The Residential Phone Book's Number Is Up

Long relegated to a makeshift foot stool or door stop, the residential phone book (a.k.a the White Pages) is finally getting the official disconnect notice.

Major telecommunications companies have received permission from regulators to stop printing and delivering the bulky things, the Associated Press reported. New York, Florida and Pennsylvania gave Verizon the OK to halt distribution this month, and Virginia is likely to follow. Alabama, Delaware, Florida, Georgia, Indiana, Missouri, New Jersey, North Carolina, Ohio, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, Texas, Wisconsin already have petitioned or received the go-ahead to close the book on what was once an American fixture.