Prank call: Difference between revisions
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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. |
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. |
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More recently, a prank call was made which caused tensions between India and Pakistan. |
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Moreover, to make a prank call that falls afoul of the Telecommunications Act, {{uscsub|47|223|a|1}}, the call must be done with the intent to "annoy, abuse, threaten, or harass". If the intent of the call is to amuse, confuse, or simply to engage the call's recipient, it would be possible to argue there is no violation of the Telecommunications Act.{{Fact|date=October 2008}} |
Moreover, to make a prank call that falls afoul of the Telecommunications Act, {{uscsub|47|223|a|1}}, the call must be done with the intent to "annoy, abuse, threaten, or harass". If the intent of the call is to amuse, confuse, or simply to engage the call's recipient, it would be possible to argue there is no violation of the Telecommunications Act.{{Fact|date=October 2008}} |
Revision as of 09:53, 24 February 2009
![]() | This article possibly contains original research. (April 2008) |
![]() | The examples and perspective in this article may not represent a worldwide view of the subject. |
A prank call, also known as a crank call, is a form of practical joke committed over the telephone. As with all practical jokes, prank calls are generally done for humorous effect. Prank phone calls began to gain an America-wide 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 tapes which centered around Louis "Red" Deutsch. 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, 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.[1] 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 dictator Fidel Castro.[2] They later reversed the prank, calling Castro and pretending to be Chávez. Castro began swearing at the pranksters live on air after they revealed themselves.[3] Radio El Zol was fined $4000 by the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) for the second prank.
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 Jerky Boys, Tom Mabe and Roy D. Mercer make a name for themselves producing albums of their recorded prank calls.
The television show Crank Yankers is a series of real-life prank calls made by celebrities and re-enacted on-screen by puppets for a humorous effect. Fonejacker, a show started on the 5th of April 2007 in the UK on E4, stars Kayvan Novak performing prank calls to the general public and being shown with animated pictures in a Monty Python style with their mouths moving and live recordings as the victim receives the call.
The Simpsons
During the early years of The Simpsons, a popular recurring gag involved Bart making prank calls to Moe's Tavern, inspired by the Tube Bar prank calls. The calls usually followed a set pattern: Bart would ask for a person, Moe would shout loudly for the person Bart asked for, and Moe would catch on only after the bar (usually) erupts in uproarious laughter, also threatening violent revenge upon catching the perpetrator ("Listen, when I get a hold of you, I'm going to use your head for a bucket and paint my house with your brains!").
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, condescending voice): "Good for you."
"People" for whom Bart has asked include:
- I.P. Freely (I pee freely)[4]
- Jacques Strappe (Jock strap)[5]
- Bea O'Problem (B.O. Problem)
- Seymour Butts (See more butts)[7]
- Haywood Jaspankmee (Hey would you spank me)(From game - Virtual Springfield)
- Ivan Nuglibutt (I've an ugly butt)(From game - Virtual Springfield)
- Mike Rochtickles (My crotch tickles)(From game - Virtual Springfield)
- Homer Sexual (Homosexual)[8]
- Mike Rotch (My crotch)[9]
- Eura Snotball (You're a snotball) [This was actually made by Homer]
- I. M. Damp (I am damp (as in wetting the pants)) (comics only)
- Oliver Klozoff (All of her clothes off)[10]
- Hugh Jass (Huge ass)[11]
- Haywood U. Cuddleme (Hey would you cuddle me)
- Haywood U. Punchme (Hey would you punch me)
- Ollie Tabooger (I'll eat a booger)
- Ahmed Adoudi (I made a doodie)(Used when Bart cross-called to Jack Bauer during the episode 24 Minutes).
- Ima Wiener (I'm a wiener) (taken from The Simpsons Movie)
- Igor Tappenow (I got to pee now)[12]
- Avery Onesboogers (Everyone's boogers)[13]
- I.P. Daily (I pee daily)[14]
- Drew P. Wiener (Droopie Wiener)
- Olaf Myfriendsaregay (All of my Friends are gay)
- Maya Normusbutt (My Enormous Butt)
- Lee V. Meadietly (Leave Immediately) [15]
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.[11]
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. There was also a time in which Homer called asking for "Eura Snotball" and Moe repeated the name to clarify it was correct, causing Homer to become angry. 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!" In the second "Treehouse of Horror", Bart, cast in the role of the boy with mystic powers, makes a prank call to Moe's where Moe tells the barflies "I'm a stupid moron with an ugly face and a big butt and my butt smells and I like to kiss my own butt!"
