# Joybubbles > Mediated Wiki article. Canonical URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/Joybubbles > Markdown URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/Joybubbles.md > Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joybubbles > Source revision: 1355218859 > License: Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/) American phone phreak Joybubbles Joybubbles in 2005 Born Josef Carl Engressia Jr. (1949-05-25)25 May 1949 Richmond, Virginia, United States Died 8 August 2007(2007-08-08) (aged 58) Minneapolis, Minnesota, United States Other names Whistler, Highrise Joe Education University of South Florida (degree in Philosophy) Occupations Former phreaker, amateur radio operator, ordained minister Years active 1960s–2007 Organization(s) Church of Eternal Childhood, We Won't Grow Up Known for Pioneering phone phreaking with 2600 Hz whistle, founder of Church of Eternal Childhood Notable work "Stories and Stuff" telephone line, "Zzzzyzzerrific Funline" Call sign WB0RPA **Joybubbles** ((1949-05-25)May 25, 1949 – (2007-08-08)August 8, 2007), born **Josef Carl Engressia Jr.** in [Richmond, Virginia](/source/Richmond%2C_Virginia), was an early [phone phreak](/source/Phreaking). Born blind, he became interested in telephones at age four.[1] He had [absolute pitch](/source/Absolute_pitch), and was able to whistle [2600 hertz](/source/2600_hertz) — an operator tone also used by [blue box](/source/Blue_box) phreaking devices — into a telephone. Joybubbles said that he had an [IQ](/source/Intelligence_quotient) of "172 or something".[2] Joybubbles died at his [Minneapolis](/source/Minneapolis) home on August 8, 2007(2007-08-08) (aged 58). According to his death certificate,[3] he died of natural causes with [congestive heart failure](/source/Congestive_heart_failure) as a contributing condition. ## Early Life Joybubbles was born Josef Carl Engressia Jr. in Richmond, Virginia to Joe Sr. and Esther. He has a younger sister, Toni, who is also blind. The Engressia family moved a lot. Joybubbles grew up in all over the [East Coast](/source/East_Coast_of_the_United_States), including a apartment in Richmond where he developed his phreaking skills, briefly in [Saugus, Massachusetts](/source/Saugus%2C_Massachusetts) and all around [Florida](/source/Florida), including [Fort Lauderdale, Florida](/source/Fort_Lauderdale%2C_Florida), [Pompano Beach, Florida](/source/Pompano_Beach%2C_Florida), and finally [Miami, Florida](/source/Miami%2C_Florida). Joybubbles had good relationships with his mom and sister, but his father was abusive.[4] As a kid, Joybubbles had a lot of unique interests due to textures and sounds, including [Jell-O](/source/Jell-O), shower curtains, the telephone, and whistling, developing a talent for it.[5] ## Whistler External audio "Long Distance" – A Radiolab program about Joybubbles, phreaking, and telephony; featuring historian and author Phil Lapsley. (Archived from the original) "A Call From Joybubbles" – BBC Radio 4 program about Joybubbles and phreaking. Includes extensive telephonic soundscapes. Featuring documentarian Rachael Morrison, historian Phil Lapsely, John Draper, various phone phreaks, and acquaintances of Joybubbles. As a five-year-old, Joybubbles discovered he could dial phone numbers by clicking the hang-up switch rapidly ("[tapping](/source/Pulse_dialing#Switch-hook_dialing)"). At the age of seven, he was idly whistling along to clicks while on the phone, he accidentally discovered that at certain frequencies, he could activate [phone switches](/source/Phone_switch).