Are We Really This Stupid?

fmdog44

fmdog44

Well-known Member
Location
Houston, Texas
I recall Dan Ackroyd with the origianl SNL cast doing a hilarious bit where he played at tele-psychic. Now I saw on late night TV there is a commercial for "California Psychic Hotline". Are you kidding me?! Is there anyone on this planet that is paying for those readings!? This saddens me knowing people are so lost they support these goofs. Why not consult with their goldfish?
 

Gosh those were big in thee 90's, or earlier. One lady was arrested, Miss Cleo.






Dionne Warwick was involved in another. I thought they were gone now.

 

applecruncher said:
Unfortunately, people pay a lot of money for these "services".

Many reasons - vulnerable, desperate, sad, lonely, clinging to a thread of hope...
some find it exciting, fun...
whatever. :shrug:
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I agree, I never had the desire to go to a psychic, but if I did it wouldn't be by phone, it would have to be a private reading in person, face to face. They would also have to convince me by telling me personal things about myself that can't be generalized or hinted at by what I say, etc. We were talking about this as a group once during lunch when I was working. One lady co-worker said she went to a psychic fair and got a personal reading, she said she'll never forget it and it was very unsettling. She became visibly upset, and was asked what they told her. She was so shaken, she excused herself from the table and quickly walked away spending the rest of her lunch in her car. I can only imagine what she was told, but it must have hit home.....she wasn't that sensitive of a person.
 
People get desperate for any contact, even if they're paying for it, even if it's bogus. I came up with a great idea that will, eventually, come to pass: A service where you contact a company, give them as many details about a departed loved one as possible, listen to voice samples you can tweak to sound like the departed sounded on the phone, and then call in to a smart computer that will converse with you as your dearly departed. Whoever brings this idea to fruition will become a multi-billionaire, someday. You heard it here, first (maybe). I believe there may have been a few sci-fi stories about this, but I can't recall reading any. I know I'd use the service, in a heartbeat, if I could chat up my mom, dad and sister.
 
Back in the mid 90’s when our son was around 9 years old he called one of these TV psychics to ask if a girl in his class liked him. We had no idea he was calling them until we got our phone bill. It was over $100! These people kept him on the phone and had told him to call back every day for more updated information. Ugh, after numerous calls to AT&T they dropped the charges when we explained he was 9!
 
The sad thing is people are so desperate for any sort of contact that they reach out for anything. The other sad thing is that these people know exactly what to say to get the information they need to give just enough information back for these poor individuals to keep feeding them more and more money.
 
I liked Miss Cleo's commercials. She was so funny. She actually was born in LA and was an actress. She died at 53 of colon cancer in 2016. I think she was arrested but never did any jail time. And no I never called her, I just watched her commercials.
 
fmdog44 said:
I recall Dan Ackroyd with the origianl SNL cast doing a hilarious bit where he played at tele-psychic. Now I saw on late night TV there is a commercial for "California Psychic Hotline". Are you kidding me?! Is there anyone on this planet that is paying for those readings!? This saddens me knowing people are so lost they support these goofs. Why not consult with their goldfish?
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I thought the same thing when I saw/see those commercials. For a split second I did think..well are there really people out there that know these things? Dismissed the thought tho.
 
I see a 1-800 phone number in the example posted by
Radish Rose, the person behind that number would be
asking for a credit card number I suspect.

Over here they post 0900 numbers, these are premium
numbers and if you have one, then you set the call rate,
some cost £3 per minute and can last any length of time,
there is a requirement that you display the charge and
length of the call in the advert.

These numbers are used by all kinds of people, not just
by fortune tellers. Sex workers and lottery people also use
them, you know the cost before you start and no card is
needed, you can also block your phone so that nobody else
can use it to call one of these numbers.

Mike.
 
Floridatennisplayer said:
Back in the mid 90’s when our son was around 9 years old he called one of these TV psychics to ask if a girl in his class liked him. We had no idea he was calling them until we got our phone bill. It was over $100! These people kept him on the phone and had told him to call back every day for more updated information. Ugh, after numerous calls to AT&T they dropped the charges when we explained he was 9!
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That's cute for a 9 year old. Whatever happened with the girl?
 
My ex-girlfriend and I went to the fair. There was a mother-daughter "Psychic reading" booth. My ex decided to get a reading. I couldn't believe her, I never thought she was into that stuff. She got the "reading" which she had to keep it a secret. It wouldn't come true if she didn't. She was the last person I would have guessed to believe in 'readings'. She really didn't believe in ghosts, etc.
 
