Prank calls don't really exist anymore with caller ID and everyone sending unknown numbers to voicemail.

ramble81@lemm.ee to Showerthoughts@lemmy.world – 194 points –

I was listening to a Weird Al song about prank calls and realized you can’t really do them anymore now. Also it was funny that he mentioned dialing 7 digit numbers instead of 10

50

my phone has been on silent mode since 2012

Because of my job I have to answer unknown numbers. My God is it ever irritating

Same here internet comrade. Gotta answer every call because my number gets passed around. At least my work pays my phone bill.

People get really upset that I don't check my phone often and keep it on do not disturb...

They can just keep on being upset. Their reaction kind of reinforces why I have the damn thing mostly disabled from its primary function anyway.

Back then "if it's important they would call". Recently, "they will call back if it's important". Now, "they will leave a message if it's important."

Now is just, β€œThey will text if they are not trying to sell you a warranty extension for your car”

When I was a kid, we would spell out "dirty words" in people's phone numbers and call saying we were from the "Telephone Number Decency League". We'd say the naughty word thier number could spell and encourage them to call the phone company to ask for a new phone number.

Love it. We used soundboards. The Schwarzenegger one was a blast. You get them paying attention with the lines from kindergarten cop then start going wild on them with lines from predator, etc. My personal favorite was "I hope you left enough room for my fist, because I'm gonna ram it into your stomach!" One memorable woman tried to save Arnold's soul with gospel music. I think she enjoyed the whole thing.

Who is your daddy, and what does he do.

I used soundboards with my friends. My favorite was Betty Grovenstein, she was a sex hotline worker with a nasally New Englander accent.

Hahaha, I would have loved to listen in on those. Arnold quotes are a favorite language a la 'Darmok and Jalad at Tenagra' in this house.

I remember the shift to using area codes and how everyone was so upset at how difficult that would be. Then the smart phones came, and I wonder how many people now know many of the numbers they might regularly call with one tap,

Where I grew up, we only ever gave the last four digits of our number because the whole town and then some was the same. Later, they changed the area code since it was running out of numbers and then we moved to 10-digit dialing. I remember how weird it felt when things like long distance calls just kinda stopped being a thing

Long-distance calls being equivalent to local calls has been an incredibly good change.

we got a second area code on top of our existing one and had to start 10-digit dialing something like 15 years ago.

to this day i have yet to encounter anyone with a phone number in that new area code. even the scammers that spoof their cid don't use that new area code.

before the switch we could 7-digit dial for 40 miles around us, even across an area code boundary. and, tbh i'd rather have had to switch to a new area code and kept the 7 digit dialing than have to deal with the 10 digit bullshit. it just seems so out of place here in the boonies, hours away from, well, pretty much everything.

Here in West Virginia the entire state was one area code until some time in the early aughts. I had the opposite experience though it seemed like everyone who got a new phone plan got a number with the new area code so I saw it a lot.

I remember the land line I grew up with even though I doubt it even exists anymore. Also, apparently remember my brother's number even though it was when he got a cell phone. So, no real reason to remember it.

The natural evolution of prank calls is rickroll links.

Moe from the Simpsons would be happy.

Anyone know Amanda? Hey! I'm looking for Amanda Huginkiss!

"Moe's Tavern. Hold on, I'll check. Hey, everybody. 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."

People still try. When I worked retail we'd get them often enough as you can't just not answer an unknown number when someone is calling the store.

That said, if it's an unknown number we're already expecting a prank call and are just waiting for the first excuse to hang up.

Hello ramble81, I am calling to check if your refrigerator is running.... It is? Oh my goodness you better run faster and catch it!

Yes, I'm looking for an "exten dedwaranty" is there an "exten dedwaranty" here?

I prank call people all the time. You just gotta call tech support scammers instead nowadays.

My younger brother and me used to call prostitutes and pretend to be clients. Not very proud, but to 13 year old me it was hilarious.

In the US *67 still works, but people hardly answer unknown numbers anymore. It's telemarketer's fault

Al mentions 7 digits and not 10 because back in our day you had to pay long distance charges if you dialed a number outside of your area code. Therefore only the 7 digits were required because no one was dialing 1-xxx to get to another area code and have charges show up on their parents bill and then have to explain who you were calling and why.

We just called businesses instead, during lunch time at school, since they don't block unknown numbers. We were starting on algebra and they showed us how to calculate the radius the area etc. So to us it was the funniest thing to call a pizza place and order a 4-2x(12Ο€) sized pizza or something like that. That and calling completely unrelated businesses and ordering a pizza also

As someone who managed a ridiculously busy pizza place. Fuck you from the bottom of my heart. I'm convinced that job took years off my life from stress and the constant prank calls totally fucked up production.

Really though you were just a kid and couldn't have known. But I cussed some kids out in ways they'd never heard.