Cisco desk phones are a common sight in schools, offices and call centres, where their distinctive electronic ring has become shorthand for an incoming work call. Because the sound is so widely recognised, clips of it have circulated on soundboards and in short videos as a quick way to suggest a classroom, an office or a prank call without any explanation. It remains popular because the ring is instantly familiar to anyone who has sat near one, and it can set a location or interrupt a scene in under two seconds.