Last year, more than 70,000 accidental calls were placed to Pinellas County (Fla.) 911 Emergency Communications system, many of them from older-model cell phones that are preprogrammed to automatically dial 911 when the "9" key is pressed or bumped.

So the county has taken care of the little nuisance.

Officials claim Pinellas is the first county in the nation to distribute cell-phone button guards to prevent citizens from accidentally dialing 911. Cell-phone users can contact the county to receive the free button-guard kit, which contains an adhesive-backed rubber guard that fits over the phone’s "9" key. The kits are valued at about $3, and officials note that the guard doesn’t interfere with the normal operations of the phone.