There is a time and a place for a good and innocent prank that will give a good laugh not only to the spectators but also the person experiencing it. Although most of the time pranks are annoying and irritating, especially if you’re not in a good mood already.
This person put up some posters with their phone number on them asking people to call if they’ve seen their dog. When they received a call from an unknown number, they hoped their dog would come back home, but were disappointed to hear a human bark at the other end. When this happened for the second time, the stranger was almost asking to be taught a lesson and the sad dog owner did just that.
More info: Reddit
Prankster thought they were very funny calling a number on a missing dog poster, but the pranked person was who had the last laugh
Image credits: muhannad alatawi (not the actual image)
A couple of weeks ago, the Original Poster’s (OP) dog went missing and in hopes that somebody would see her, the dog owner put up some posters with the pet’s photo and their phone number offering a reward if someone found her.
One day they received a call from an unknown number with the area code they were expecting their dog to be found in, so they answered with excitement to possibly reunite with their four-legged friend.
The post author's dog went missing a couple of weeks ago so they decided to put up some posters with the dog's photo and their number, offering a reward
Image credits: u/TX_Mothman
To their disappointment, a stranger called them to bark in their ear, so the OP just ignored it and hung up. But it seems that the prankster hadn't had enough and called for the second time, which infuriated the dog owner, so seeing that the stranger hadn't blocked their number, the OP signed it up for various services.
The OP gave the number for colleges, insurance, extended warranties. People in the comments suggested Jehovah's witnesses, Scientology church and Craig’s list. The prankster should be getting all those annoying calls now and because all of the organizations have their number, this revenge may last for months. Feels very appropriate as they are receiving annoying calls for making one themselves.
Image credits: u/TX_Mothman
The dog owner got a call and expected to see their dog soon but what they heard on the other end was a human barking
Image credits: Jonas Leupe (not the actual image)
While the OP’s experience of being pranked was not the most pleasant, Herald Sun says that pranks aren’t all that bad because “playing tricks can relieve stress, create a smile, strengthen relationships and stir self-reflection.”
Matt Stanton, author of the children’s book Funny Kid: Prank Aliens, says that pranks are a usual occurrence in his home and he believes that they help him strengthen his relationship with his kids and earn their trust.
Psychiatrist Mark Cross says that “Pranking can be good when the outcome is laughter for everyone, including the pranked person. It can be a great release of stress. When you laugh, you breathe deeper, which helps anxiety.”
If you have your number on public display, it can happen, so the dog owner let it go until the prankster called again
Image credits: u/TX_Mothman
However, pranks aren’t appropriate in all contexts and can do more harm than good. One of those contexts is the work environment. You may think that you’re playing around and lowering the tension, but auditor company Totalica explains why you shouldn’t even start.
They say that it could be dangerous not only for people’s mental health and make them feel uneasy at work, but there is a threat of physical injuries as well, “What starts as harmless fun could end up having disastrous consequences. A person who is the target of practical jokes and pranks suffers both physically and emotionally. Additionally, frequent horseplay at work makes everyone distracted. Instead of focusing on their job, employees are concentrated more on discovering the next prank and protecting themselves from it. People who joke around don’t just cause injuries to themselves, but also to those around them. Above all, it creates an unsafe working environment that is prone to injuries.”
This time the post author gave the number to various organizations that like to spam call and felt very good about the fitting revenge
Image credits: u/TX_Mothman
Image credits: Alesia Gritcuk (not the actual image)
So although it might be a stress-reliever, a professor who teaches a seminar on why people laugh, Cynthia Gendrich, adds that “Part of the humor in pranking may come from a sense of superiority the prankster feels after making someone else look foolish.”
It could be that the prankster who called the OP wanted to make a fool out of them and make themselves feel better at the expense of humiliating a person who is sad because their dog is missing, but in the end, they were left in the fool’s place.
What would you have done in this situation? Do you agree that some pranks can be actually funny? Have you ever experienced a prank that you couldn’t be mad at because it was so good? Let us know in the comments.
People in the comments agreed and suggested more options for the revenge to continue for longer