"Weird Al" Yankovic's parody song "Phony Calls" (a parody of "Waterfalls" by TLC) is entirely about the dangers of prank calls. It includes an audio clip from The Simpsons (from the "Mike Rotch" call).
Futurama
A prank call leads to Fry's delivery of a pizza to a cryogenic lab, which sets the whole series in motion. The name used is I.C. Wiener.[16] 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.
Degrassi: The Next Generation
In its first season, Jimmy Brooks and Spinner Mason make a prank call from Mr. Raditch's office to a Pizza Pizza store and place an order under Ms. Kwan's name. Earlier that day, Kwan had given both students a hard time about their behavior, and both wanted revenge. The following Monday, Ms. Kwan took a leave with absence due to the added stress of working overtime.
Sound Boards
Many prankers have created Shockwave Flash-based 'soundboards', featuring sound bites of dialogue from well-known television and movie personalities, such as Mr. Rogers, Judge Judith Sheindlin, Arnold Schwarzenegger, or Dr. Phil. As well as fictional characters such as Homer Simpson, Darth Vader, Fred Fredburger, and Stewie Griffin. They will call a business and see how whoever answers reacts to odd comments of a seemingly incoherent individual.
On the Internet
Ever since the opportunity has been available, there have 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.
Although prank call communities are still relatively small-scale compared to FM stations that feature live pranks, it is a growing community on the internet today and many new communities are developing.
Reaction videos and photo montages are also popular ways of sharing prank phone calls via video sharing websites such as YouTube
Reaction
Prank calls are now easily traced through Caller ID, so it is often asserted that prank calls since the 1990s have been harder to accomplish. However, most telephone companies permit callers to withhold the identifying information from calls using a vertical service code such as *67 or *69. Callers can also call from payphones in order to hide their identity.
Legality
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 and is considered telephone harassment in the US.
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.[17] The threat was taken seriously, and the celebrations were about to be canceled when police discovered that no such threat existed. The teen was then arrested for the false report.
Tension was also caused in December 2005, when a commercially operated radio station in Spain (COPE - owned by a series of institutions affiliated with the Catholic Church) 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[18] 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".[19] 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.
More recently, a prank call was made which caused tensions between India and Pakistan.
Moreover, to make a prank call that falls afoul of the Telecommunications Act, citation needed]
, the call must be done with the intent to "annoy, abuse, threaten, or harass". If the intent of the call is to amuse, confuse, or simply to engage the call's recipient, it would be possible to argue there is no violation of the Telecommunications Act.[See also
References
- ^ "Hoaxing: A national pastime". BBC News. BBC. 2000-01-2513:55 GMT. Retrieved 2007-09-15.
In 1995, Canadian DJ Pierre Brassard got through to Buckingham Palace pretending to be Canadian Prime Minister Jean Chrétien. He chatted to the Queen for 15 minutes on air - eliciting a promise that she would try to influence Quebec's referendum on proposals to break away from Canada - and she never realised it was a hoax.
{{cite news}}
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(help) - ^ "Chavez falls for Castro hoax". BBC News. BBC. 2003-01-0802:57 GMT. Retrieved 2007-09-15.
A radio station in the American state of Florida has played a practical joke on President Hugo Chavez of Venezuela with a hoax phone call he believed was from his friend and ally, the Cuban leader Fidel Castro. Two presenters at Radio El Zol, in Miami, called Mr. Chavez on a private line and used taped extracts of Mr Castro's voice to make him think it was the communist leader himself on the phone.
{{cite news}}
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(help) - ^ http://www.latinamericanstudies.org/fidel/transcript.htm
- ^ Groening, Matt (1997). "Season 1 - Homer's Odyssey". In Ray Richmond, Antonia Coffman (ed.). The Simpsons: A Complete Guide to Our Favorite Family. HarperCollins. p. 19. ISBN 0060952520.
Moe: Moe's Tavern. Bart: Is Mr. Freely there? Moe: Who? Bart: Freely. First Initials I.P. Moe: Hold on, I'll check. (calls out) Is I.P. Freely here? I.P. Freely?
- ^ Groening, Matt (1997). "Season 1 - Moaning Lisa". In Ray Richmond, Antonia Coffman (ed.). The Simpsons: A Complete Guide to Our Favorite Family. HarperCollins. p. 22. ISBN 0060952520.
