The 911 emergency system was inaugurated in the 1960s, but its rollout was slow, and it took years for smaller towns to fund and implement it. We all knew it was a great idea. Then enhanced 911 came out, and they could locate your landline phone as soon as you called. What sorcery is this? But technology advances, and now cities with the most sophisticated 911 service can even locate the cell phone that made the call.
We rely on the system, but few of us understand how it works now. Half as Interesting explains what happens when you make a 911 call. I have a bone to pick, though. Back in the day, you never had to dial a ten-digit number to get the local police. That would be a useless long-distance call. Local numbers are seven digits, or four digits if you go back far enough. This video is only 5:27; the rest is an ad.
Looks like in 1970 some 40,000 calls per day to the police were made through the operator, which the Bell System promoted as the backup universal emergency code. "There will always be operator assistance available for emergency calls."
The last time I called the operator was in 1991, and last operator assisted call I did was in 1988.