I was watching a show from the 90s and realized people used to memorize dozens of phone numbers. I can barely remember mine. How did you guys do it back then?

There is so much of “I don’t understand how you did ___ in the old days” We did it because we had to. You learn how to do something and you just do it. It becomes second nature. We have the capability of doing so much as humans and we limit ourselves.

Yeah. I mean, what was the alternative? Just not be able to call anyone except for a handful of people? You memorized them because you had to. We also had the White Pages where literally every one on the City’s name, number, and address was printed for all to see. Seems bananas today.

We also used to have same 3 digits to lead off, but the more clever of us would try to make a word out of the last 4 if possible

I’m in my 60s and lived in a small town. All we had to dial was the last 5 numbers. You could call my house my dialing 22577.

Yes, it was so much easier when we didn't have to remember the area codes. Seven digits is way easier to remember than ten.

Yeah I came here to say this, most everyone's numbers were pretty similar and you only had to remember the last 4 digits of the number because living in the same area meant the beginning of the numbers were all pretty similar. We also didn't need area codes for a long time. After we did need area codes and they started branching to multiple and numbers weren't all so similar anymore, I would keep a notebook sheet of paper with me that had all the numbers I wanted. When it started to get degraded, or if I needed to take numbers off or change someones number, I'd remake the sheet of paper. It was always folded and with me in some capacity. But I always had like mom, dad, cousin, best friend, grandma, grandpa, maybe boyfriend at the time memorized because I'd call so often and had to dial it. Even now I still have my parents, husband and I think one of my siblings memorized because she's had the same number since forever. My other siblings change their numbers too often for me to keep up

Just to add on it, also there were different "areas" in the city/town. For example one neighborhood was 635 and most of my friends lived there, but I lived in 585. Probably 95% of the people I knew were between these two neighborhoods, so I only needed to learn the last 4 digits, and even then some of them were fairly close to each other like just one digit away.

I'd add that they were also easier to remember pre-cell phone days. There were far less area codes (most people we knew were in same or adjacent area code), along with the prefix or exchange numbers being the same or maybe last digit different.

Yep. I still remember a few phone numbers from my teens.

What this person said. Also remember cell phones were a brand new thing. Your address book was a physical thing and you had to manually type in the numbers, further burning it into your brain.

I'm 45 and it was at least two dozen for me. Family alone is a dozen, friends were another dozen. Plus the random places like the pizza place, Mom's work, and Moviefone. I don't remember all of them, but I can still tell you close to a dozen without even trying very hard.

Also there was tactile memory associated w physically punching buttons or rotating a dial. And each “touch tone” number key produced a distinct tone so you “heard” the number ( this still applies).

I still remember my old house phone number as a kid. Still use it at Safeway lol

Yep, repetition and rote learning.

Landline numbers also used to be shorter. At least in my country. When you called a local number, the area code wasn't necessary so phone numbers could be as short as like four digits (we still have two of those).

I'm 44 and I definitely for sure had many many phone numbers memorized. I could rattle off more than 8 right now that aren't even in use anymore, on top of ones I currently use lol

We used to call each other A LOT. And you really only had to remember the last 4 digits if you knew what part of the state someone lived in. It was no big deal for friends. For people you just met, or people you rarely called, we all carried little address books with us.

Im almost 40, and by the time I was about 12 is when they added needing the area code- so before that it was only remembering the 7 digit numbers as well if it was local.

I’m 70. I remembered all the numbers for my closest people. Phone numbers were shorter back then. We didn’t have area codes. When I didn’t have a number I called 411 (Information or Directory Assistance) to get the number. Nowadays, I keep the numbers for my closest people on an index card and keep it in my purse - just in case I need to reach somebody and don’t have my phone.

I still remember my middle school girlfriend’s home phone number. Calling that number after school and hoping her dad didn’t pick up the phone lol

I made little jingles to remember ones I didn’t use that often. I still remember them.

Yep. I remember my old home phone number for my mom's house and my dad's house. I know my phone number, my husband's, my mom's, my brother's, and my dad's. I used to carry a tiny little book with me with everyone else's numbers in it. Now phones keep track of it all. I won't get rid of that little book, though.

Except for your own which you had to memorize so you could tell everyone else or call you home land line from someone else's

Tik tik tik tik tik tik tik. I loved a rotary phone.

I’m 57. I could right now tell you my home phone number from when I was a child but I won’t because someone else has it now and I don’t want them to get a lot of spam calls!

And many phones had a little lined card behind a piece of clear plastic that you could write on. We’d put our most dialed numbers there like grandparents, aunts/uncles, close friends… pizza or Chinese or the movie line lol.

I also had a list of numbers tucked away in my wallet. Most I knew by heart, but just in case. Making that list way the equivalent of making one of the pre assigned speed dial s****.

Or a rolodex.

password manager. you only need to memorize 1 password and 1 login.

Pushing buttons? We had to rotate the dial and if you screwed up you had to start all over again. It actually wasn't so hard. You wrote down the ones you needed to remember, we all had phone books, and since only the last four digits for any area were different it wasn't hard to remember a handful of numbers.

And I'm the 70s, so meant phones were rotary dial.

people dont even use the touchscreen for the numbers. You set up the contacs list entry then tap their name to call. if you type with the touchscreen it will still eventually burn the phone number into your brain.

Now you only type the number once and then save it in your phone. Back then, you had to type the number every single time. We didn’t have to try to remember, we just did remember because of repetition.

They make great passwords (when you need numeric passwords). It's a number you know and will not forget, but it isn't like your anniversary. Someone might guess "his son's birthday." They're very unlikely to figure out "Billy-his-best-friend-when-he-was-12's phone number."

867-5309