[6][*[citation needed](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Citation_needed)*] A student at the [University of South Florida](/source/University_of_South_Florida) in the late 1960s, he was given the nickname "Whistler" due to his ability to place free [long-distance phone calls](/source/Long-distance_calling) by whistling the proper tones with his [mouth](/source/Human_mouth). After a Canadian operator reported him for selling such calls for $1 at the university, he was suspended and fined $25[7] but soon reinstated.[*[citation needed](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Citation_needed)*] He later graduated with a degree in [philosophy](/source/Philosophy) and moved to [Tennessee](/source/Tennessee). ## Later life This section needs more citations. Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources in this section. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. (May 2022) (Learn how and when to remove this message) In 1982, he moved to [Minneapolis](/source/Minneapolis), [Minnesota](/source/Minnesota). He lived on his [Social Security](/source/Social_Security_(United_States)) disability pension and a job as a test subject for scent-intensity research. He was an [ordained minister](/source/Minister_(Christianity)) of his own Church of Eternal Childhood, and ran a one-man [nonprofit support organization](/source/Nonprofit_organization) for people rediscovering and re-experiencing childhood, called "We Won't Grow Up".[8] He tried to remain an active member of the children's community around his home, giving readings at the local [library](/source/Library) and setting up phone calls to [terminally ill](/source/Terminal_illness) children around the world. He often contributed to the Bulletin Board section of the *[St. Paul Pioneer Press](/source/St._Paul_Pioneer_Press)* newspaper. [Sexually abused as a child](/source/Child_sexual_abuse) by one of his teachers, Joybubbles "reverted to his childhood" in May 1988 and remained there until his death, claiming that he was five years old. He legally changed his name to Joybubbles in 1991, stating that he wanted to put his past, specifically the abuse, behind him.[8] He was listed in the local phone directory as "Joybubbles, I Am". An avid fan of [Mister Rogers](/source/Fred_Rogers), Joybubbles was mentioned in a November 1998 *[Esquire](/source/Esquire_(magazine))* magazine article about children's television host [Fred Rogers](/source/Fred_Rogers). In the summer of 1998, Joybubbles traveled to the [University of Pittsburgh](/source/University_of_Pittsburgh)'s *[Mister Rogers' Neighborhood](/source/Mister_Rogers'_Neighborhood)* Archives and watched several hundred episodes over a span of six weeks.[8][9] An active [amateur radio](/source/Amateur_radio) operator with the [call sign](/source/Call_sign) WB0RPA, he held an amateur extra class license, the highest grade issued.[10] As shown in the [Federal Communications Commission](/source/Federal_Communications_Commission) database, he also earned both a [General radiotelephone operator license](/source/General_radiotelephone_operator_license) and a commercial radiotelegraph operator's license, as well as a ship radar endorsement on these certificates. He was one of the few to qualify for the now-obsolete aircraft radiotelegraph endorsement on the latter license.[11] ## Presence in the media - In 1971, just after his [arrest](/source/Arrest), Joybubbles was featured in an *[Esquire](/source/Esquire_(magazine))* article by [Ron Rosenbaum](/source/Ron_Rosenbaum)[12] which exposed the phone phreak scene to a general public and led to further media coverage of Joybubbles, who became a cultural icon.[13] - The 1992 movie *[Sneakers](/source/Sneakers_(1992_film))* had a character called "Whistler", who seemed to combine traits of both Joybubbles and [John Draper](/source/John_Draper). The character is played by [David Strathairn](/source/David_Strathairn).