at the tone the time will be...

[acroyear]

...time to get a new watch, apparently...

Slashdot | AT&T Stops 'Time', Ends An Era:

Starting in September, you will no longer be able to pick up a landline, payphone, etc and find out what time it is at the beep [CC] [MD] [GC]. AT&T, which has had the service since the 20s, cited a lack of demand in the digital age as the reason for "time"'s extinction. Actually, the service had already stopped in most states, but Nevada and California — with their large rural and unmapped areas — were still holding out, should the lost motorist or weary hiker need to know the time of day.

The most depressing part of this is that it makes yet another gag now an anachronism that future kids will never get.

In So Long and Thanks, Ford puts one over on an annoying bureaucrat by routing a long distance "call" through to the time-telling phone number in New York, rigging the charges in hopes of bankrupting the pain in the arse.

Now, it seems, he'll not be able to pull that one anymore...