Published: Jun. 6, 2019 at 4:32 PM CDT
It's probably the most famous phone number in American pop culture. And with only 335 area codes in the U.S., not many people share it, or would want it. We caught up with the Lynn Haven woman who owns the number in the 850, and no, her name is not Jenny!
867-5309, Tommy Tutone made it famous in 1981. Realtor Carrie Routt made it hers in 2002.
“I thought it'd be funny and I really didn't know what it would mean to have the number," said Routt. "I just thought it'd be a really cool number to have.”
Routt quickly ran down to the cellular store when the 867 prefix came to the area nearly two decades ago.
“A lot of people just start off singing [when I answer my phone]," said Routt. "They don't even ask for Jenny. They just start singing immediately as soon as I answer.”
Yes, she’s had more than her fair share of pranks over the years.
"Seventeen years later it has just been a whirlwind of prank calls, prank texts, all kinds of misinformation," said Routt. "People love to put my number down for jury duty or just whatever.”
Routt says she has a hard time signing up for store memberships because someone has already used her number. And some people put it on their fake profiles on dating websites. And the high jinks don't stop there.
“A wife calls and the husband had went out with the guys the night before and they thought it would be funny to call me at 2:00 a.m. Well, try explaining that to her, why her husband was calling me at 2:00 a.m,” said Routt.
“I can still have a little bit of fun with it sometimes," said Routt. "If the song comes on I can say, 'Hey, I bet you I know who has this number, bet you $5?' And of course I'm going to win.”
And she’s already won. Someone a while back offered $10,000 for the number. Routt declined, but things may be different now.
“So it is time probably to pass it along and I've been thinking about that exit strategy for some time now.”
Routt has designs on possibly auctioning off her number with a majority of the proceeds going to hurricane relief. She says someone in New Jersey sold his for around a half million dollars a while back. Now that sounds like a good number!
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