Josef Carl Engressia, Jr. was born blind. His introduction to the sounds of the telephone began when his mother enabled him to dial the local number 737 for a recording of the time. She simply placed a piece of tape on the numbers 3 and 7, which enabled Joe to distinguish the numbers by the texture. At age 5, Joe learned he could dial numbers rapidly by clicking the phone’s hang-up switch — a process known as “tapping” — that simulated the pulses of a rotary dial. Also born with perfect pitch, Joe was able to whistle at exactly 2600 Hz. This specific frequency signaled to the phone system’s long-distance trunks that a call had ended, allowing him to stay on the line and redirect calls for free. Unfortunately, his activities led to several run-ins with the law. In 1971, he was arrested in Memphis and convicted of phone fraud after an employee at Florida Bell illegally monitored his conversations. Joe died of congestive heart failure in 2007 at the age of 58.
