On 10 November 1951 direct-dial long-distance calls across the United States began. Until then, a coast-to-coast call needed operators to connect each stage. The North American Numbering Plan assigned three-digit area codes and a standard seven-digit number format so that switching equipment could route calls automatically. The first live call was reported between the mayor of Englewood, New Jersey, and the mayor of Alameda, California. The system, designed by AT&T's Bell System, now covers twenty-five regions in twenty countries, under country code 1.

Hampi is a UNESCO World Heritage Site in Karnataka, India, with more than 1,600 surviving remains spread over 4,100 hectares. It was the capital of the Vijayanagara Empire from 1336 to 1565. Travellers from Persia and Portugal described it as a prosperous, wealthy and grand city with temples, markets and farms along the Tungabhadra River. By 1500 it was estimated to be the world's second-largest city after Beijing, and probably India's richest at the time. In 1565 a coalition of Muslim sultanates defeated the Vijayanagara Empire, its capital was conquered and destroyed, and the city was left in ruins. Hampi remains a religious centre, with the active Virupaksha Temple at its heart.