New 472 Area Code Starts Friday in Fayetteville, SE North Carolina

Old habits die hard, but starting Friday, you'll have a new area code - 472 - to start dialing in Fayetteville and most of Southeastern North Carolina, in addition to the current 910.

As we reported last year, the 910 area code was running out of phone numbers, and the North Carolina Utilities Commission granted a new area code overlay for our region. What that means for you, is that you now have to dial the area code before any call into the old 910 and new 472 area codes.

The North Carolina Utilities Commission approved that all new phone numbers created late this year will start with 472 in the area that currently has 910 numbers. Nobody with a current 910 number will have to change their number, but local calls will all need to dial the 10-digit number now.

It seems like it was just yesterday that before making a telephone call, you would pick up the receiver and listen. At the time, many had what was referred to as a party line. My grandmother was one of many in my hometown of Bladenboro that had to deal with the frustrations of the party line. If someone was using the line, respectfully, you waited for them to finish and then made your call. And yes, others could listen in on your call if they chose to.

In the not too distant past, all phones used the rotary-style system to make calls. Before you knew it, the rotary phones disappeared ushering in the touch-tone system which was quickly followed by wireless technology. Back in the day, it was very cool to use the "cordless" phone. I could walk around my house and even outside in the yard all while yapping on the phone. Then, after my call, I had better not forget to put the phone back on the battery charger.

The 910 area code was created in 1993 when it was split off from the 919 area code as a separate region. This split will be different, as 472 and 910 will operate in the same geographic overlay area. Numbers starting in 910 were projected to run out by the middle of 2023, based on current growth.

Most cities would be **bleeping** mad to be at the bottom of a rankings list, but Charlotte has to be happy about being one of the best when it comes to cities that swear most.

According to the good folks over at Preply.com, the Queen City of Charlotte averages only 19 swear words per day, good enough to be in the bottom half of a recent study. Preply surveyed folks from 30 of the largest cities in the country to figure out the rankings.

Some of the key findings from Preply were fascinating!

According to the study, Americans say that at home is where they swear the most, and most say they were likely to swear in front of strangers.

And who is most likely to be sworn at? Well, yourself obviously. Some 54 percent of people said they are the target of their own swear words.

"Americans are also likely to use swear words to express themselves in specific contexts, such as when they are in pain, frustrated, or even happy. The most common ways they use swear words are when 1) accidentally hurting themselves, 2) expressing road rage, and 3) receiving bad news."

While we won't be listing the most popular swear words, we can safely report on the most popular substitutions! Preply said that "fudge/fudgesicle" is the most common replacement word, with "shoot" right behind it.

So where are the worst cities for swear words in the country? Let's take a look:

The good people of Columbus say they swear an obscene 36 times per day. By far the most in the study. It's gotta be all those Ohio State fans cursing at their Michigan counterparts right?

At 30 swears a day, Sin City comes in second on the list.

If you had to be a Jacksonville Jaguars fan, you'd swear a lot too.

Philly is tied in the fourth spot with Dallas, Oklahoma City and Indianapolis. All four cities average 25 swears a day. Philly once threw snowballs at Santa at an Eagles game. This isn't shocking.

Aside from the 115 degree temperatures in the summer, there's not much to swear about in Phoenix. They average just 14 swears a day, tied with Portland, Oregon for the angels on this list.

Boston and Milwaukee are tied with 15 swears a day, but it's a bit shocking that Boston is on THIS side of the list. Just ask anybody who has been there. Maybe with Tom Brady gone, they've lost that fighting spirit.

Aside from the cost of living, there's not much to swear about in San Jose.