

  And the US, of course, said, "Well, we're not gonna let the Brits outdo us." "You're gonna do Brexit? Hold my beer."

• 23:06Speaker 02

  Yeah, "We're gonna wait 20-something years and do it ourselves."

• 23:10Josh Clark?

  Right, exactly. So, I think in 1957, the Fire Chiefs Association, sorry, the National Association of Fire Chiefs, I was way off. They said, "Hey, we should come up with a easy-to-remember three-digit number for people to report fires." And other people said, "Hey, that's a great idea. We'll do that to report emergencies." And the Fire Chiefs Association said, "No, just fires."

• 23:35Speaker 02

  Yeah, right.

• 23:35Josh Clark?

  Luckily, no one listened to them. Well, they didn't listen to the "just fire" part.

• 23:40Speaker 02

  That's right.

• 23:41Josh Clark?

  And then, a couple of years after that, or maybe, yeah, a few years later, the National Academy of Sciences said, "This is actually a really good idea. We should do this for calling ambulances, too." And then, finally, a Presidential Commission on Law Enforcement and the Administration of Justice said, "No, all emergencies should have a three-digit, easy-to-remember number."

• 24:03Speaker 02

  That's right. So, the FCC says, "Who should we get in touch with here? How about AT&T?"

• 24:09Josh Clark?

  Yeah.

• 24:09Speaker 02

  Because these were the days of phone monopolies.

• 24:13Josh Clark?

  Right.

• 24:13Speaker 02

  Or phone monopoly. It was just one, right?

• 24:17Josh Clark?

  No, I think...

• 24:19Speaker 02

  When did they break up the phone companies?

• 24:22Josh Clark?

  I think it was before this.

• 24:23Speaker 02

  Okay.

• 24:24Josh Clark?

  Because they broke them up into the different bells, right?

• 24:27Speaker 02

  Yeah.

• 24:28Josh Clark?

  Where they... where all the different bells part of one big phone company.

• 24:32Speaker 02

  That's right.

• 24:32Josh Clark?

  Which one? I just said two different things.

• 24:34Speaker 02

  The Liberty Bell, the Southern Bell.

• 24:36Josh Clark?

  Yeah.

• 24:37Speaker 02

  Bell from...

• 24:38Josh Clark?

  Pacific Bell?

• 24:39Speaker 02

  Pacific Bell, the Bell from Beauty and the Beast.

• 24:41Josh Clark?

  Right.

• 24:42Speaker 02

  All the bells.

• 24:43Josh Clark?

  Albuquerque Bell?

• 24:45Speaker 02

  Sure, why not?

• 24:47Speaker 02

  You can ring my bell?

• 24:49Josh Clark?

  That's a good one.

• 24:49Speaker 02

  That's a good song.

• 24:50Josh Clark?

  It's a good one, but I think More, More, More by Andrea True Connection is far better.

• 24:56Speaker 02

  What's that?

• 24:56Josh Clark?

  Virtually the same thing, but just a better, better song.

• 24:59Speaker 02

  Oh, okay. They got in touch with AT&T and they said, can you help us out with this? Apparently AT&T is the one that chose 911 because it hadn't been used yet, which is kind of the first stumbling block.

• 25:14Josh Clark?

  Again, the rotary dial.

• 25:15Speaker 02

  Rotary dial, that was, 911's a lot better than 999.

• 25:18Josh Clark?

  Way, it's, it's two thirds better.

• 25:20Speaker 02

  It is two thirds better. And it was easy to remember and, you know, I think they had set up at this point already 411 in a lot of areas. So they just kind of extended that idea of the, the something 11.

• 25:35Josh Clark?

  Right. So the first, this really surprised me, the first 911 call that was ever placed in the United States.

• 25:44Speaker 02

  New York City.

• 25:45Josh Clark?

  You would think so.

• 25:45Speaker 02

  Washington DC.

• 25:46Josh Clark?

  No.

• 25:47Speaker 02

  Chicago.

• 25:47Josh Clark?

  What else you got?

• 25:48Speaker 02

  Uh, Chicago.

• 25:50Josh Clark?

  You already said that one.

• 25:50Speaker 02

  Okay, I don't know.

• 25:52Josh Clark?

  What about Los Angeles?

• 25:54Speaker 02

  Yeah, why not?

• 25:54Josh Clark?

  What about Albuquerque?

• 25:57Speaker 02

  They're doing fine.

• 25:57Josh Clark?

  Okay, no, none of those are correct. Hayleyville, Alabama was the site of the very first 911 call.

• 26:04Speaker 02

  Yeah, that's a good little trivia question, I think.

• 26:07Josh Clark?

  That is pedal to the metal.

• 26:14Speaker 02

  By the way, I recently watched, I had recorded all those Jeopardy shows with Ken Jennings on there, the, the Champions.

• 26:20Josh Clark?

  Sure.

• 26:20Speaker 02

  Run. That was some of the better TV I'd seen in a while. Really good stuff.

• 26:25Josh Clark?

  Oh, yeah?

• 26:26Speaker 02

  Well, I mean, if you're a Jeopardy fan, it was as good as it gets, like the smartest competitors and like big time drama. Cause they, you know, they had to bring it on those daily doubles. It wasn't like a regular show. Like they were daily doubling on like $20,000 and stuff.

• 26:42Josh Clark?

  Ooh.

• 26:43Speaker 02

  Like, it was really tense.

• 26:44Josh Clark?

  Wow.

• 26:45Speaker 02

  Like, good drama.

• 26:45Josh Clark?

  Yeah.

• 26:46Speaker 02

  It was so cool. Cause I think Ken knew that other guy, the Holtz Hessler guy was a, as a gambler and he made his name for really just going all in. And Ken knew this, so he had to do the same.

• 26:56Josh Clark?

  Well, sure.

• 26:56Speaker 02

  In order to beat these chumps.

• 26:58Josh Clark?

  If you're playing a gambler, you get dragged into gambling, whether you want to gamble or not.

