[biagidp]

This reminds me of a gag recording I did for missed calls on an early cell phone. Back in those days it wasn't uncommon to get a recorded error message along the lines of "Wireless Provider error 123: explanation of reason you're getting this error". I recorded a message in my best imitation of the error voice that said "Wireless Provider error 427: The wireless customer you're attempting to contact has passed away. Leave a message and we'll be sure to pass it on to their next-of-kin". This message lasted until the first time I missed a call from my mother, who was understandable very upset!

[angst_ridden]

Had a related thing, back when landlines were expensive. A roommate went off on Peace Corps to Sierra Leone for a year, and I inherited her landline.

A telemarketer called asking for her, and I said "oh, she'll be in Africa for a year." The marketer had a minor meltdown. Evidently, he had been close to the end of his rope already, and this (honest) answer pushed him that much closer. "Don't mock me. Just hang up or say she's not taking calls," he begged me.

This is when I finally realized I didn't need to be honest with telemarketers. Subsequently, whenever I'd get a call asking for her, I'd try to come up with more and more exotic reasons she couldn't answer the phone. Since her name was not pronounced the way the spelling suggested it might be, it was easy to know whether the caller knew her or not, and I could respond accordingly.