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A '''prank call,''' also known as a '''crank call''', '''hoax call''', '''phony call''', or '''phony phone call''' is a form of [[practical joke]] committed over the [[telephone]]. As with all practical jokes, prank calls are generally done for humorous effect, though there is a thin line between [[humor]] and [[harassment]], and the person receiving the call may not find it funny. Prank phone calls began to gain a nationwide following over a period of many years, as they gradually became a staple of the obscure and amusing cassette tapes traded amongst musicians, sound engineers, and media traders beginning in the late 1970s. Among the most famous and earliest recorded prank calls are the [[Tube Bar prank calls|Tube Bar]] tapes which centered around [[Louis "Red" Deutsch]], and the Lucius Tate phone calls. Comedian Jerry Lewis was an incorrigible phone prankster, and recordings of his hijinks, dating from the 1960s and possibly earlier, still circulate throughout the country to this day.
Even very prominent people have fallen victim to prank callers, as for example Queen [[Elizabeth II of the United Kingdom|Elizabeth II]],<ref>[http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/618065.stm bbc.co.uk article on Queen Elizabeth II prank call]</ref> who was fooled by Canadian DJ [[Pierre Brassard]] posing as Canadian Prime Minister [[Jean Chrétien]], asking her to record a speech in support of Canadian unity ahead of the [[1995 Quebec referendum]]. Two other particularly famous examples of prank calls were made by the [[Miami]]-based radio station [[Radio El Zol]]. In one, they telephoned Venezuelan president [[Hugo Chávez]] and spoke to him, pretending to be Cuban president [[Fidel Castro]].<ref>[http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/americas/2637395.stm bbc.co.uk article on Hugo Chávez prank call]</ref> They later repeated the prank, except that they called Castro and pretended to be Chávez. El Zol was also fined by the [[Federal Communications Commission]] (FCC).
==Prank calls in popular culture==
Prank calls are generally done for the amusement of the pranksters themselves. Many pranksters record the calls to share the joke with an audience. Some performers such as the [[The Jerky Boys]] have made a name for themselves producing albums of their recorded prank calls. Other prank call performers, such as [[Bob Pranky - Prank Calls Unlimited]], [[Touch-Tone Terrorists]], [[Melba's Phone Militia|Brother Russell]], [[The Happy Telephone]] and
[http://www.leroymercer.com LEE ROY MERCER] have garnered a following as well. The [[television series|television show]] ''[[Crank Yankers]]'' is a series of real-life prank calls made by celebrities and re-enacted on-screen by [[puppet]]s for a humorous effect. As with the Bob Pranky calls, the Crank Yankers sometimes borrow ideas, or entire routines, from obscure releases by relatively unknown pranksters such as The Ballbusters, who are neither credited nor remunerated for their original fun{{Fact|date=April 2007}}.
