The emergency number 911 was chosen because it is easy to remember and hard to dial by mistake on rotary phones.

The push for a unified emergency number in the United States began in 1957 when the International Association of Fire Chiefs recommended a single number for reporting fires. However, it was not until 1967 that the President's Commission on Law Enforcement and Administration of Justice formally recommended a nationwide emergency number. AT&T, which controlled most of the phone infrastructure at the time, announced the selection of 911 in January 1968.The specific digits 9-1-1 were chosen based on technical and practical requirements. AT&T engineers needed a sequence that was short, easy to remember, and unique. Most importantly, the number could not have been previously assigned as an area code or a service code like 411. This ensured that the switching equipment of the era could identify the emergency call as soon as the third digit was dialed.On the rotary phones used in the late 1960s, the number 1 was the shortest distance to pull, while 9 was near the end of the dial. This physical separation reduced the likelihood of 'butt-dialing' or accidental mechanical triggers. The very first 911 call was placed on February 16, 1968, by Alabama Speaker of the House Rankin Fite in Haleyville, Alabama. Today, the National Emergency Number Association (NENA) estimates that over 240 million 911 calls are made in the U.S. every year.