I had an aunt who truly believed in a local psychic called Mrs. Mahoney. She would go on a regular basis. My aunt never did tell us what Mrs. Mahoney had to say other than the fact that she was very accurate. My aunt is long gone but to this day when a problem arises someone will always say,"I wonder what Mrs. Mahoney would say.
 
Well, he remembers calling them and he remembered me getting mad at him. Back then phone bills were like $4.99 per month, so seeing over $100 of additional charges yikes! He said it was Psychic Friends or something like that. He said he was asking if this girl would ever like him. He laughed and had no idea who the girl was or whether she liked him ever.
 
Floridatennisplayer said:
Well, he remembers calling them and he remembered me getting mad at him. Back then phone bills were like $4.99 per month, so seeing over $100 of additional charges yikes! He said it was Psychic Friends or something like that. He said he was asking if this girl would ever like him. He laughed and had no idea who the girl was or whether she liked him ever.
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Thanks! LOL, he doesn't even remember her~ hearty-laugh.gif
 
Actually I had a very good experience a few years ago. My Sister and I went to New York to visit a friend. We noticed a sign saying that James Van Praagh was making an appearance there. I had seen him on tv so my sister said that we should go see him. We made a deal to not say anything about ourselves or family. He started to talk to people in the audience of about 300 people. Then he looked at me and my sister and said "It doesn't matter how good you look if your loved one isn't here to speak to you." Then he started talking about a man that at died after leg surgery. He said the man's wife was named Elizabeth and that she loved to go to Bingo. My sister and I just froze.My Dad had passed away about 6 months before from leg surgery,My Mom's name was Elizabeth and she went to Bingo 4 nights a week. Neither my sister or I stood up or answered anything but he amazed me with what he said. He said a few other things about my Dad and I can't imagine how he knew all he did.
 
Sassycakes said:
Actually I had a very good experience a few years ago. My Sister and I went to New York to visit a friend. We noticed a sign saying that James Van Praagh was making an appearance there. I had seen him on tv so my sister said that we should go see him. We made a deal to not say anything about ourselves or family. He started to talk to people in the audience of about 300 people. Then he looked at me and my sister and said "It doesn't matter how good you look if your loved one isn't here to speak to you." Then he started talking about a man that at died after leg surgery. He said the man's wife was named Elizabeth and that she loved to go to Bingo. My sister and I just froze.My Dad had passed away about 6 months before from leg surgery,My Mom's name was Elizabeth and she went to Bingo 4 nights a week. Neither my sister or I stood up or answered anything but he amazed me with what he said. He said a few other things about my Dad and I can't imagine how he knew all he did.
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Please google him and you will see he has been revealed as 100% fake. I saw a documentary when he was unable to answer anything. He just walked away knowing he had been caught.
 
Sassycakes said:
Actually I had a very good experience a few years ago. My Sister and I went to New York to visit a friend. We noticed a sign saying that James Van Praagh was making an appearance there. I had seen him on tv so my sister said that we should go see him. We made a deal to not say anything about ourselves or family. He started to talk to people in the audience of about 300 people. Then he looked at me and my sister and said "It doesn't matter how good you look if your loved one isn't here to speak to you." Then he started talking about a man that at died after leg surgery. He said the man's wife was named Elizabeth and that she loved to go to Bingo. My sister and I just froze.My Dad had passed away about 6 months before from leg surgery,My Mom's name was Elizabeth and she went to Bingo 4 nights a week. Neither my sister or I stood up or answered anything but he amazed me with what he said. He said a few other things about my Dad and I can't imagine how he knew all he did.
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That's great Sassy, i would have more faith in them if I had an experience like you did. :cool:
 
fmdog44 said:
Please google him and you will see he has been revealed as 100% fake. I saw a documentary when he was unable to answer anything. He just walked away knowing he had been caught.
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In my eyes it was amazing. He mentioned my Mothers name ,how my Dad died and an activity my Mother did 3x's a week. I still can't figure out how he knew these things when my sister and I never replied. Also years ago my grandfather got lost. He was 85yrs old. We had numerous search parties looking for him. 2 of my cousins went to a lecture with Jean Dixon. At the end of the lecture Jean Dixon was signing her autograph. My cousin handed her a picture of my grandfather face down. As soon as Jean Dixon touched it she said "Oh my,he is lost. You will find his body on Tuesday." Sure enough a little boy tripped over my grandfather's body on Tuesday. That was in 1965 and it still boggles my mind.
 

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