The Jerky Boys were never funny. They just weren’t. Still they are synonymous with prank calls. Every menial job I’ve ever worked has at some point involved me listening to a bunch of coworkers recount their favorite Jerky Boys skits (banal stuff about calling a crematorium to see if they can cremate your grandmother early etc.) They were so popular Radiohead even nodded to one of their calls in title of their debut album. It’s a shame because at the same time that The Jerky Boys were pumping out their platinum selling CDs there was another significantly less known prank caller active in the midwest going only by the name Longmont Potion Castle. Longmont Potion Castle is very funny, what’s more is he’s often very surreal. It’s not just his absurdity of his deadpan requests but also the way he will manipulate his voice with bizarre effects and delays sending the folks on the other end of the line into even deeper bewilderment. It was a brand of humor extremely ahead of it’s time that still holds up years later. By now a good portion of the calls have been uploaded to youtube and you’ll find it’s way too easy to get stuck in a LPC k-hole. Check out Boats at the top.