The Crying Number: A Weird 1994 Premier Rate Phone Line

24th June 1940: An exasperated woman cries for help on the phone. (Photo by Fox Photos/Getty Images)

24th June 1940: An exasperated woman cries for help on the phone. (Photo by Fox Photos/Getty Images)

 

In 1994, The Creative Communications Group produced ‘The Crying Number’. For $2 a minute, anyone could call the 1-900 number to hear the recording of a story so sad it would make them cry. The longer they listened the more they cried, until renal failure set in and the caller whithered like a dead grape on the vine.

The final tear would be be wrung from them when the phone bill arrived.

Did anyone out ther ever call it?

 

Would you like to support Flashbak?

Please consider making a donation to our site. We don't want to rely on ads to bring you the best of visual culture. You can also support us by signing up to our Mailing List. And you can also follow us on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter. For great art and culture delivered to your door, visit our shop.