Speaking of Pranks . . .

3 April 2017

Rotary dial phone . . . this was all that existed when I was a little girl

Prank calls were all the rage . . . long before cell phones . . . long before caller ID . . . we lived under a veil of anonymity. Bored kids would call random numbers, ask a silly question, then simply hang up. They were generally pretty harmless; a conversation might go like this:

Listener: Hello?
Caller: Is your refrigerator running?
Listener: Yes.
Caller: Then you'd better catch it (click)

Listener: Hello?
Caller: Your cat is in my garden.
Listener: I don't have a cat
Caller: Well, I don't have a garden (click)

Listener: Hello?
Caller (calling a store): Do you have Prince Albert in a can?
Listener: Yes
Caller: You'd better let him out before he suffocates!
(Prince Albert is a tobacco that comes in a tin)

Then one day the capability to dial *69 happened . . . this meant whoever you called could immediately call your number back . . . sometimes getting your parents involved. And, of course, Caller ID came along . . . prank callers were pretty much stopped dead in their tracks.

People still try to prank others, but it's often done by text. Here's a pretty funny example of a current "phone prank" . . . at least I find it amusing!

And no, I never made a prank phone call . . . I was never that brave! But I know kids who did it . . . I was present for a few of them

"Fool me once, shame on you; fool me twice, shame on me." ~ Unknown