The Scourge of Accidental Dialing
Chances are it's happened to you: you've either received a call from someone who didn't mean to call you, or your phone went ahead and decided to call someone on its own, right from the inside of your pocket.An article in the Wall Street Journal investigates this new epidemic of the cell phone age, which can have implications far more severe than an annoying dead air voice mail.
For example, in the past the FCC has had to warn the public about accidental phone calls tying up 911 operators who must sit there trying to determine if the caller is an old woman in need of medical assistance, or some guy in his car doing his best to sing along with 'Roxanne.'
But it's our personal relationships with others that can truly take a beating at the hands of accidental dialing, and the WSJ article has a few good yarns about folks talking about people behind their backs, and mistakenly leaving their conversations on the voice mails of the very people they're talking about.
You know the feeling: You get a voice mail from a friend or colleague that they clearly didn't intend to make. You hear them talking in the background, but can only make out a few words or phrases here and there. Suddenly, it's like you're an FBI agent listening to mafia wiretaps. You sit there listening, hoping to hear something juicy or incriminating ... something you can use later. Or worse, you look at your call history and realize your phone made a 10-minute call to a contact last night. Now you're like someone who just committed murder. You mentally retrace all of your conversations from the night before wondering if you said something that's going to get you into trouble. Panic sets in. What the hell did I say? Should I call this person now and just pretend like everything is normal?
What's the solution -- stop talking about people behind their backs? Don't be ridiculous. Learn to use your phone's keyguard. Though different from phone to phone, the keyguard is simply a combination of keys that must be pressed before your phone can dial phone numbers. Learn it. Use it.
Got a funny/mortifying tale of accidental dialing? Share it with us in the comments section below.
From The Wall Street Journal
Related Links:
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 5)
Lucky 11 @ Jun 12th 2007 8:14PM
I once received an accidental call from someone I had recently stopped dating. He was in the middle of a rather intimate encounter, and I was treated to the entire verbal commentary. Didn't sound like either of them were having much fun.
MsKnwItAll @ Jun 12th 2007 8:15PM
I had that exact same samsung phone and it decided to call my dad! i was driving and my best friend and i had the music blasting, and it was probably the filithiest cd i had at the time, but that wasnt even the worse part. we ended up turning the music down and started talking about the best & the worst of porno we'd seen and which moves we later tried to reinact. the convo didnt stop there because i felt it necessary to give a 5 min seminar on how to give the best bj ever... embarrassed? mortified would be more like it. all of this from the daughter of a preacher, while said preacher listened in.
sue @ Jun 12th 2007 8:29PM
Four years ago I was hooked up with a guy who used to call me frequently on my cellphone. He used to keep his phone in his shirt pocket and one particular time it somehow dialed my number without him realizing it, and I answered it but he didn't know I was there. At that moment my man was bragging to his cousin about the other girl he was emailing and flirting with, not to mention another woman he was going golfing with the next day without my knowledge. I called him on the carpet two days later as he was leaving to catch a flight to Fla. He used the phone in the plane and begged me to forgive him for almost the whole flight. Like a dodo, I did. Turns out he wound up marrying the golfer woman after cheating on me behind my back for months. Thank goodness it was her instead of me!!!
Stacey @ Jun 12th 2007 8:58PM
My cell phone was in my purse while I was getting my nails done. Me and two other customers were talking about the men we were cheating on our boyfriends with. All the while my boyfriend's cousin was listening in because I did not have the guard on my keypad and it dialed his contact number after pressing up against something in my purse. All in all, I wasted about 45 minutes on that call unknowingly and me and my live in fiance broke up because of it. Now I always buy a flip phone!
joshdestardi @ Jun 12th 2007 9:09PM
...great morals, "stacey."
jus sayin
Barb @ Jun 12th 2007 9:14PM
My EX-boyfriend's phone accidently called my phone and when I answered I was shocked to hear him getting a BJ in his car. I knew what was going on because I heard him moaning and her slurping. Afterward, I heard her tell him to drop her off somewhere. And that's why he's an ex.
Joan @ Jun 12th 2007 9:32PM
Back when "wireless" home phones were new... We started to get a lot of strange messages on our answering machine - Each time the caller sounded like SHE was answering her phone. The message was always the same "Office of the Building, How may I help you?" Very strange.
