That arithmetic for ambulance

TEHERAN (Reuter): Teheran's ambulance service had the easiest phone number in town, but had to give it up when 1-2-3 proved too alluring for children learning numbers.

Pre-school children practicing arithmetic on telephone dials jammed the service's switchboard, the Resalat newspaper reported.

"Three out of every five calls we used to receive were nuisance calls, and mostly by children," a veteran of the ambulance service said.

"They have considerably reduced since the number was changed to 115 a couple of months ago."