Sal Had To Change His Phone Number After This Prank On Impractical Jokers
You could say that the core cast of "Impractical Jokers" are equal-opportunity pranksters. That is, the entire foursome — now threesome, following Joe Gatto's exit from the series – follows the same set of rules each episode. The gang must perform outrageous dares on a hidden camera, and whoever refuses (or simply laughs too hard) loses that round. All four pranksters, then, are subject to ruthless, embarrassing punishments.
Of course, not all punishments are created equal. Some fans think James "Murr" Murray gets hit with the worst punishments, such as his on-air colonoscopy or when he was forced to go skydiving. Others think Sal Vulcano's punishments are uniquely terrible. "Murr had some terrible ones," wrote Redditor u/CerealWithIceCream. "But I'd do every single one of their punishments to not get Sal's tattoos." (The tattoos in question, fans will know, are multiple portraits of Jaden Smith.) And after one decidedly mischievous prank, Sal even had to change his phone number.
The Jokers put Sal's phone number on a sky banner
In the "Impractical Jokers" Season 4 premiere "Welcome to Miami," the Jokers took their talents to South Beach. There, they flew Sa Vulcanol's phone number from an airplane. The sky banner read, "I'm Sal. I'm lonely. Call me," followed by his phone number. "It went up and down the beach for about a half hour," Sal said in a behind-the-scenes interview.
The prank is funny enough on its own, but the guys knew that their friend would be paying extra close attention to his phone that day. "I would normally not pull my phone out in the middle of filming," Sal explained, "but I was waiting on a very important call from Thailand to refund me for something that I bought for five hundred bucks." Given the twelve-hour time difference, Sal had a small window and was watching his phone like a hawk.
He continued, "When the phone rang, I told everyone 'Stop, I've got to take this, it must be Thailand.' Everybody was laughing at me." As it turns out, plenty of locals saw the sign and decided to give the lonely stranger a call. "It was men and women asking me if I was lonely. I did have to change one of my numbers, yes." An inconvenience, sure, but not nearly as permanent as a tattoo.