When we got our current number it had previously belonged to the vet listed first in the phone book. Since farmers, particularly, never updated the phone books in the cow shed/sheep run etc we would get calls in the middle of the night from farmers needing urgent help. They used to be very rude when we informed them the vet had actually left the country over 6 months ago! The number had been out of circulation for that time before being reassigned but farmers just reached for their old book, or their list on the wall :roll:
Our number was also 2 digits reversed from the local fish and chip shop so we would get orders for them too. Occasionally we would play along and tell them it would be on the way shortly (if we didn't like the sound of the person). 8)
Before the STD phone system came in and you had to dial an operator to make a toll call (my age is showing) we would get a lot of calls for the local freezing works as the toll operators would transpose the last two numbers :roll: