early and awkward

A Concise History of Politicians Accidentally Directing People to Phone Sex Hotlines

FORT LAUDERDALE, FL - MAY 18: Florida Governor Rick Scott speaks during the Governor’s Hurricane Conference General Session at the Broward County Convention Center on May 18, 2011 in Fort Lauderdale, Florida.The conference was established to focus on the challenges caused by hurricanes and tropical events unique to Florida. Hurricane season in the Atlantic begins June 1st and ends November 30th (Photo by Joe Raedle/Getty Images)
Rick Scott was just following precedent. Photo: Joe Raedle/2011 Getty Images

All Florida governor Rick Scott wanted was to help some people afflicted with meningitis by directing them to a Department of Health hotline yesterday. Instead, he accidentally gave out a number to a phone sex service, which is nice and all, but not exactly helpful for someone with meningitis. However embarrassing his mistake, Scott finds himself in pretty good company. In fact, he isn’t even the first Florida governor to make such a mix-up. Herewith, a concise history of this hilariously common blunder. 

Who? Wisconsin state senator Randy Hopper
What Was the Number Supposed to Be? His office
Instead It Went To …  A phone sex hotline

Who? Florida governor Charlie Crist
What Was the Number Supposed to Be? Florida KidCare, a program for uninsured children
Instead It Went To …  A phone sex hotline

Who? Oregon Secretary of State Bill Bradbury
What Was the Number Supposed to Be? A voter hotline
Instead It Went To …  A phone sex hotline

Who? The Michigan Democratic State Central Committee
What Was the Number Supposed to Be? A campaign hotline
Instead It Went To …  A phone sex hotline

Who? The White House
What Was the Number Supposed to Be? A media conference call with Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and National Security Adviser Jim Jones
Instead It Went To …  A phone sex hotline

Who? The RNC
What Was the Number Supposed to Be? The RNC
Instead It Went to …  A phone sex hotline

Who? Indiana’s secretary of State Jerry Bonnet
What Was the Number Supposed to Be? The “Hoosier Voter Hotline”
Instead It Went To …  A phone sex hotline

Who? The Club for Growth
What Was the Number Supposed to Be? 1-800-Get-Some-Pork, a fake number on a mailer mocking an allegedly earmark-friendly candidate for Congress
Instead It Went To …  A phone sex hotline

Who? New Jersey
What Was the Number Supposed to Be? New Jersey’s Office of the Ombudsman for the Institutionalized Elderly
Instead It Went To …  A phone sex hotline

And this one’s not political, but it’s the best ever, so 

Who? Chad Ochocino’s eponymous kid’s cereal
What Was the Number Supposed to Be? The Feed the Children charity
Instead It Went To …  A phone sex hotline

The moral of the story is there are a lot of phone sex hotlines out there.

Pols Who Sent People to Phone Sex Hotlines