• 27:02Speaker 02

  Bring it in there.

• 27:02Josh Clark?

  You know?

• 27:03Speaker 02

  It's good stuff. Anyway, good trivia question. It's probably been on Jeopardy. Hayleyville, Alabama did, it was, it was kind of a publicity stunt. It sounds like.

• 27:12Josh Clark?

  They, so the little, the little phone company there, the Alabama Telephone Co. Basically said.

• 27:19Speaker 02

  That's pretty funny.

• 27:20Josh Clark?

  AT&T is, is about to do this, they're about to launch this 911 system. We want to jump on it and adopt it first, so we're going to set this up as fast as we can. Because here's the thing, we'll find out more about this in a minute. But there's no national 911 system.

• 27:36Speaker 02

  Yeah.

• 27:36Josh Clark?

  All, everywhere in the United States, 911 reaches an emergency dispatcher.

• 27:41Speaker 02

  Mm-hmm.

• 27:41Josh Clark?

  Or an emergency operator. But each system is local, regional at best.

• 27:47Speaker 02

  Right.

• 27:47Josh Clark?

  Um, so Haleyville, Alabama could jump on this and set up their own system and get started. And that's exactly what they did.

• 27:54Speaker 02

  That's right. February of 1968, they had a state senator named Rankin-Fight. He dialed 911 as a, you know, obviously, is this like a photo op or video op? In other words, there wasn't an emergency.

• 28:10Josh Clark?

  Sure.

• 28:10Speaker 02

  It's like, man, what a coincidence that the state senator had the first emergency.

• 28:15Josh Clark?

  And happened to be standing next to the special phone.

• 28:17Speaker 02

  That's right. They had a special bat phone, a red phone. And I think an Alabama congressman was on the other end at the police station.

• 28:25Josh Clark?

  Congressman Tom Bevel, known as the Pork King.

• 28:28Speaker 02

  Really?

• 28:29Josh Clark?

  Not just the Alabama Pork King, the Pork King of Congress.

• 28:32Speaker 02

  And the state senator said, what are you, Pork King, what are you doing at the police station? I've got an emergency. And he said, are we really going to do this bit?

• 28:43Josh Clark?

  I would force whoever's on the other line to do it.

• 28:45Speaker 02

  So, yeah, it was all just a big show to say, hey, we did it first. Uh, they did it a week later. They, they still have a big festival every year, too.

• 28:54Josh Clark?

  Sure.

• 28:54Speaker 02

  A 911 festival.

• 28:55Josh Clark?

  I wonder if they reenact this, this famous phone call.

• 28:58Speaker 02

  Oh, man, if we could play those two parts.

• 29:00Josh Clark?

  I'm the Pork King.

• 29:01Speaker 02

  How great would that be? Forget drunk history, just put us up there.

• 29:05Josh Clark?

  That's cool.

• 29:06Speaker 02

  Um, and when I say forget drunk history, I mean, we very much want to be on it.

• 29:11Josh Clark?

  Are we still pursuing that?

• 29:12Speaker 02

  No, I mean, just by occasionally yelling out of my window every now and then.

• 29:16Josh Clark?

  Okay.

• 29:17Speaker 02

  Why not us?

• 29:18Josh Clark?

  The crickets are deafening.

• 29:21Speaker 02

  I'm surprised no one said like, hey, this is a natural fit. These guys are great storytellers about history. They can get drunk with the best of them.

• 29:29Josh Clark?

  We've been saying this for years. No one's listening.

• 29:33Speaker 02

  So, uh, Nome, Alaska, about a week later, did the same thing. And we're the second city. And then throughout the seventies and eighties, it kind of started rolling out. But it takes a while to get this kind of thing going.

• 29:45Josh Clark?

  It does, because again, it's a local, again, at best, regional system. Okay? And your local, um, city might not have the money to put in a new telecommunications system.

• 30:00Speaker 02

  Yeah.

• 30:01Josh Clark?

  To be used for emergency services. Um, and at first, you know, cities that were a little more flush with cash, because they had a larger tax base, had the money to roll these out. So, as expected, aside from Hayleyville and Nome, it was mostly like large metropolitan areas that were starting to roll out their, the nine, the earliest 911 systems. But, the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, uh, which was the foundation based on Johnson and Johnson's company, um, they took an early interest in this and started handing out grants to rural areas to set up their own 911 systems. So, ironically, Hayleyville, Alabama, had it not jumped on it, probably still wouldn't

• 30:43Josh Clark?

  have a 911 system were it not for the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation doling out grants to like, you know, small towns around the country for their own.

• 30:51Speaker 02

  Yeah, because they were like, you know what? People call 911, they go to the hospital, they're gonna be using Johnson and Johnson products.

• 30:58Josh Clark?

  Yeah. Yep.

• 31:00Speaker 02

  I'm not being overly cynical, I'm sure that, you know, 911's probably good for the Band-Aid business.

• 31:06Josh Clark?

  I would guess so.

• 31:08Speaker 02

  And baby shampoo?

• 31:09Josh Clark?

  Yeah, because if you can't get, if you can't get, uh, an ambulance to that person, they're gonna croak. But if you get the ambulance to them, right. You don't need Band-Aids when you're dead.

• 31:19Speaker 02

  Nope.

• 31:20Josh Clark?

  That's, that's just like a fact of, of death.

• 31:22Speaker 02

  Mm-hmm.

• 31:23Josh Clark?

  But if you survive, you're gonna need a lot of Band-Aids, depending on what you've done to yourself.

• 31:27Speaker 02

  That's right. Uh, here's some stats for you. By 1976, when I was five years old, only 17% of the US had 911.

• 31:35Josh Clark?

  You wanna know a surprising fact? 1976, I was just born.

• 31:40Speaker 02

  Well, you probably weren't covered by 911.

• 31:43Josh Clark?

  Again, not until 1989.