Then, one day, I was sitting near our new phone and heard "clicking" noises. I picked up the phone and realized IT was dialing... Sure enough, the unknown woman answered with "Office of the Building, etc"
I was startled but managed to ask her if she'd been getting a lot of "hang-ups" lately. She had. Feeling like a lunatic, I explained that it seemed our phone was dailing her phone on its own. TG - she said she'd read about that happening. We decided that my phone was enamoured of her phone as no other explanation presented itself. Glad she had a good sense of humor!
Still can't figure out how our answering machine was able to record her, when the call originated with our phone. Oh, well...
Needless to say - we threw out that phone - and waited YEARS to get another "wireless" - which, so far doesn't have a mind of its own. LOL
Alexandra @ Jun 12th 2007 9:35PM
One time I was calling to make plans with my friend to go out for ladies night. I called her home phone and i asked if she was there.Her dad said call her on her 6960 number and I said ok, bye. When I went to end the call the number I had typed was 8961 insted of 8691.I think I have a problem with misnumbering people's phone number. I felt like a total idiot, but the weird thing is that person's house's daughter that I called had same name has the same name as my
friend and that her cell phone's last digets are 6960.
Ken @ Jun 12th 2007 9:41PM
I had a stereotypical date from HELL.
I met this guy after work at a local Starbucks. The guy was an ASS and talked to his ex on his cell phone a few times during our date.
Well, afterwards I walked back to my office to get my stuff to go home and when I walked in the door, a co-worker (very good friend) asked how the date went.
That is when I went on a wild tangent describing this guy to a T. I used every cuss word that came to mind and think I even made a few new ones up.
I told her how freakin rude and ignorant he was and disrespectful, etc.
Well, when I walked back to my desk, I heard a voice on my phone say "Thank you. Your voicemail has been sent."
I looked at the call list and apparently my phone dialed this guy while I was going off about him and left every word of it on his voicemail.
I guess my cell phone felt he needed to know that there was no chance in HELL of a second date.
LMAO
kuru @ Jun 12th 2007 9:45PM
A couple years ago some friends and I had come back from Christmas shopping and when we got inside we listened to the answering machine. We realized it was us talking outside the house, and not thinking about my cell phone, we assumed there was someone in the house that was trying to scare us. After about 15 minutes searching the house terrified I realized it was my cell. We felt like such fools
ANDREW @ Jun 12th 2007 9:59PM
BUY A FLIP PHONE AND STOP WORRYING ABOUT THE STUPID THINGS!!
Lisa @ Jun 12th 2007 10:01PM
My ex-husband and I were sharing a house and a platonic relationship and my husband had even started dating openly though never bringing anyone to the house. I had kinda started seeing someone but wasn't sure where it was headed and didn't want to say anything about it until I knew for sure it was going to last. My ex was still very jealous and loved to give me a healthy razzing about men even though I wasn't seeing anyone until then. One night my new interest and I went for a drive but I told my ex I was going to an elderly friend's house to play cards. While we were driving I somehow managed to dial the house phone when I moved my phone and my ex was able to hear our conversation in the car for the next half hour! The jig was up! The next day my ex couldn't wait to blast me so he trapped me with a series of questions he knew I would lie about and I fell right into it! He dropped the bomb that he had heard my conversation so I fessed up. I'm just glad the conversation was generic! From that point on although my relationship with that new love interest went nowhere my ex razzed me like we were hot and heavy and ready to shack up! He wouldn't accept that I was just friends with the guy even though he and I were platonic. The ridiculous thing was he was spending whole weekends at the homes of women he was dating and having sex with them, too, but I wasn't. Me and that guy never even kissed.
ginger @ Jun 12th 2007 10:01PM
I TOP all of yours!
I had just had a baby and I was staying at my friends house while I was recovering ( he was 15 pounds & 23 1/2 inches long). She was out of town for the last few days I was there and my mom called me. I was feeling sad and I was in much pain from delivering him. I cried as I told my mom about the delivery and about how much my hemmroids hurt and what else was going on with my body. This whole time, my friends answering machine was recording this as an out going message. Which I did not know at the time. So for weeks, every time that someone called her house they would hear my conversation with my mom about how painful my hemmroids hurt. Finally someone told my friend about the message that was on her machine. So you can imagine what people thought when they heard that!!! Believe me I was the talk among many that month!!! We still laugh about it to this day. That was 18 years ago. I placed him for adoption, so I have no clue how big he is now. But I do not regret giving him a better life then what I could give to him at that time in my life. Someday soon I pray that I will meet him. I hope you all had a good laugh too out of this one.
rtdevildog @ Jun 12th 2007 10:04PM
My daughter's phone would dial me on occassion. She and her then Boyfriend were on a trip, driving through Southern Utah. She was driving and they were low on gas.
