And of course the puerile [at the time I thought it funny] Met Office naughty jape of swapping the handsets of any pair of neighbouring phones, which pairs often sat on the forecaster's and also the observer's benches. We used to do it as we went off duty.
Things didn’t change in the digital era.
Fun could be had in the Ops room at RAF Stanley during the night by programming each phone to forward any calls to the next desk after 2-3 rings. Great amusement was had watching a newbie chase a call around the room in circles.