• 31:45Speaker 02

  Well, by 1987, only 50% of the country, which is, uh...

• 31:50Speaker 02

  That's kind of, that's pretty late. I would have thought we would have had a lot more of the country covered by then.

• 31:54Josh Clark?

  For sure, you would think so. And it wasn't until 99, actually Chuck, that that 911 officially became the emergency number for everywhere in America. 1999.

• 32:07Speaker 02

  Bill Clinton said, "Let's do this." He said, "What about 999?" And they went, "Bill."

• 32:15Josh Clark?

  Yeah, please.

• 32:16Speaker 02

  Wrong country. Canada, speaking of wrong countries, they are very much the right country because they got on board with 911 as well.

• 32:24Josh Clark?

  That's absolutely true Chuck.

• 32:25Speaker 02

  Because they were like, "Why make things too difficult?"

• 32:28Josh Clark?

  You know, that's a great question, Canada. And I think the answer to that is you shouldn't make things too difficult. Just kind of go with the flow.

• 32:36Speaker 02

  Should we take another break or should we do some more stuff here?

• 32:39Josh Clark?

  I was thinking maybe another break.

• 32:41Speaker 02

  Okay.

• 32:41Josh Clark?

  Are you okay with that?

• 32:42Speaker 02

  Yes.

• 32:43Josh Clark?

  Are you sure?

• 32:43Speaker 02

  Yes.

• 32:44Josh Clark?

  What about you listeners?

• 32:46Speaker 02

  Yes.

• 32:46Josh Clark?

  Okay, good. Well, we'll be right back.

• 32:57Josh Clark?

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• 33:21Speaker 02

  Join host Andra Stratten as she guides listeners through honest conversations about life after diagnosis. You'll hear how each guest worked with her care team on their treatment plan, as well as their personal challenges, setbacks, progress, and moments of connection.

• 33:33Josh Clark?

  These stories reveal that life is bigger than a moment, a condition, or a tough day. Listen to Voices of VivGart on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.

• 33:50Josh Clark?

  Buy smart, drive for less and trade for more. That's Toyota affordability. And it all starts with a great deal on a truck from your local Toyota dealer.

• 33:59Speaker 02

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• 34:12Josh Clark?

  Or discover Toyota's off-road lineup, including the iconic 4Runner and Land Cruiser, designed to go beyond the everyday. And with Toyota's proven reputation for quality and reliability, plus hybrid power on many models, you can get more for every mile and drive for less along the way.

• 34:28Speaker 02

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• 34:52Josh Clark?

  World Mental Health Day takes place in October, and it's really meant to be more than just awareness. It's about actually taking the next step and getting support if you need it.

• 35:02Speaker 02

  But a lot of people still talk themselves out of therapy. They think it's too expensive. They're not sure if it'll actually work. They don't know how to find the right therapist or they just get overwhelmed trying to navigate the whole system.

• 35:12Josh Clark?

  And that's exactly what Rula is built to fix. Rula makes therapy feel a lot more approachable, a lot more human. You can find a therapist who actually fits your needs, not just whoever's available. And with insurance, sessions average around $15 copay.

• 35:26Speaker 02

  Yeah, you can sign up in just a few minutes. You can get matched with the right provider and even book something as soon as the next day.

• 35:31Josh Clark?

  And it's not just about starting. Rula helps you stay consistent and actually make progress because taking care of your mental health isn't a one-time thing. So if you've been thinking about therapy, you don't talk yourself out of it, this is a really easy way to take that first step.

• 35:43Speaker 02

  So turn off the talk track that's keeping you from progress and head to rula.com, that is R-U-L-A dot com, to find a therapist the easy way.

• 36:04Josh Clark?

  Okay Chuck, let's talk about how it actually works.

• 36:09Speaker 02

  Yeah, in the early days, obviously, it was all landline telephones. So when your call got routed to the switchboard, which was a 911 switchboard dedicated to that, they would patch you across phone lines that were dedicated to 911, to what's called a PSAP, a Public Safety Answering Point. And at the time, they were, a lot of times, like in the fire department or in the police station.

• 36:37Josh Clark?

  Right, so they could just turn in their chair and be like, Sarge, dispatch some people to this address.

• 36:42Speaker 02

  We got a suspicious person staring at oak trees.

• 36:46Josh Clark?

  Right.

• 36:47Speaker 02

  Again.

• 36:48Josh Clark?

  Right, and like, today, a 911 dispatcher is a highly trained, highly skilled

• 36:56Speaker 02

  Oh yeah.

• 36:56Josh Clark?

  person. There's a lot of stuff going on. It's like a flight attendant. Remember when we've learned, like, flight attendants are actually trained to

• 37:02Speaker 02

  Yeah.

• 37:03Josh Clark?

  save your life in an emergency, and they just hand out peanuts as like a side thing?

• 37:07Speaker 02

  Right.

• 37:08Josh Clark?

  This is basically the same thing with the 9/11 operator or call taker. They know how to do a lot of stuff, but the earliest ones just knew how to answer the phone, take down your info, and then turn around and send it off to the fire department, or the police department, or, you know, the paramedics or something like that. You know, they'd be like, okay, I gotta go, all right, I'll see you, bye.

• 37:27Speaker 02

  Right.

• 37:28Josh Clark?

  And then they would get off the phone.

• 37:29Speaker 02

  And that evolved to the call center. That evolved to what was called Enhanced 911, which was, in the 1970s, again, driven by telecom advancing with AT&T, with new technologies. They developed ANI and ALI, Automatic Number Identification and Location Identification.

• 37:51Josh Clark?

  ANI is just caller ID. That's what everybody calls caller ID.

• 37:54Speaker 02

  Yeah.

• 37:54Josh Clark?

  Remember those cute little boxes that you could plug your phone line into?

• 37:58Speaker 02

  Sat on your little table.

• 37:59Josh Clark?

  Show you in some little terrible readout?

• 38:01Speaker 02

  Yeah.

• 38:02Josh Clark?