Her phone dialed me and I got to listen to them argue about whose fault it was that they were almost out of gas and nowhere to buy any could be seen.
It was a fairly lively conversation, since he was a Sgt in the USMC and she was the daughter of a First Sergeant in the USMC.
I thouhgt it was a fairly hilarious situation. They did finally find a gas station, luckily.
Tammy @ Jun 12th 2007 10:10PM
My Mother & Dad had locked themselves out of the house one night so they called from the cell phone to the neighbor next door to have their 5 year old crawl in the window for them. The next day the neighbor down the road came over & told them they needed to get an extra key made so they would not get locked out again. My parents were confused as to how he knew about them being locked out. Seems the neighbor heard the entire conversation from his police scanner when the call was picked up on it.Now my mother freaks out everytime she gets on her cell phone.
John @ Jun 12th 2007 10:37PM
I have a Nokia flip phone, so the keypad is "protected" from accidental contact. Thus, it shouldn't dial by itself. Shouldn't, but it does. My daughters say it calls them all the time, sometimes 12 times a week. I've tried squeezing it but it doesn't dial when squeezed. I guess it just has a mind of its own.
Carrie @ Jun 12th 2007 10:37PM
ok I actually have a question about something..My Dad has a flip phone, and somehow he still redials or calls a random person on his phone list! How in the world do you prevent a flip phone from redialing? I would have thought closing it would have been enough....
Regina @ Jun 12th 2007 10:58PM
I had my phone in my pocket and it dialed my daughter at her job. She wound up listening to an algebra lesson that I was trying to teach..." Now Johnny, we don't throw...."
Don Williams @ Jun 12th 2007 11:04PM
Eight years ago my Mom suffered a severe stroke about ten pm. My brother called to say they were going to the hospital. Three hours later, I dialed the cell of my brother's wife and it connected but no answer. I then realized I was listening to the conversation in my Mom's hospital roomm I heard her voice and understood every word. My brother and Dad were explaining all to her and to the others in the room. I put my house phone on speaker and my wife and I lay in bed and listened to my Mom talking for the last time in her life. She died before I could get there the next day. After fifteen minutes of listening in on that room full of conversation, and without getting anyone to answer, I disconnected and redialed my sister-in-law. this time she answered and I told her the story. They never heard the phone ring, but were busy getting all the news about my Mom as were my wife and I just as though we were there. Never figured how that happened, but was so glad it did. thanks and goodby Mom.
Debbie @ Jun 12th 2007 11:08PM
I was flying to Florida from New Jersey. My husband and I had an agreement that whenever we fly without the other, we always call when we land to let the other know that we landed safely. Before I left on this particular Saturday afternoon, he was working and told me he would still be on the job for another 2 hours, and he was looking forward to a hot shower and to put his feet up.
So when I landed and the flight attendant gave the ok to use cell phones, I called him on his cell. Some gentleman answered the phone. I asked for my husband (assuming it was someone he works with) This man said that he was a bartender at a golf clubhouse and the owner of the phone had left it at the bar. He asked what my husbands name was, so that he could return the phone to the rightful owner. I gave him my husband's name, but inside I was doing a slow burn. So much for him being so beat that he just wanted to kick back at home and relax.
As I walked to the baggage area, my cell phone rang, and it was my husband. The first thing out of his mouth was, "Why didn't you call me?" So I replied, with an attitude, "I did call you but you left your phone at the bar!" "What are you talking about?" was his reply. So I told him the story. He told me that he had gotten home, took a shower and saw the time. He knew I had landed a while ago, hadn't heard from me and decided to call. He told me I must have dialed the wrong number. It was impossible since I called from the phone directory stored in the phone.
When I got my phone bill in for the month, I checked the numbers and sure enough, I had connected to someone else's phone number. Somehow two of us on that plane must have dialed at the same time, and the numbers crossed. It gave us quite a chuckle after I showed my husband the phone bill, but not as much as thinking about the poor guy trying to get back his phone and his name wasn't the one I gave the bartender!