==Prank calling and the Internet==
[[Michael Biggins]], an actor whose real name is Michael Bigansky and goes by the performance name of [[Blackout (entertainer)|Blackout]] was (as far as can be researched) the very first person to put original prank calls on the internet in a [[digital]] [[streaming]] (instantly playable) format. There may have been downloadable calls before this time, but not streaming. He was also the first person to host an internet talk radio show based primarily on prank calls on the now defunct [[Lycos Talk Radio network]]<ref>[http://www.findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m0NEW/is_2001_March_26/ai_72284900 Lycos Talk Radio]</ref> Which was an internet based talk radio site using [http://www.wonderhorse.com Wonderhorse] internet broadcasting and [[teleconference]] software.<ref>[http://www.wonderhorse.com Wonderhorse internet broadcasting and teleconference software]</ref> Blackout started his site Blackout's Box in 1995 ''(cite: verifiable by a whois check on ___domain name blackout.com and also verifiable with web archives such as wayback machine and in [[newsgroups]] archive postings and several major print sources - see references section)'' and put his first pranks online using the test version of [[RealAudio]] Beta software (which has over time evolved into [[RealPlayer]]) on a 14,400 [[U.S. Robotics]] modem. This was long before [[mp3]] or [[SHOUTcast]] streaming or [[internet radio]] stations existed. Before this time, the only way for both prank callers and prank call fans to hear pranks was by exchanging underground tapes, or maybe hearing them on the radio, but many radio prank calls were fake or 'set up' because of the steep [[FCC]] fines that could be imposed on the station if caught. Blackout used [[reel to reel]] recorders in his high school radio station [[WKPX]]<ref>[http://www.wkpx.freeservers.com/history.html 88.5 WKPX]</ref> in Florida to record his first pranks, and then transferred them to ([[voice mail box]]es) - hence where he got the name 'Blackout's Box'. People would spread his [[voice mail box]] number around on [[BBS]]s ([[bulletin board systems]]) and other VMBs so that calls into Blackout's voice mail box to listen to his pranks would grow virally (before internet multimedia type viral spreading existed), and he would get requests from all over the U.S. for him to prank people. Blackout was finally able to preserve his pranks in a digital format when [[Digital audio tape|digital audio tape]] recorders became available. This allowed him to port them to computer hard drive without losing quality. They were then converted to the [[RealAudio]] format and uploaded via [[FTP]] to his site the first day [[RealAudio]] beta became available in 1995. It was quite a pain and time consuming process to do at the time, but the ability of having anyone in the world who had a modem and the RealAudio plugin be able to hear one a prank instantly and in [[real time]] with no downloading was a big step forward. The very first call he put on the internet was called ''The Rrrrrrrooksnitchzien Society''<ref>[http://www.blackout.com/blackout/rook28.ram The first Prank Call on the Internet: ''The Rrrrrrrooksnitchzien Society'']</ref> in which he kept [[411]] [[telephone operators]] going mad for a good half an hour. Blackout's pranks were known to be longer and more complex than your average quick prank and he gained quite a following and much international press because of this. Hardware, software, technology and bandwidth have grown exponentially since Blackout put that first call up on the internet and so has the flood of sites, shoutcast, icecast, and podcast stations devoted to prank calls. [[Blackout (entertainer)|Blackout]], while moving more into the acting and independent film scene, still hosts an interactive TV/RADIO show on Thursday nights and occasionally still does prank calls.
The Woodcreek Faction (http://www.youtube.com/thewoodcreekfaction) broke new ground by becoming pioneers of filming prank phone calls & posting them on the web. The films allow the prank caller to portray a character who is seen by the audience instead of heard. This format has inspired many other comedy teams. The Woodcreek Faction pranks, in particular, are very successful on YouTube as well as many similar sites.
A classic example of their work "Kung Fu Pizza Prank":
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SKO_xHgj7Pw
==Online Prank Communities/Stations==
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Ever since the opportunity has been available, there has been internet radio stations dedicated to prank calls. Most of them feature a so-called "rotation" of prank calls which is a constant broadcast of various prank calls submitted by the community, usually streamed from a [[SHOUTcast]] server host.
A lot of prank-call stations also feature live shows dedicated to prank calling - many of the infamous radio personalities from these communities like to spam their names on common sites like [[Wikipedia]] as an attempt to gain more listeners (see page history).
Although prank call communities are still relatively small-scale compared to [[FM Radio|FM stations]] that feature live pranks, it is a growing community on the internet today and many new communities are developing.
==Examples==
Some examples of well-known prank calls are:
:Caller: ''Do you have [[Prince Albert in a Can]]?''
:Receiver: ''Yes, I do.''
:Caller: '' Well let him out!''
:Caller: ''Hello! Is your refrigerator'' (''Nose'', ''Toilet'', or ''Water'' in some variants) ''running?''
:Receiver: ''Yes, it is.''
:Caller: ''Then you'd better go catch it!''
:Caller: ''Is Mrs. Wall there?''
:Receiver: ''No.''
:Caller: ''Is Mr. Wall there?''
:Receiver: ''No.''
:Caller: ''Are there any Walls there?''
