Prank is what happened here. I don't have pictures, but there was a funny prank around Halloween on my campus my sophmore year. There are blue emergency service public phones all around campus. One year, a bunch of fake bloody handprints were shown on these poles all failing to reach the "call" button.
Dam right it is. Almost as fun as the cactus eating challenge. and people wonder why human lifespans are so short...
Fun fact: there are actually people claiming that the world did end in 2012 and we just didn't notice...