Bart: Is Jacques there? Moe: Who? Bart: Jacques, Last name Strap. Moe: Hold on. (Calling out) Jacques Strap! Hey, guys, I'm looking for a Jacques Strap!
- ^ Groening, Matt (1997). "Season 1 - Some Enchanted Evening". In Ray Richmond, Antonia Coffman (ed.). The Simpsons: A Complete Guide to Our Favorite Family. HarperCollins. p. 30. ISBN 0060952520.
Bart: Hello, is Al there? Moe: Al? Bart: Yeah, Al. Last name, Koholic. Moe; Phone call for Al. Al Koholic. Is there an Al Koholic here?
- ^ Groening, Matt (1997). "Season 2 - One Fish, Two Fish, Blowfish, Blue Fish". In Ray Richmond, Antonia Coffman (ed.). The Simpsons: A Complete Guide to Our Favorite Family. HarperCollins. p. 45. ISBN 0060952520.
Moe: Hello, Moe's Tavern - birthplace of the Rob Roy. Bart: Is Seymour there? Last name, Butts. Moe: Just a sec. (calling out) Hey, is there a Butts here? Seymour Butts? Hey, everybody, I Wanna Seymour Butts! Moe: (catching on) Hey, wait a minute. Listen, you little scum-sucking pus-bucket. When I get my hands on you, I'm gonna pull out your eyeballs with a corkscrew.
- ^ Groening, Matt (1997). "Season 2 - Principal Charming". In Ray Richmond, Antonia Coffman (ed.). The Simpsons: A Complete Guide to Our Favorite Family. HarperCollins. p. 49. ISBN 0060952520.
Bart: Hello, Is Homer there? Moe: Homer who? Bart: Homer Sexual. Moe: Wait one second, let me check. (to the bar) Homer Sexual. Ah, come one, come on, one of you guys has gotta to be Homer Sexual. Moe: Oh no, you rotten little punk! If I ever get a hold of you, I'll sink my teeth into your cheek and rip your face off!
- ^ Groening, Matt (1997). "Season 2 - Blood Feud". In Ray Richmond, Antonia Coffman (ed.). The Simpsons: A Complete Guide to Our Favorite Family. HarperCollins. p. 59. ISBN 0060952520.
Bart: Uh, hello. Is Mike there? Last name, Rotch. Moe: Hold on, I'll check. Mike Rotch! Mike Rotch! Hey, has anybody seen Mike Rotch lately?
- ^ Groening, Matt (1997). "Season 1 - Some Enchanted Evening". In Ray Richmond, Antonia Coffman (ed.). The Simpsons: A Complete Guide to Our Favorite Family. HarperCollins. p. 30. ISBN 0060952520.
Bart: Is Oliver there? Moe: Who? Bart; Oliver Klozoff. Moe: Hold on I'll check. Moe: Oliver Klozoff! Call for Oliver Klozoff.
- ^ a b Groening, Matt (1997). "Season 3 - Flaming Moe's". In Ray Richmond, Antonia Coffman (ed.). The Simpsons: A Complete Guide to Our Favorite Family. HarperCollins. p. 72. ISBN 0060952520.
Bart: Uh, yes, I'm looking for a friend of mine. Last name Jass, first name Hugh. Oh, somebody check the men's room for a Hugh Jass. (A man approaches Moe.) Hugh: Uh, I'm Hugh Jass. Bart: Uh, hi. Hugh: Who's this? Bart: Bart Simpson. Hugh: What can I do for you, Bart? Bart: Uh, look, I'll level with you, mister. This is a crank call that sorta backfired and I'd like to bail out right now. Hugh: All right. Better luck next time.
- ^ In Virtual Springfield game
- ^ In Virtual Sprigfield game
- ^ On Fox's NFL on Fox pre-game show in 1995
- ^ In comics
- ^ Rich Moore (Director), Gregg Vanzo (March 25 2003). Space Pilot 3000 (DVD). 20th Century Fox. Event occurs at 01.
Hello! Pizza Delivery! For, uh "I.C. Weiner"
{{cite AV media}}
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(help) - ^ "Perth, Australia bomb threat hoax". Archived from the original on 2007-05-04.
- ^ Prank call to Evo Morales
- ^ Transcript of call (in Spanish)