Prank call

From Free net encyclopedia

A prank call, also known as a crank call or hoax call, is a form of practical joke committed over the telephone. As with all practical jokes, there is a thin line between humor and harassment, and the person receiving the call is not likely to find it funny.

Prank calls range from annoying hang-ups to false calls to emergency services or bomb threats. Prank calls that waste the time of emergency services are a criminal offense in most countries.

One such hoax call occurred in 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. 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.

Some performers such as the Jerky Boys have produced albums of prank calls. The television show Crank Yankers is a series of real-life prank calls acted-out by puppets.

The group Prank Machine had nearly 200 calls available entirely free to the public on their web site before it was closed as the result of legal action put forth by one Emilia Seldon. This was considered to be the first major action of its kind. Some of the more controversial calls can still be found through various sources, and the site has since reopened at a new location, although the content and format have been drastically altered, presumably due to legal constraints.

Even very prominent people have fallen victim to prank callers, as for example Queen Elizabeth II, 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. They later repeated the prank, except that they called Castro and pretended to be Chávez. Castro reacted to the prank by calling them bastards.

El Zol was also fined by the Federal Communications Commission (FCC).

Tension was also caused in December 2005, when a Catholic Church-owned radio station in Spain played a prank on Bolivian president-elect Evo Morales. The hoaxer pretended to be Spanish Prime Minister José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero, congratulating Morales on his election 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." 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 of America, the Telecommunications Act 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, Illinois shock jock Erich "Mancow" Muller, after being criticized for the extensive use of prank calls on his radio show, broadcast 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 Telecommunication Act, 47 U.S.C. 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.

[edit]

Examples

Some examples of well-known prank calls are:

Caller: Do you have Prince Albert in a Can?
Receiver: Yes, I do.
Caller: Then you'd better let him out!!
Caller: Hello! Is your refrigerator running?
Receiver: Yes, it is.
Caller: Then you'd better go catch it!
Caller: Hello, is there a man named Al there? Last name, Coholic.
Receiver: Hold on, I'll check. Hey everybody! I'm looking for an Al Coholic (Alcoholic) !!! Is there an Alcoholic here??? Wait a minute...

(The first prank call was aired in Family Guy in the Episode "Fifteen Minutes of Shame," where Stewie and Brian prank call the show "Diane" when the rest of the Griffin family were on stage. The second one was parodied on The Simpsons, with the response being "as a matter of fact, my refrigerator wasn't running! Your timely phone call saved me from a great deal of unnecessary spoilage! Thank you, anonymous young man!" In addition, the first two prank calls were used on episodes of Foster's Home for Imaginary Friends, the latter one in Partying Is Such Sweet Soireé, and the second in Bloo's Brothers.)

The third prank call was popularised in The Simpsons, with Bart's calls to Moe's Tavern asking for some name that is completely non-existent. When Moe shouts loudly asking for someone named Jacques Strappe (jock strap), Ivanna Tinkle (I wanna tinkle), Heywood U. Cuddleme (hey, would you cuddle me?), Amanda Hugankiss (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), or for a Homer Sexual (homosexual), the bar erupts into laughter and Moe threatens violent revenge. One backfire on this formula was a call to "Hugh Jazz" (huge ass), as there turned out to be a person in the bar named Hugh Jazz.

This was attempted by the Plutonians in an episode of Aqua Teen Hunger Force, asking the Mooninites for one "Michael Hunt." Oglethorpe, still finding humor despite his mistake, didn't realize he was supposed to ask for Mike Hunt (my cunt). In response to this, the Mooninites called back asking for Holden McGroin (holding my groin).

It is possible that Caller ID will 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.

There is a small but lively prank call community. Some of it is around a SHOUTCast radio station called "PCU: Prank Call Underground Radio". The radio station plays a stream of various prank calls. There are also several live shows run by people known as KDK, Zolar, Sean Ward, Billy Mira, Carlito, Reclude, and others.


Also, Michael Biggins (whose real unpreferred name is Michael Bigansky) has a website known as Blackout's Box -- the name comes from a combination of two events from his earlier exploits: when Michael was in a high school radio station's recording studio, lightning struck and caused a blackout, in turn giving Michael the nickname Blackout; and later in his career before he started the show, people would leave him pranks on his voice mailbox. The website is devoted to prank calls, other forms of entertainment and discussions on philosophy. Biggins hosts a radio show on Thursday nights dedicated to these pursuits.

Greek Cultrure of phone pranks

In many countries outside the US, prank phone calls are often driven by a more hard line of approach.

In Greece, three famous prankers are known for a number of legendary pranks that most of the yourh know and are considered to be "underground", initialy released in tape format, and later on converted into digital format. These pranksters are not related in any way, are from different eras, and have a distinct type of humour that has over the years created a fan base for each one of them.

Most famous and popular of all is Fousekis (Φουσέκης) followed by Lentis (Λέντης) and Barc0de . All three have created a style of humour that is often followed by immitators, youth that are trying to prove their self-worth in the relative area by sur-passing these masters.

They are all considered to be Kafroi (Κάφροι)


[edit]

See also

Ralphige crank calls Hulk Hogan & Scott Storch

[edit]

External links

ja:迷惑電話 ru:Пранк sr:Телефонско малтретирање fi:Pilasoitto sv:Busringning

Retrieved from "http://www.netipedia.com/index.php/Prank_call"