Does anyone know the reason the key pad on a telephone is the exact opposite of a calculator keypad?

Ha, when I was an Operator for Hyatt I dealt with that all the damn time.
I don’t know why, but I completely understand your frustration.

I’ve dropped a few cuss words over this.

Me too. :)

Some info here.

In 1960, when Bell labs was trying to figure out the best layout, they tested several possible configurations, including the standard adding machine layout. The layout we now have was chosen as representing the best combination of speed and user accuracy. Here’s a copy of the actual Bell Labs report describing the study.

Sorry, wrong link. Here’s the study.

@Harp and JP Thanks, both links were very infomative, though I thought the answer would be more clear cut.