A Craigslist Prank

[bui]

So yesterday, my friend posted a picture of my bike on CL and said it was on sale for $150 (cost me $1000 to build)...I definitely got calls about it, and had to text/call everyone back to explain, so they would stop contacting me.

Since I'm not a person to take this lying down, here's what I posted today. My friend's name is John, and I had his number listed on there. The following is a quote of the email I received when my post was flagged 5 minutes later...

Your posting has been flagged for removal.
Approximately 98% of postings removed are in violation of craigslist posting guidelines.
Please make sure you are abiding by all posted site rules, including our terms of use:
http://www.craigslist.org/about/terms.of.use.html
If you need help figuring out why your posting was flagged, try asking in our flag help forum: http://forums.craigslist.org/?forumID=3. Include posting title, body, category, city, how often posted, any images, HTML markup, etc.
If your posting was wrongly flagged down (2% of flagged ads are) please accept our apologies and feel free to repost.
Sorry for the hassle, and thanks for your understanding.

Date: 1256753886
PostID: 1441576851
Title: (free stuff) FREE rhesus monkey to a good home==NOT A PET

Greetings CL,

My name is John, and I am an Anthropology/Relative Species Studies professor at a local university. Due to research/fellowship requirements, I will be leaving for sabbatical in the forests of Burma (Myanmar for the more traditional readers) on November 2nd. Since there is no way to determine with certainty the length of my visit, I am forced to give up my good friend, Hottentot. Hottentot is a 6-year-old rhesus monkey who has lived with me since I nursed him back to health in the jungles of Thailand. When I found him, he couldn't have been more than a few weeks old; it appears that his "tribe" abandoned him because of his disproportionately small penis. In animal clans, reproductive organ size is a very important factor in determining species survival and mating viability.

We developed instant rapport, and he quickly grew accustomed to my way of life. He is trained to wake up only when I am already awake (so there will be no nocturnal vocalizations, unlike those of the inferior canines), and prepares himself for bed shortly after The Late Show with Conan O' Brien (he loves Conan, and cannot miss an episode...more specifically, the monologue. I believe that he just likes the funny man's large hair, but you cannot say with certainty that Tot does not understand the jokes, for he will clap at key puns). If you cannot stay up til that hour, please have a DVR with which you can record the show, so that he can watch it the next day.

During the day, he follows me to my office and classroom. He requires a car seat (included), and prefers to listen to the Eagles on the daily commute. His favorite track is "One of these Nights". At school, he sits calmly in his corner and plays with his balls until lunch time. His lunch is usually a melange of crickets melted into cheese and peanut butter (you can purchase the crickets at Petsmart). He is truly well-behaved, and the only documented attack on a human was when he mistook my graduate student's Black Flag tattoo for dinner. The student has since recovered, although he is a bit slow now.

I am truly sad to leave him behind, but American Airlines will not let him fly (and I must go with them, since they still serve kosher meals). Besides, he is too domesticated to handle himself in the wild, and I would be devastated if something were to happen to him.

If you are interested in Hottentot (Tot, or Tater Tot, or Tater for short), I would like to arrange an interview to ensure that he will be going to a good home. If you are PETA and want to preach to me, feel free to. I am deaf to your radical message, and am eating a triple bacon cheeseburger tonight in your honor.

If you want to flag my post in accordance with the "Pets" rule, I ask you to reconsider. He is more than a pet. I am proud to call him friend, brother, and lover.

My number is ##########. Ask for John, and please mention that you are inquiring about my monkey, Tot.

The picture was taken a few weeks back on our nature hike at Isle Du Bois.

* Location: Denton
* it's NOT ok to contact this poster with services or other commercial interests

[/quote]


Naturally, I was a little bummed that it was taken down in 5 minutes...but then I get a call from my friend, who has apparently received ~15 calls about Tater Tot. This is his transcript of the voicemails (as posted on our original forum, where the pranks started).

