Likely Normal

Ah, prank calls—the original form of trolling, back when the only “anonymous” you could be was a kid with a squeaky voice pretending to be “Mr. Stinky Pants from the IRS.” Before robocalls ruined everything by making unsolicited phone calls a dystopian nightmare, prank calls were a sacred childhood ritual, a way to hone your improv skills while subjecting innocent strangers to utter nonsense.

The classics were cheesy, but lots of fun:

• “Is your refrigerator running?” (Yes.) “Well, you better go catch it!” *[Cue wheezy 10-year-old laughter as you immediately hang up.]*
• “Do you have Prince Albert in a can?” (Confused pause.) “THEN LET HIM OUT!”
• Calling a pizza place and ordering “one large imaginary pizza, hold the reality.” (Bonus points if they actually put you on hold.)

The beauty was in the simplicity—no fancy tech, just a landline, a bad fake accent, and the adrenaline rush of possibly getting yelled at by an adult. The stakes felt high: Would they laugh? Hang up? Trace the call and tell your mom? (Spoiler: No one ever traced the call.)

Of course, prank calls peaked in the ’70s and ’80s, when people still answered unknown numbers instead of assuming it was a scam. By the 2000s, Caller ID killed the fun, and today, kids will never know the joy of asking a McDonald’s employee if they’re “open on the 32nd of Octembuary.” Now, if you prank call someone, they just block you and tweet about it.

So here’s to the golden age of prank calls—a time when mischief required nothing more than a phone book, a straight face, and the courage to ask a stranger if their toilet was overflowing. “Hello? Yes, this is the zoo. We found your son—he’s hanging out with the monkeys.” CLICK. Perfection.