  Basically dot matrix readout?

• 38:03Speaker 02

  Yep, who was calling? Pretty neat. And then it was on your handheld cordless phone.

• 38:10Josh Clark?

  Right.

• 38:10Speaker 02

  You could look at it, and that was like, whoa, we're living in the future.

• 38:13Josh Clark?

  Rich.

• 38:14Speaker 02

  Or the answering machine now is digital. We don't need those tiny tapes.

• 38:19Josh Clark?

  Yeah, it's true.

• 38:20Speaker 02

  That was like a big revolution, too.

• 38:22Josh Clark?

  That was huge.

• 38:23Speaker 02

  Amazing.

• 38:23Josh Clark?

  Because you could leave as long a message as you wanted now.

• 38:26Speaker 02

  Yeah.

• 38:27Josh Clark?

  But you couldn't get that clever, "nobody's home, nobody's home."

• 38:32Speaker 02

  Sure, you're still recording your outgoing message.

• 38:34Josh Clark?

  Right, you could sing it, but they actually had that tape you could buy that you could put in there.

• 38:38Speaker 02

  Really?

• 38:39Josh Clark?

  Yeah. There was one that was like a whole mixtape of them.

• 38:42Speaker 02

  Of just like gag answers? Oh, boy.

• 38:44Josh Clark?

  You don't remember that?

• 38:45Speaker 02

  Not really.

• 38:46Josh Clark?

  There was a very famous ad that ran.

• 38:49Speaker 02

  Really? It was like, "Delight your friends."

• 38:53Josh Clark?

  Basically, yeah.

• 38:54Speaker 02

  Wow.

• 38:55Josh Clark?

  Yeah.

• 38:55Speaker 02

  That's pretty funny.

• 38:56Josh Clark?

  So, this enhanced 911 system, the automatic number and the automatic locator, that was a big deal because now, all of a sudden, if you were a call taker for 911 and a call came up on your little computer screen, it said what the number was and what the address was. And because everybody was calling from landlines, you knew exactly where that person was who needed help.

• 39:21Speaker 02

  That's right.

• 39:22Josh Clark?

  Saved a bunch of time. It was a very huge life-saving measure.

• 39:25Speaker 02

  Yeah, I mean, when you think about people in an emergency, it could be everything from crippling fear, keeping you from even knowing where you are,

• 39:34Josh Clark?

  Yeah.

• 39:34Speaker 02

  to having been hit on the head and not being able to say where you are.

• 39:38Josh Clark?

  Yeah, or you just can't speak.

• 39:40Speaker 02

  Yeah, and so that really, imagine that they spend a lot of time sometimes just trying to get through that first step of where are you?

• 39:47Josh Clark?

  Right. So, this was an enormous leap forward. And in the 70s and 80s, it really kind of cemented how helpful and life-saving this 911 system could be. And then, cell phones came along. And the rest of us kind of leapfrogged right over 911 because the cellphone carriers didn't have ANI and ALI. When you call 911, still to this day, from a cellphone, it does not come up what your number is or where you are in any specific way. And so, Congress, or at least the FCC, said, "Hey, we need you guys to do something." Like, there's got to be something. It just can't be like, you know, you have no idea where this person is in the country.

• 40:31Speaker 02

  Yeah.

• 40:31Josh Clark?

  Because part of the other thing about the automatic locator that they had originally with 911 in the 70s and 80s is it would route you to the closest public safety answering point.

• 40:44Speaker 02

  Right.

• 40:45Josh Clark?

  So that would be saving time, too, because the person you're talking to is in the same area as you and knows the area you're talking about and can more quickly dispatch people.

• 40:54Speaker 02

  Right.

• 40:54Josh Clark?

  With cellphones, it's not the case.

• 40:56Speaker 02

  Yeah, and Dave makes a good point. Even if they could have located like where your cellphone plan was or your phone was activated, you don't have to live in the city where that is.

• 41:07Josh Clark?

  Right.

• 41:07Speaker 02

  I have friends that have LA numbers that work in the film industry here, just because that stupid LA 310 or 323 makes them look like a more legitimate hire.

• 41:16Josh Clark?

  Just so cool.

• 41:18Speaker 02

  It's so cool and so dumb.

• 41:19Josh Clark?

  Right.

• 41:20Speaker 02

  But yeah, they would be like, "You're in Atlanta? It says you're in Los Angeles."

• 41:24Josh Clark?

  Is this a prank? Are you swatting me?

• 41:26Speaker 02

  Yeah.

• 41:26Josh Clark?

  Yeah. So the FCC said, "Okay, you guys need to do something." So what they did was they came up with a triangulation where the closest cellphone tower's address comes up when you call.

• 41:41Speaker 02

  Yeah, it's a good start.

• 41:42Josh Clark?

  It is a good start, but if you're out in the sticks,

• 41:45Speaker 02

  Yeah.

• 41:46Josh Clark?

  the closest cellphone tower might be miles and miles and miles away.

• 41:49Speaker 02

  That's true.

• 41:50Josh Clark?

  And even if it's not miles away, let's say it's a football field away. Well, if you're in a dense, densely populated area.

• 41:57Speaker 02

  And you're bleeding out.

• 41:58Josh Clark?

  Sure.

• 41:58Speaker 02

  That doesn't help.

• 41:59Josh Clark?

  It does not help at all. But it gets you a little bit closer and it helps to transfer your caller, to route your call to the closest PSAP.

• 42:06Speaker 02

  Yeah.

• 42:06Josh Clark?

  Okay? And then the other thing that they have them do now, phase two of this enhanced, wireless enhanced 911, is it gives your GPS coordinates.

• 42:16Speaker 02

  Right.

• 42:17Josh Clark?

  Which is so 90s, it's ridiculous.

• 42:19Speaker 02

  It is.

• 42:19Josh Clark?

  It's like MapQuest.

• 42:21Speaker 02

  Anyone who's ever waited on a ride chair that thought you were down the street from where you were knows how accurate that GPS can be.

