The classic phone prank is “So, do you have Prince Albert in a can? Yes, well, you had better let him out.” While it may be a classic, it’s not the oldest phone prank. That distinction probably belongs to some unknown caller in Rhode Island in 1876. It came at the expense of an undertaker in Providence. Paul Collins, who is also known as The Literary Detective, found a blurb in the February 2, 1884, edition of The Electrical World while researching on Google Books. “A GRAVE JOKE ON UNDERTAKERS — Some malicious wag at Providence R.I. has been playing a grave practical joke on the undertakers there, by summoning them over the telephone to bring freezers, candlesticks and coffin for persons alleged to be dead. In each case the denoument was highly farcical, and the reputed corpses are now hunting Read more…