“It’s kind of like being in a David Lynch movie,” Jeff Ragsdale told The Observer over the phone. “Half of the calls I get are blocked, so I never know who I’m going to get on the other end.” Six months ago, Mr. Ragsdale started hanging up fliers around New York City, inviting people to call him. 65,000 people did so (including text messages).

Two days ago, The New York Post noticed and did a short profile on Mr. Ragsdale experiment. Since then, Mr. Ragsdale, who said he’s been battling loneliness and depression all his life and started the fliers after a painful breakup,  has received another 3,000 calls/texts. (Don’t worry, he’s on a limitless phone plan.) That’s even more than when his note went viral on the front page of Reddit.

Oh, and he has a book coming out today. Read More