[14] - The 2001 documentary film *[The Secret History of Hacking](/source/The_Secret_History_of_Hacking)* features archive footage of Joybubbles. - In [Steve Wozniak](/source/Steve_Wozniak)'s book *[iWoz](/source/IWoz)*, Steve Wozniak mentions Joybubbles as an early inspiration during his college years. - On February 21, 2012, WNYC's *[Radiolab](/source/Radiolab)* aired a segment on Joybubbles in an episode titled "Escape!" - Chapter 9 of the book *Exploding the Phone* by [Phil Lapsley](/source/Phil_Lapsley) details his successful plan to get a job by purposely getting arrested for phreaking.[8] - Phone phreaking and specifically Joybubbles were the subject of "A Call from Joybubbles", broadcast on [BBC Radio 4](/source/BBC_Radio_4), on March 13, 2017[15] and March 17, 2018. - Joybubbles is the subject of the eponymous 2026 documentary [Joybubbles (film)](/source/Joybubbles_(film)). ## Phone services Joybubbles ran a weekly telephone story line called "Stories and Stuff", which was usually updated at the weekend. In the early and mid-1980s, he ran a phone line called the "Zzzzyzzerrific Funline", which had the distinction of being the very last entry in the phone book.[8][16][17] During the Zzzzyzzerrific Funline days, calling himself Highrise Joe,[11] he would go on various rants about how much he loved [Valleyfair](/source/Valleyfair) amusement park and would also regularly play and discuss [Up with People](/source/Up_with_People). ## References 1. **[^](#cite_ref-NPR_1-0)** ["Joe Engressia, Expert 'Phone Phreak,' Dies"](https://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=13764518). *All Things Considered*. [National Public Radio](/source/National_Public_Radio). 20 August 2007. 1. **[^](#cite_ref-2)** ["A Conversation with Joybubbles"](https://web.archive.org/web/20100218151704/http://www.icewhistle.com/static/joybubbles.html), *Pittsburgh Post-Gazette*, June 25, 1998, archived from [the original](http://static.icewhistle.com/joybubbles.html) on February 18, 2010, retrieved June 10, 2014 1. **[^](#cite_ref-3)** ["The History of Phone Phreaking Blog: August 27, 2008"](http://blog.historyofphonephreaking.org/2008/08/wikipedia-an-information-ouroboros.html). 1. **[^](#cite_ref-4)** [https://archive.org/details/ExplodingThePhoneTheUntoldStoryOfTheTeenagersAndOutlawsWhoHacked/page/n61/mode/2up](https://archive.org/details/ExplodingThePhoneTheUntoldStoryOfTheTeenagersAndOutlawsWhoHacked/page/n61/mode/2up) 1. **[^](#cite_ref-5)** [https://archive.org/details/ExplodingThePhoneTheUntoldStoryOfTheTeenagersAndOutlawsWhoHacked/page/n61/mode/2up](https://archive.org/details/ExplodingThePhoneTheUntoldStoryOfTheTeenagersAndOutlawsWhoHacked/page/n61/mode/2up) 1. **[^](#cite_ref-dial-tone_6-0)** Elizabeth McCracken (30 December 2007). ["Dial-Tone Phreak"](https://www.nytimes.com/2007/12/30/magazine/30joybubbles-t.html). *The New York Times Magazine*. Retrieved 4 June 2023. 1. **[^](#cite_ref-7)** Times Bureau (December 12, 1968). "USF 'Whistler' Stays In School". *St. Petersburg Times*. p. B-1 (p. 16). 1. ^ [***a***](#cite_ref-Lapsley2013_8-0) [***b***](#cite_ref-Lapsley2013_8-1) [***c***](#cite_ref-Lapsley2013_8-2) [***d***](#cite_ref-Lapsley2013_8-3) [***e***](#cite_ref-Lapsley2013_8-4) [Lapsley, Phil](/source/Phil_Lapsley) (2013). [*Exploding the Phone: The Untold Story of the Teenagers and Outlaws Who Hacked Ma Bell*](https://archive.org/details/explodingphoneun0000laps). Grove Press. pp. [316](https://archive.org/details/explodingphoneun0000laps/page/316)–317. [ISBN](/source/ISBN_(identifier)) [978-0-8021-9375-9](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:BookSources/978-0-8021-9375-9). Retrieved 10 July 2014. 