• 42:31Josh Clark?

  Well, that's...

• 42:31Speaker 02

  It's still great, but...

• 42:32Josh Clark?

  That's way more accurate than what 911's working with.

• 42:36Speaker 02

  Well, they're just working with longitude and latitude points, right?

• 42:38Josh Clark?

  Yeah. One of the big qualities, a quality to have as a 911 operator, is to be able to quickly translate longitude and latitude coordinates, GPS coordinates, into like Google Maps to get an address really fast.

• 42:54Speaker 02

  Into smooth, sexy voice.

• 42:56Josh Clark?

  Sure. Like Barry White with Fingers of Fury.

• 42:59Speaker 02

  Or like Halle Berry.

• 43:01Josh Clark?

  With Barry White's fingers.

• 43:03Speaker 02

  She, uh, did you see that movie, The Call?

• 43:06Josh Clark?

  No.

• 43:06Speaker 02

  She played a 911 call specialist in a movie, a thriller. It was good.

• 43:14Josh Clark?

  Was it?

• 43:14Speaker 02

  Wasn't great? Yeah, it was good.

• 43:15Josh Clark?

  Okay.

• 43:16Speaker 02

  But Brad Anderson directed it. He's like a really quality director.

• 43:19Josh Clark?

  Yeah, I know that name.

• 43:20Speaker 02

  And it seemed like this sort of, from what?

• 43:24Josh Clark?

  You gonna call me out on that?

• 43:25Speaker 02

  I didn't hear you. From what?

• 43:26Josh Clark?

  From where?

• 43:27Speaker 02

  Oh. I don't get what you mean.

• 43:30Josh Clark?

  From where? Like what other?

• 43:32Speaker 02

  Oh, what other movies has he directed? He directed a scary movie called Session Nine.

• 43:36Josh Clark?

  Oh, yes, okay. Well, then this guy's one of my favorites of all time.

• 43:39Speaker 02

  You know that movie?

• 43:40Josh Clark?

  That's what, it's one of the best horror movies ever made.

• 43:43Speaker 02

  Yeah, I'm a fan of Brad Anderson because he has a range of genres. Like, one of his early movies is this kind of spacey rom-com called Happy Accidents. That was great.

• 43:56Josh Clark?

  Happy Accidents?

• 43:57Speaker 02

  Yeah, really good with Marisa Tomei and Vincent D'Onofrio. But it had this, it was a rom-com with a sort of a, a bit of a sci-fi twist to it.

• 44:06Josh Clark?

  Oh, okay.

• 44:06Speaker 02

  And he did Trans-Siberian. He's, he's done, he did Next Stop Wonderland was one of his first little indies. But yeah, he does, it's unusual for a director to tackle all these weird or different genres.

• 44:18Josh Clark?

  That's neat.

• 44:18Speaker 02

  Disparate genres.

• 44:19Josh Clark?

  Well, you had me at Session Nine.

• 44:21Speaker 02

  Yeah, The Call is, is a good, you know, popcorn movie. I highly recommend it.

• 44:25Josh Clark?

  Okay, I'll check it out.

• 44:26Speaker 02

  Halle Berry's a call center person, and that's all I'll say.

• 44:28Josh Clark?

  Hey, she's quality. She's a quality actress.

• 44:31Speaker 02

  She is.

• 44:31Josh Clark?

  But the fact that I, I had never even heard of this movie really made me suspicious.

• 44:35Speaker 02

  It did pretty well.

• 44:37Josh Clark?

  Okay.

• 44:37Speaker 02

  It wasn't a massive hit, but it did like 60 million bucks.

• 44:41Josh Clark?

  But that's really surprising. Like, I'm very aware of movies. Like, I'll, I'll know what the movie's about, and I have never seen it. Not even seen a preview. I'll just kind of know.

• 44:50Speaker 02

  Sure.

• 44:51Josh Clark?

  So I'm, I'm surprised.

• 44:52Speaker 02

  Yeah. I recommend it.

• 44:55Josh Clark?

  I'll check it out.

• 44:55Speaker 02

  Yeah. I mean, it's no Black Coat's Daughter, but.

• 45:00Josh Clark?

  Man, that's a good one, too.

• 45:02Speaker 02

  So, where are we now? We are now at texting to 911.

• 45:07Josh Clark?

  Oh, wait, hold on. I wanted to drive this home real quick.

• 45:09Speaker 02

  Okay.

• 45:09Josh Clark?

  Okay.

• 45:10Speaker 02

  Drive it home.

• 45:11Josh Clark?

  The, the 1996 FCC rule that says you have to have a cellphone tower, tell 911 its address, the closest one to your cellphone, and then give the GPS coordinates

• 45:25Speaker 02

  Yeah.

• 45:25Josh Clark?

  for wherever that cellphone, they think the cellphone is. That's the 911 system that's in place nationwide today in 2020.

• 45:34Speaker 02

  That's why they ask you from a cellphone.

• 45:36Josh Clark?

  Yeah.

• 45:37Speaker 02

  Who are you and where are you, just like they did in the early days?

• 45:39Josh Clark?

  Right, and this is a problem because like you said earlier, 80% of 911 calls in the United States are made from cellphones. And 911 does not know where you are unless you tell them.

• 45:50Speaker 02

  Yeah, but it's also balanced out by the fact that.

• 45:55Josh Clark?

  They really want to help.

• 45:57Speaker 02

  Well, you have that cellphone right there and immediately, so.

• 46:00Josh Clark?

  Yeah, yeah, that.

• 46:01Speaker 02

  Remember the old days, you're like, let me find a payphone, let me go knock on someone's door.

• 46:05Josh Clark?

  That's true.

• 46:05Speaker 02

  And be and ask about their oak tree and hopefully I won't get shot.

• 46:08Josh Clark?

  Right.

• 46:10Speaker 02

  So people are calling right away, so I would think that kind of counterbalances the clumsiness.