:Receiver: ''No.''
:Caller: ''Then how does your roof stay up?''
===''The Simpsons''===
During the early years of ''[[The Simpsons]]'', a popular [[Running gag|recurring gag]] involved Bart making prank calls to [[Moe's Tavern]]. This bit was inspired by the infamous [[Tube Bar prank calls]] of the 1970s. The calls usually followed a set pattern: Bart would ask for a non-existent person, Moe would shout loudly for the person Bart asked for, Moe catching on only after the bar (usually) erupts in uproarious laughter, and Moe threatening violent revenge upon catching the perpetrator. Moe never seemed to realize that it was Bart who made the call. Once Bart even told Moe that he made prank calls and Moe still did not catch on: Bart: "Well I make prank phone calls." Moe (in a happy voice one uses when talking to children): "Good for you."
"People" whom Bart has asked for include:
* I.P. Freely - (''I pee freely'')
* Maya Buttreeks - (''My butt reeks'')
* Jacques Strappe – (''jock strap'')
* Ivanna Tinkle – (''I wanna tinkle'')
* Heywood U. Cuddleme – (''Hey, would you cuddle me?'')
* Amanda Huggenkiss – (''A man to hug and kiss'')
* Mike Rotch – (''My crotch'')
* Al Coholic – (''Alcoholic'')
* Bea O'Problem – (''B.O. problem'')
* Seymour Butz – (''See more butts'')
* Anita Bath – (''I need a bath'')
* Homer Sexual – (''A homosexual'')
* Lee V. Mediately - (''Leave immediately'')
* Eura Snotball - (''You're a snotball'')
* G.I. Manidiot - (''Gee, I'm an idiot'')
* Oliver Clothesoff (''All of her clothes off!'')
* Will U. P. Onme (''Will you pee on me?'')
* Hugh Jass (''Huge ass'')
* Ollie Tabooger (''I'll eat a booger'')
* Ahmed Adoudi (''I made a doodie'')
One backfire on this formula was a call to "Hugh Jass" (''huge ass''), as there turned out to be a person in the bar named Hugh Jass. Another backfire was when Homer was running the bar and didn't know how to carry out the prank when Bart asked for Ollie Tabooger (''I'll eat a booger''). A third was a time where [[Mr. Burns]] called Moe's by mistake while looking for [[Smithers]], and was threatened by Moe who thought it was a prank call. Finally, in a flashback scene to Homer and Marge's youth, Marge tries to call Homer (whom she believes goes by the name "Elvis Jagger Abdul-Jabbar" because of his shyness), only to get Moe to threaten her when she asks for his name. After hanging up, Moe mutters "And that's the origin of that!"
Interestingly, in the video game [[The Simpsons: Bart vs. the Space Mutants]] for NES and Genesis, you can make prank calls to Moe by putting a coin in the phone by Moe's Tavern. Examples of what Bart can say are I.M. Adope (''I am a dope'') and Stu Piddidiot. (''stupid idiot'')
===Futurama===
A prank call leads to [[Fry (futurama)|Fry]]'s delivery of a pizza to a cryogenic lab, which sets the whole series in motion. The name used is I.C. Wiener (Meaning "I see Wiener" or "Icey wiener"), referring to the men frozen inside of the cryogenic chambers.
Fry also adopts a dog after receiving a prank call asking for a pizza to be delivered to a Seymour Asses (see more asses). Fry then names the dog Seymour following the prank call.
==Reaction==
In the United States, prank calls are easily traced through [[Caller ID]]. It is possible that caller ID can reduce the number of prank calls. However, most telephone companies currently permit callers to withhold caller ID if they do not wish the called party to know their identity. In North America, there is a way to disable the victim's Caller ID by dialing *67 before dialing.