Originally Posted by Johnny

Aight, here's a few:

And here's the very first caller, who called 5 times and left the following two voicemails:

Apologies to any DFW guys who may know these callers, but I felt this too classic not to share. We've called a truce, and I hope that's the end of it...

[CrispyDelicious]

You sir, are amazing.

[5StringBlues]

"If you want to flag my post in accordance with the "Pets" rule, I ask you to reconsider. He is more than a pet. I am proud to call him friend, brother, and lover."






The whole thing is hilarious!

[LaklandBass]

thats just awesome. what kind of bike? lol

[MakiSupaStar]

Well played

[bui]

Ironically, it was my Surly Karate MONKEY. Another friend gave me the idea for the "Free Monkey", which he apparently used in college (yeah, we're all friends in real life, it's a mountain biking forum where we spend time when not on the bike or avoiding work), and I used my literary prowess to make up the backstory.

[ThunderLizard]

bui- so, uhhh...how much for the monkey?

[refuge4]

nice. that's great. i had a friend that lived in a super backwoods area of texas and posted "free boat -> call chris at ##########" on craigslist as a prank. he had to change his phone number bc he got something ridiculous like 500 calls in the first hour. even better, i had class with him and was sitting right next to him while his phone was blowing up. he was so mad. "why does everyone think i'm selling an ______ boat!!!" it was awesome.

[MakiSupaStar]

hmm. A mountain bike forum? You don't say. Where might one find said mountain bike forum?

[Jimmy Bones]

I was under the impression monkies weren't allowed to be posted on CL.

[LaklandBass]

Nice, nothing wrong with surly.... ive got a Scott S10 road bike, Scott CX team cyclocross bike and an IRO Jamie Roy SS commuter. if anybody wants the mountain bike forum its MTBR.com Roadbikereview.com is the road bike version.

[bui]

It's a local, vouch-only forum...you have to be vouched for to see the good stuff.
I had an IRO Mark V I used for commuting...sold it off earlier this year.

Jimmy, monkeys (and any animal) are illegal. But they make for funny posts.

[warwick.hoy]

I actually recommend blaptica dubias over crickets. A colony of doobies can be self sustaining for many months and they are virtually silent. Crickets are nasty noisy smelly little things and I hate them.

[MatticusMania]

Originally Posted by warwick.hoy

A colony of doobies can be self sustaining for many months...

so long as you know your math and don't indulge too much.

[Jimmy Bones]

Originally Posted by bui

It's a local, vouch-only forum...you have to be vouched for to see the good stuff.
I had an IRO Mark V I used for commuting...sold it off earlier this year.

Jimmy, monkeys (and any animal) are illegal. But they make for funny posts.

Hrm. See free pet ads all the time. Nobody ever bats an eye out here.

[warwick.hoy]

Originally Posted by MatticusMania

so long as you know your math and don't indulge too much.

[DuffMac87]

I Know of an awesome craigs prank i have done it to dozens of people.


Go into the casual encounters section, post an add saying your a 25 year old female looking for NSA fun, leave your number you cant post a number like 555-1234 you have to write out the number five five five one two three four .

TELL THEM to send you a picture text FIRST of there man parts and then of there face. This is pretty messed up but its funny there are some freaks. Post it in a big city like LA you can get like 15 genitail pictures in 5 minutes

[MatticusMania]

So, the question to ask is... how many times have you seen my junk?











j/k

[Jimmy Bones]

Originally Posted by DuffMac87

I Know of an awesome craigs prank i have done it to dozens of people.


Go into the casual encounters section, post an add saying your a 25 year old female looking for NSA fun, leave your number you cant post a number like 555-1234 you have to write out the number five five five one two three four .

TELL THEM to send you a picture text FIRST of there man parts and then of there face. This is pretty messed up but its funny there are some freaks. Post it in a big city like LA you can get like 15 genitail pictures in 5 minutes

You have a 555 number?

You want pictures of dudes' junk?

Want mine?

[MatticusMania]

Hmm, seems she got herself banned within the last 9 minutes...