# Prank Calling Prank Calling is a comedy tradition where a caller sets up a stranger, or plays along with an incoming call, to humiliate the target for laughs. The joke traced back to at least the late 1970s but hit the internet in 1995 through Michael Biggins' live-streamed calls on blackout.com[3]. YouTube compilations, radio scandals, and the SWATing offshoot later pulled the format into international headlines. ## Origin Prank calling as an offline joke traced back to the late 1970s. The internet chapter kicked off in 1995 when American Michael Biggins, using the handle Blackout, began live-streaming his calls on blackout.com and letting viewers steer setups in real time. Two years later, prankcallradio.net launched as an online radio station devoted to the format and eventually archived over 185,000 recordings[3]. - **Platform:** Phone (offline) / blackout.com (internet spread) - **Creator:** Unknown (Michael Biggins popularized the internet version in 1995) - **Date:** 1995 ## Overview Prank Calling covers a wide range of gags, from harmless mistakes like fake pizza orders to elaborate impression bits where the caller pretends to be a business, a family member, or a celebrity[3]. Classic YouTube examples typically involve a hidden speakerphone, a friend laughing off camera, and a mark who slowly clocks the setup[1]. The internet gave the format a new distribution model. Clips got edited, subtitled, and reposted, and prank-call channels grew up next to radio uploads and impressionist bits[2]. The genre also opened a darker lane, where callers use spoofed numbers or doxxed addresses to humiliate specific targets, sometimes in coordinated raids planned on message boards[6]. ## How to Use Common prank-call setups include the fake business call (pizza orders, tow-truck bookings), the fake-relative bit (pretending to be a cousin or in-law), the fake-authority bit (posing as police or a radio host), and the wrong-number bit where the caller keeps escalating each call-back[1]. Recording the target's reaction and posting the edit to YouTube is the standard payoff[5]. ## Frequently Asked Questions ### What is Prank Calling? Prank Calling is a comedy tradition where a caller sets up a stranger, or plays along with an incoming call, to humiliate the target for laughs. It ranges from harmless bits like fake pizza orders to elaborate impressions[3]. ### Where did Prank Calling come from? Prank calls existed offline from at least the late 1970s. The internet version kicked off in 1995 when Michael Biggins, using the handle Blackout, began live-streaming his calls on blackout.com[3]. ### What does Prank Calling mean? It means calling someone and messing with them for comedy, whether by pretending to be another person, making an absurd request, or springing an elaborate gag on live audio[1]. ### How do you use Prank Calling? A common setup is the fake business or fake relative bit: the caller runs a made-up story, records the target's reaction, and posts the edit to YouTube[1]. Radio hosts run the same routine on air[4]. ### Is Prank Calling still popular? The comedy format kept running on YouTube and radio, and the early internet sites like blackout.com and prankcallradio.net were still archiving calls as of KYM's coverage[3]. The SWATing offshoot brought heavy legal and ethical scrutiny to the format by the mid-2010s[6]. ## References 1. [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6g0XGKuC-ek]() 2. [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rBfsdkGeMc8]() 3. [https://knowyourmeme.com/memes/prank-calling]() 4. [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lGiLgkSzGI0]() 5. [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zn2VVVLDWfk]() 6. [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eyb3Qi6ahzA]() 7. [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aqndt_8zbZI]() --- Source: https://meme.com/memes/prank-calling Published by meme.com — The Internet Meme Library