Keep the Prank Alive

I wanted to be sure that graduation wouldn't spell the end of our Pranking careers. So I decided to join a local "chapter" of Improv Everywhere based out of Baltimore. (That's right... it's not a secret.) As long as you're accompanied by other agents, I don't think joining an anonymous prank ring is too sketchy. But watch out for your selves!

From their website and forum, you can join a local group or watch some hilarious NYC improvising.

Pranking Paralytics: The Prank Within

Double Cee has been just running me lately, with an assist from everything else in my life. But that’s no excuse. ILBP is fun, and I’ll update more. Especially with some fun ones forthcoming.

One of the oldest [and most rural] high school pranks is to let 3 good-sized animals [pigs or cows, traditionally] into the school building, labeling them 1, 2, and 4. There you have the essence of what can make pranks ingenious: the stretching of resources to extend the prank.

It’s why, for the first time ever, I was actually a little disappointed in Double Cee’s execution in the glitter prank. In the five[!] hours I spent cleaning my room, I would expect to find glitter in certain places, and then would be crestfallen when there wasn’t any in, say, my retainer case, or my pillows. Admittedly, it was still quite the prank, and I probably had that reaction only because I’m a prank-weary veteran.

Sigh.

There’s a passage in the prank-based young adult book Matilda about how the antagonist principal Ms. Trunchbull gets away with her excessive abuse of students. Paraphrased: “the key is to go whole hog, to do something so ridiculous that no one would ever believe it if you told them.” While we’re not trying to destroy lives here, more than a few acquaintances are surprised when we mention the time, effort, and dead animals that have gone into this thing.

And once you know your rival -and establish some ground rules- push the pre-pranked envelope.

See the above post for an example of a low-material, low-expense prank within a prank.

The Foil Prank

Like many of our favorites, the foil prank is beautiful in its simplicity. Ideally, you'll be pranking a materialist, with lots of items of varying size and shape. [Double-C qualified.]

Supplies: On-sale foil, flat surfaces (hard to come by, I know), the occasional piece of tape.

Execution: Go to town. Five dollars netted me 120 square feet of foil. In a half hour, you can plaster a room like seen above. Don't sweat the technique - it's not wrapping presents. And remember to cover some hidden in-drawer type stuff so's your victim can keep discovering their unwanted magpie bait for weeks to come.



Difficulty: Foil is very agreeable and can coat lamps, chairs, and baubles easily. It's almost designed for pranking. If you had the means and motivation to get foil in bulk, covering a dorm room completely - sans walls - would probably be a two-to-three hour one person job. [This doesn't take into account that, like me, you might want to cover every book on your victim's shelf.]

Sentimental Value

Supplies: Something important. Jello and Tupperware.

Execution: Again, it’s up to chance whether or not you can get something of particular value to the victim, but once you get it, be sure to wrap it in plastic and suspend it in set Jello.

Difficulty: Needs four hours to set….