• 46:14Josh Clark?

  Yes.

• 46:15Speaker 02

  Of location.

• 46:17Josh Clark?

  I think you're right, Chuck. We'll see. Boy, you really swooped in there.

• 46:20Speaker 02

  I say we'll see as if there's some report coming out.

• 46:23Josh Clark?

  The thing is, though, is there, there, people have figured out the people, the powers that be who are concerned with 911 and its system. Are well aware of this major flaw.

• 46:33Speaker 02

  Yeah.

• 46:34Josh Clark?

  And our work have figured out how to, how to update it. It's just now we're in the process of rolling out updates.

• 46:39Speaker 02

  Well, and then privacy advocates are going to be like.

• 46:43Speaker 02

  What? You're going to like locate every single person with the cellphone and know where they are at all times?

• 46:48Josh Clark?

  Right, and Amazon and Apple are like, dude, we, we already know that. It's just 911 is the only one who doesn't know where you are at all times. Which is a problem. It's funny, I saw a Wired article from 1998 that was like wringing its hands like, oh, you know, privacy advocates are worried that they may be able to track the movement of cellphone users based on this information that 911 gets now. Yeah, they're like, maybe, I don't know, we'll have to see.

• 47:15Speaker 02

  The future holds.

• 47:16Josh Clark?

  Yeah.

• 47:17Speaker 02

  So texting to 911 is the latest technology. About 10 years ago, 11 years ago in Iowa, in Blackhawk, they were the first jurisdiction to offer this service, and it's still kind of coming out, I think.

• 47:34Speaker 02

  A couple of years ago, they, all 50 states had text capability, but it's-

• 47:41Josh Clark?

  Not everywhere in each state.

• 47:43Speaker 02

  Yeah, exactly.

• 47:44Josh Clark?

  It's very sparse.

• 47:45Speaker 02

  And it's just text. I love, Dave points out, you can't send emojis. Like, "Need help" emoji.

• 47:51Josh Clark?

  Yeah.

• 47:52Speaker 02

  But you can't send text and video, and that kind of thing would be super helpful, I think.

• 47:56Josh Clark?

  Right. So, this is where we are in the next generation. It's literally called Next Generation 911 NG 911. And it's where 911 finally catches up to every other telecom company-

• 48:13Speaker 02

  Yeah.

• 48:14Josh Clark?

  And device manufacturer already is. And it basically uses all the information from the Internet of Things that lets people know exactly where you are.

• 48:24Speaker 02

  Right.

• 48:25Josh Clark?

  Not just like what your address is, what floor of a building you happen to be sitting on right now. All of that information is now going to be funneled to 911 when you call, because 911 is finally abandoning landlines. Landline telecom, that's what they're dealing with currently.

• 48:41Speaker 02

  Yeah.

• 48:42Josh Clark?

  They're going over to VoIP. So 911 will be using a secure Internet connection in the near future. And when they get to that point, they will be able to accept video-

• 48:53Speaker 02

  Right.

• 48:54Josh Clark?

  Photos, like, "This is the guy that's attacking the lady, hurry up," that kind of thing. And then they'll also be able to, because they're setting up a separate wireless broadband network just for first responders called FirstNet.

• 49:06Speaker 02

  Yeah, that's gonna be a big deal.

• 49:08Josh Clark?

  And so 911 will be able to say, "Hey, here's a photo of the guy that you're looking for." They can't do that now. As mind-boggling as it is, they cannot do that.

• 49:18Speaker 02

  Yeah, I mean, just to have a dedicated wireless network cuts down on, I imagine, interference and potential hacking.

• 49:26Josh Clark?

  Plus, in a disaster, if you're out there in the field, you are using your own wireless device that's on the public broadband right now. And so if the public broadband goes down, because there's so many people trying to use it to find out what's going on, like an earthquake or something-

• 49:41Speaker 02

  Yeah.

• 49:41Josh Clark?

  Like, the first responders suffer from that, too. So this separate broadband network just for first responders won't crash-

• 49:48Speaker 02

  Right.

• 49:48Josh Clark?

  -in the event of a disaster.

• 49:50Speaker 02

  Yeah, and speaking of first responders, I think it's kind of time we join certain people in saying- Call center employees are first responders.

• 50:02Josh Clark?

  Are people saying they're not?

• 50:03Speaker 02

  Well, I don't think they're generally thought of as first responders. If you work at a call center.

• 50:07Josh Clark?

  Because they just sit around?

• 50:09Speaker 02

  Maybe. But they are literally the first and most important first thing that happens.

• 50:15Josh Clark?

  Sure.

• 50:16Speaker 02

  In an emergency. And like you said earlier, they are trained to and walk people through CPR, Heimlich, how to deliver a baby, how to handle an active shooter, suicide, domestic abuse. If you're a kid and you're scared because grandma fell over, like how to handle children. Like, they're really skilled. And I think it's a shame that like, I feel like the only time you hear about 911 call center responders is when there's a bad one. And you release those calls and everyone's horrified.

• 50:50Josh Clark?

  Yeah.

• 50:50Speaker 02

  That, you know, and it is, it's awful, but those are clearly like the standouts. I guess not standouts, the standouts are all the good employees.

• 50:58Josh Clark?

  There have been some doozies for sure.

• 51:00Speaker 02

  Yeah.

• 51:01Josh Clark?

  I read about one where somebody called in a wildfire in Oregon, Oregon, sorry, Oregon. And the 911 operator said, what you're seeing is probably just the play of light, sunlight on the fog.

• 51:18Speaker 02

  Right.

• 51:19Josh Clark?

  It was like, how would you even know that? You're in a call center. I'm looking right at this thing. It's a wildfire. And like, they didn't dispatch anybody.

• 51:27Speaker 02

  Yeah.

• 51:27Josh Clark?

  And like a half hour, 20 minutes later, somebody else called it in. And by this time, it was like raging.