Sometimes the joke can be taken too far, especially if the prankster succeeds in making his victim believe the scenario is real. Prank call comedian [[Jim Florentine]] (who mainly takes incoming calls from [[telemarketer]]s and turns the tables by performing pranks on them) has had the police called on him on more than one occasion for taking his jokes too far. During one call, Florentine tells an [[Agency (law)|insurance agent]] that, rather than pay to keep an elderly woman alive, he is going to go to the hospital and smother her with a pillow.<ref>''Terrorizing Telemarketers III'', Jim Florentine</ref> After the call, the agent called [[9-1-1]] and gave them Florentine's number and the address on file, and the police arrived at his home with guns drawn. However, when the police showed up and discovered it was actually a prank, the officer simply asked, "Don't you think you're a little old for this?"<ref>liner notes, ''Terrorizing Telemarketers III'', Jim Florentine</ref>
==As A Crime==
Prank calls range from annoying hang-ups to false calls to [[emergency services]] or [[bomb threat]]s. Prank calls that waste the time of emergency services are a [[criminal offense]] in most countries.
One such hoax call occurred in [[Perth, Western Australia|Perth]], [[Australia]], on [[New Year's Eve]] [[2002]], when a drunken teenager called the new anti-terrorist hotline to report a bomb threat against the New Year's Eve fireworks celebration.<ref>[http://www.ag.gov.au/agd/WWW/attorneygeneralHome.nsf/Page/Media_Releases_2003_January_2003_WA_man_charged_over_hoax_hotline_call_(1_January_2003) Perth, Australia bomb threat hoax]</ref> The threat was taken seriously, and the celebrations were about to be canceled, when police discovered that no such threat existed. The teen was arrested for deliberate false reporting.
Tension was also caused in December 2005, when a Catholic Church-owned radio station in [[Spain]] ([[COPE (radio station)|COPE]]) played a prank on [[Bolivia]]n president-elect [[Evo Morales]]. The hoaxer pretended to be Spanish Prime Minister [[José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero]], congratulating Morales on his election<ref>[http://www.quepasa.com/english/news/latinamerica/Zapatero.Morales.prank/406542.html Prank call to Evo Morales]</ref> and saying things like, "I imagine the only one not to have called you was George Bush. I've been here two years and he still hasn't called me".<ref>[http://www.informativos.telecinco.es/cope/zapatero/broma_morales/dn_17521.htm Transcript of call (in Spanish)]</ref> The Bolivian government protested to Spain, and the real Zapatero called Morales and apologized. The Spanish government in turn summoned the [[papal nuncio]] in protest.
In the [[United States]], the [[Telecommunications Act of 1996]] makes some prank calls a [[felony]] with penalties of up to two years in prison, and possible fines (depending on severity). However, such penalties are rarely carried out. As an example, the [[Chicago]] [[shock jock]] [[Mancow Muller|Erich "Mancow" Muller]], after being criticized for the extensive use of prank calls on his radio show, broadcasted the sarcastic remark: "Reality check for you people: Chicago's the murder capital of America. The police don't care if you get a prank call."
Moreover, to make a prank call that falls afoul of the Telecommunications Act, {{UnitedStatesCode|47|223}} (a)(1), the call must be done with the intent to "annoy, abuse, threaten, or harass". Arguably then, if the intent of the call is to amuse, confuse, or simply to engage the call's recipient, there is no violation of the Telecommunications Act.
==See also==
* [[
* ''[[The Simpsons]]'' (specifically, [[Moe's Tavern]])
* [[Tube Bar prank calls]]
* [[Obscene phone call]]s
* [[Phone Losers of America]]
* [[Dead Ringers (comedy)]]
* [[The Happy Telephone]]
* [[Davin & Devyn]]
* [[Touch-Tone Terrorists]]
* [[The Jerky Boys]]
* [[Rickey Smiley]]
==References==
<references />
==External links==
{{dmoz|/Recreation/Humor/Pranks/Prank_Calls/|Prank Calls}}
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[[Category:Comedy]]
[[Category:Humor]]
[[Category:Jokes]]
[[Category:Podcasting]]
[[Category:Practical jokes]]
[[Category:Prank phone calls]]
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