this btw is the most famous prank phone call there is according to answers.com, google, wikipedia and other sites
Prince Albert in a Can
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Prince Albert is a brand of pipe tobacco sold by John Middleton, Inc. The brand gained widespread recognition, perhaps infamously, due to the classic prank call, where the caller asks if the store has "Prince Albert in a can" and when the unexpecting clerk responds "yes", the caller follows up with "You'd better let him out (before he suffocates)!" This same joke was also used by Stewie and Brian in the popular cartoon series Family Guy as well as a clone of Bloo on Foster's Home for Imaginary Friends. In addition, the same joke was used in the episode Drizzle on the show Aqua Teen Hunger Force. This joke was also heard in the movie It when Pennywise the Clown said it to jokester, Richie Tozier and referred to in the song "Phony Calls" by "Weird Al" Yankovic. In Dexter's Laboratory, Dexter's father mentions about it over the phone (without any incentive), passing by a bathroom with "Prince Albert" sitting inside of a toilet and popping his head out when he was mentioned.
Despite this negative publicity, Prince Albert is one of the more popular independent brands of tobacco in the USA. More recently, it has also become available in the form of pipe-tobacco cigars.
Though there have been several Princes Albert in the monarchies of Europe, Prince Albert tobacco is not named for the most well known Prince Albert of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha who was husband and Prince Consort to Queen Victoria. Albert and Victoria's eldest son was also known as Prince Albert before he took the throne as Edward VII. The brand of tobacco was introduced after the Prince Consort's death, and the image on the can shows a man with full beard, which the Prince Consort did not wear. Also, wording on the package was changed somewhat once Prince Albert had become King Edward VII.
There are also variants of the joke involving King Edward brand cigars (named for Edward VII) and Martha White brand flour. The prank caller inquires if the store has "King Edward in a box" or "Martha White in a bag."