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Back when payphones were still a thing, one prank I enjoyed was to dial 991-$(last 4 digits of the pay phone's phone number) from a payphone. Then you would han
by psanford 5y ago
Back when payphones were still a thing, one prank I enjoyed was to dial 991-$(last 4 digits of the pay phone's phone number) from a payphone. Then you would hangup, pickup, and hangup again. Then a few seconds later the payphone would start ringing.
I have no idea what this was actually doing. Does anyone have any knowledge of how this worked?
I don't even remember how I learned this trick. Presumably I learned it from some other kid, but who knows where the knowledge originated from in our teenage social circle.
- l8rlump 5y agoIn Australia back in the day, you could dial 199 on a pay phone which was the ring back number. Hang up, let it ring twice and then answer it. If you did it right there would be a warbling tone in the earpiece and you could then make any call for free.
- notreallyserio 5y agoLooks like it was a feature used for testing: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ringback_number https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ringback_number
- psanford 5y agoYes, that seems to be it. Thanks!
- jhpaul 5y agoI remember a long evening on the Ocean City boardwalk spent doing this to a payphone and waiting to see who would walk by and pick it up.
- malingo 5y agoPayphones are still a thing in northeast LA. It's incredible. Most have been vandalized or destroyed but many still work. See https://www.instagram.com/payphonesoflosangeles/ https://www.instagram.com/payphonesoflosangeles/