• 51:34Speaker 02

  There was the one lady drowning in her car, too. That one was horrific.

• 51:37Josh Clark?

  I didn't hear about that one.

• 51:38Speaker 02

  She was in her car that was going down. And I think, I don't remember exactly what happened, but she was freaking out.

• 51:43Josh Clark?

  Yeah.

• 51:44Speaker 02

  And I think the 911 person was just sort of dismissive and it was really, and kind of rude even.

• 51:51Josh Clark?

  Wow.

• 51:52Speaker 02

  But, you know, that makes the news.

• 51:54Josh Clark?

  Right.

• 51:54Speaker 02

  Not the 650,000 calls a day that go through and our lives are saved, like.

• 52:01Josh Clark?

  No, no, absolutely. It's absolutely true. It's a great point. There are plenty of stories, though, people like of them just like straight up doing hero stuff.

• 52:10Speaker 02

  Yeah.

• 52:10Josh Clark?

  Going above and beyond.

• 52:12Speaker 02

  You should see Halle Berry in this movie.

• 52:14Josh Clark?

  One of the things that can happen is as much as you're trained to not let it happen, you can become emotionally invested in a call.

• 52:25Speaker 02

  Totally.

• 52:26Josh Clark?

  And. I've read that some, some operators are just fine at leaving it at the door, at least appearing to leave it at the door, but others can suffer burnout, PTSD.

• 52:36Speaker 02

  Yeah.

• 52:37Josh Clark?

  And one of the big things that I saw, that's a huge psychological problem for 911 operators, is that there can very frequently be no resolution.

• 52:48Speaker 02

  Right.

• 52:49Josh Clark?

  They can be on the phone with somebody who is like, holding someone hostage and they're trying to talk them down. And all of a sudden, the cops come in and the line goes dead. They, if they're not good friends with the cops who came in.

• 53:00Speaker 02

  Right.

• 53:00Josh Clark?

  They may never find out what happened. Like, no idea. They're talking someone through who's been shot or whatever, to try to keep them alive and conscious. They have no idea what happened to that person. They have to take the next call. And that's a huge problem. There's no closure. And then sometimes there is closure, like, if you're a 911 operator, you probably have been on the phone with somebody when they took their last breath.

• 53:23Speaker 02

  Right.

• 53:24Josh Clark?

  When they were murdered, when they died very, very scared.

• 53:26Speaker 02

  Right.

• 53:27Josh Clark?

  That kind of stuff takes its toll on people and that's a, it can be a big problem. And there can be pretty frequent turnover among 911 dispatchers.

• 53:35Speaker 02

  It's Halle Berry movie.

• 53:36Josh Clark?

  Oh, yeah.

• 53:37Speaker 02

  I'm telling you, it's all there.

• 53:38Josh Clark?

  Yeah.

• 53:39Speaker 02

  Uh, yeah, cause even if they don't get closure on the work site, they could see it on the news that night. Be like, man, I took that call.

• 53:47Josh Clark?

  Right.

• 53:48Speaker 02

  Of this murder.

• 53:49Josh Clark?

  Yeah.

• 53:49Speaker 02

  Or whatever. Pretty bad.

• 53:51Josh Clark?

  Sure.

• 53:52Speaker 02

  Not a job for me.

• 53:54Josh Clark?

  I don't think I could hack it either. And then practically speaking, there's like, you have to be able to type really, really fast, with a high level of accuracy, while somebody's telling you other information.

• 54:05Speaker 02

  Yeah, I would.

• 54:06Josh Clark?

  Like, you might be taking info in and you have to be chatting with, you know, a cop on IM, who you're sending out, while you're also taking the description from the other person, you're just going back and forth.

• 54:16Speaker 02

  Yeah, you gotta be able to compartmentalize and multitask.

• 54:19Josh Clark?

  Yeah.

• 54:20Speaker 02

  All, none of those things are my specialty.

• 54:22Josh Clark?

  No.

• 54:22Speaker 02

  Uh, if you're wondering, you pay for 911, if you have a phone bill.

• 54:27Josh Clark?

  Mm-hmm.

• 54:28Speaker 02

  Cell phone bills included. That's a little, little surcharge there, so, uh.

• 54:33Josh Clark?

  That's outrageous.

• 54:34Speaker 02

  Just scream socialism, everybody.

• 54:36Josh Clark?

  Yeah.

• 54:36Speaker 02

  Uh, and as far as those statistics we talked about earlier, about the racial bias. Of course, if you are a fan of Public Enemy, you remember the great, great song, 911 is a Joke.

• 54:47Josh Clark?

  It's a good one.

• 54:47Speaker 02

  Flava Flav.

• 54:48Josh Clark?

  Yeah.

• 54:49Speaker 02

  There was a study done by the ACLU in 2013. Residents of Grand Crossing, this is a Chicago study.

• 54:57Josh Clark?

  Mm-hmm.

• 54:57Speaker 02

  African-American neighborhood on the South Side waited 11 minutes for a cop to come after a priority call. Two and a half minutes for the predominantly white neighborhood of Jefferson Park. And response times in that were four and a half times slower in the black community. And there's, you know, like I mentioned earlier with the people calling 911 on, you know, just an African-American person living their life. There have been cases where people ended up dead because of that.

• 55:30Josh Clark?

  Right.

• 55:31Speaker 02

  After escalation, and that's just like a pure tragedy.

• 55:35Josh Clark?

  For sure. There is, there are like, when you have something this massive and huge and it involves people at like their worst moment of their life, a lot of stuff is gonna kind of come out of it. There's a lot to 911, a lot of legends and myths and everything. But one of the things I saw that everyone seems to know about is that if you call 911 and pretend you're ordering a pizza, they will understand that you are in a position where you can't talk and they'll dispatch the police. Supposedly, that's a myth, but it makes total sense, doesn't it? You've heard that before?

• 56:11Speaker 02

  I was just thinking of Die Hard.

• 56:12Josh Clark?