1. **[^](#cite_ref-9)** Junod, Tom (November 1998). ["Can You Say...Hero?"](http://www.esquire.com/features/can-you-say-hero-esq1198?click=main_sr). *Esquire*. 1. **[^](#cite_ref-10)** [Joybubbles – S.K.](http://www.southgatearc.org/news/september2007/joybubbles.htm) [Deprecated link](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Archive.today_guidance) archived 2015-03-15 at [archive.today](/source/Archive.today) 1. ^ [***a***](#cite_ref-mason_11-0) [***b***](#cite_ref-mason_11-1) K.C. Mason (8 August 1982). "'High-Rise Joe' Phones Moscow And Has Ma Bell Whistlin' Dixie". *The Buffalo News*; p. G-10 (p.90). United Press International (UPI). 1. **[^](#cite_ref-12)** Rosenbaum, Ron (7 October 2011). ["The Article That Inspired Steve Jobs: "Secrets of the Little Blue Box""](http://www.slate.com/articles/technology/the_spectator/2011/10/the_article_that_inspired_steve_jobs_secrets_of_the_little_blue_.html). *Slate Magazine*. Retrieved 9 April 2026. 1. **[^](#cite_ref-13)** Mark McHarry (8 Dec 1971). "The First Phone Freak Genius". *Honolulu Star-Bulletin*; pp. F-3, F-5 (pp. 67, 69). Retrieved 3 June 2023. 1. **[^](#cite_ref-IMDb_14-0)** ["*Sneakers* Trivia"](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0105435/trivia?ref_=tt_trv_trv). *IMDb*. Retrieved 10 July 2014. 1. **[^](#cite_ref-15)** ["A Call from Joybubbles – BBC Radio 4"](https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b08hlnjq). *BBC*. Retrieved 2018-03-17. 1. **[^](#cite_ref-16)** *Northwestern Bell Minneapolis White Pages*. 1987. p. 1812. 1. **[^](#cite_ref-17)** Andy Sturdevant (7 December 2016). [*"A friend in the phone: From dial-an-atheist to Prince’s New-Funk to the Zzzzyzzerrific Funline"*](https://web.archive.org/web/20181206221147/https://www.minnpost.com/stroll/2016/12/friend-phone-dial-atheist-princes-new-funk-zzzzyzzerrific-funline/). Archived from the [original](https://www.minnpost.com/stroll/2016/12/friend-phone-dial-atheist-princes-new-funk-zzzzyzzerrific-funline/) 6 Dec. 2018. ## External links - [New York Times Obituary](https://www.nytimes.com/2007/08/20/us/20engressia.html) - [New York Times Magazine memorial profile](https://www.nytimes.com/2007/12/30/magazine/30joybubbles-t.html) - [Pittsburgh Post-Gazette profile (2003)](http://www.post-gazette.com/columnists/20030309gene0309fnp1.asp) - [Find "Exploding the Phone: The Untold Story of the Teenagers and Outlaws Who Hacked Ma Bell" in a library](http://www.worldcat.org/oclc/875353732) - [11-20-91 *Off the Hook* interview](http://www.2600.com/offthehook/1991/1191.html) / [Summary of the *Off The Hook* interview](http://www.lospadres.info/thorg/joy1.html) - [An archive of Stories and Stuff](http://audio.textfiles.com/shows/storiesandstuff/) - [A Haxor Radio interview with Joybubbles (April 22, 2004)](http://audio.textfiles.com/shows/haxorradio/haxor_radio_show_04.mp3) - [Radiolab audio segment describing Joybubbles' background (Feb 2012)](http://www.radiolab.org/2012/feb/20/long-distance/) - [A video of Joybubbles making a phone call by whistling](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vVZm7I1CTBs) on [YouTube](/source/YouTube_video_(identifier)) - [A conversation with Joybubbles from 1998](http://static.icewhistle.com/joybubbles.html) - [*Secrets of the Little Blue Box*](http://www.lospadres.info/thorg/lbb.html) v t e Hacking in the 1970s ← — Timeline of security hacking incidents Timeline of computer viruses and worms 1980s → Individuals Lewis De Payne John Draper Joybubbles Kevin Mitnick Justin Tanner Petersen Susan Headley Steve Wozniak Malware ANIMAL Creeper Rabbit --- Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Joybubbles](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joybubbles) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joybubbles?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.