  Oh, I don't remember that.

• 56:14Speaker 02

  There was that line where he's calling the 911 dispatcher.

• 56:17Josh Clark?

  Uh-huh.

• 56:17Speaker 02

  Well, I guess, I don't even think it was, I think it was an actual cop on the other end. And she's like, calm down, sir, and, you know, it's not an emergency, whatever. And he said, what do you think I'm doing, ordering a pizza?

• 56:28Josh Clark?

  Oh, yeah, that's right.

• 56:29Speaker 02

  And that might have been a reference to that.

• 56:31Josh Clark?

  Maybe so.

• 56:32Speaker 02

  So what are you saying again?

• 56:34Josh Clark?

  The urban legend is that if you, like, let's say there's, there's somebody who's like got a gun on you. If you can somehow get it to the point where you're like, hey, let's order a pizza right now, you call 911, say, hey, I'd like to order a pizza.

• 56:47Speaker 02

  And that's code for?

• 56:47Josh Clark?

  Here's my address. And then, yeah, and then 911 will get what's going on and send the cops out. Apparently, that's not true. But there is, there's another, there was an urban legend I saw in the UK with 999. That if you call and you don't say anything, that they will send someone out. And I think that is kind of widely believed over here in the US, too. Apparently, in the UK, that is true. But it's gonna send you through a series of prompts if you don't respond. And if you press 55, it will, you will be confirming that, yes, you, there is an emergency and you just can't talk right now, and they will send people out.

• 57:31Josh Clark?

  If you don't press 55, then they, they won't. It'll just take it as like a accidental call.

• 57:38Speaker 02

  Well, and that's the big benefit. I don't even think we kind of brought up about texting to 911. Cause you might think like, ugh, cause people wanna text.

• 57:46Josh Clark?

  Millennials.

• 57:46Speaker 02

  But there are plenty of cases where you can't talk. You're maybe in a domestic dispute.

• 57:53Josh Clark?

  Or if you're hearing impaired.

• 57:54Speaker 02

  And you're hiding in a closet, or if you're hearing impaired, or if you've been kidnapped and don't wanna use your voice out loud, or you're a scared child. Like, plenty of great cases to be made for texting.

• 58:04Josh Clark?

  And since text to 911 isn't everywhere, the FCC has a law that if your telecom carrier doesn't, doesn't have text to 911, they have an immediate bounce back that says like, you can't do that, you have to call 911.

• 58:19Speaker 02

  Yeah, which is, that's pretty valuable.

• 58:20Josh Clark?

  It is. And one last thing. If you find an old phone that has a charge in it, even if it hasn't had service for 20 years, you can dial 911, you will be connected.

• 58:31Speaker 02

  Yeah, that is pretty cool.

• 58:32Josh Clark?

  Every single phone that is, that is in operation dials 911 for free.

• 58:36Speaker 02

  Yeah, I like that.

• 58:38Josh Clark?

  I do, too, man.

• 58:39Speaker 02

  I love 911.

• 58:40Josh Clark?

  I think Kurt Vonnegut said, "There's no, no greater display of humanity than seeing a fire truck go down the street with its sirens blazing."

• 58:49Speaker 02

  Oh, really?

• 58:50Josh Clark?

  That sounds like something he'd say.

• 58:52Speaker 02

  Interesting.

• 58:53Josh Clark?

  Well, if you wanna know more about Kurt Vonnegut, you can just type that into the search bar, "How Stuff Works," and who knows what that'll bring up?

• 59:00Speaker 02

  Who knows?

• 59:01Josh Clark?

  And since I said that, it's time for Listener Mail.

• 59:06Speaker 02

  This is a response when we asked for examples of racism in today's military. And we heard from a range of people, I have to say. From this guy, who-

• 59:17Josh Clark?

  To the other guy.

• 59:18Speaker 02

  To the other guy. This guy said, I'll just tell you what this guy said in a minute, but other people have said that, yeah, they've seen some pretty bad racist stuff in the military, but they're isolated incidences, just like in the real world.

• 59:30Josh Clark?

  Gotcha.

• 59:30Speaker 02

  But this is what Matthew Applewhite says. "Start off, I'm a white guy, I can't speak on everyone's experience while in the service, but during my four years, I saw more camaraderie between a mix of races than I ever see in my real life."

• 59:43Josh Clark?

  It seems like this is the response that we got the most.

• 59:46Speaker 02

  The most, I think, you're right. They thought us, oh, they taught us from the start in boot camp, Marine Corps, that you're all nothing, and you will all become Marines. And with that in common, it gives a common ground between any race or nationality. They might often refer to African-American Marines as dark green, implying, yes, they may have a different skin tone, but they're still green. And over the years, in and out of training, you learn that everyone endures the suck in the hard times together. And no one is above another. In the end, you learn to trust the man to my left and right with my life, no matter what his skin color. And ladies, too, they're female Marines.

• 1:00:26Josh Clark?

  Sure. I'm glad you said that.

• 1:00:28Speaker 02

  Yeah. Now, saying all this, some prejudice from other people's upbringing do still remain, but most of the time, it is shot down very fast with harsh repercussions, and it is kept to a minimum. "I made many friends from all walks of life that I would have never even imagined being so close to without the common ground we stood on or the hard times that we endured together." And that is from an avid listener named Matthew Applewhite.

• 1:00:51Josh Clark?

  Thanks a lot, Matthew. We appreciate you letting us know. Thanks to everybody who wrote in to let us know. Virtually the same thing.

• 1:00:58Speaker 02

  Yeah, except for the couple of standouts.

• 1:01:00Josh Clark?

  Yeah. Well, if you want to get in touch with us like Matthew did, you can go on to steveyoushouldknow.com, and I think our social links are there, who knows? But you can always get in touch with us via email at [email protected].

• 1:01:17Speaker 03

  Stuff You Should Know is a production of iHeartRadio. For more podcasts, iHeartRadio, visit the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you listen to your favorite shows.

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