While perusing the internet for office prank ideas, I kept happening upon a prank that seems to be pretty popular in the pranking community: covering a coworker’s entire cubicle in colored cellophane.
This might seem like quite the excessive and rather arduous prank to pull, but the outcome (seeing your coworker’s confused/surprised/irritated reaction and subsequently watching them have to undue it all) seems to be worth it.
You would probably have to round up a couple of fellow pranksters for this one, seeing as how covering an entire cubicle in saran wrap might be a bit too much as a one man job. So, rallying up a team of three or four coworker conspirators would probably be the best and most effective idea.
Once you’ve done this, head over to your nearest grocery store and buy a massive amount of cellophane (you’ve got a lot of cubicle space to cover, so you’re going to need a lot).
You’re also going to need to go into work extra early that morning for this task, so be sure to set your alarm that night at least an hour or two prior to what you usually set it for.
Once you get into work that morning, bright and early and before everyone else, get started! Be sure to cover the entire cubicle, leaving no space uncovered. Also, be sure to cover all the desktop items as well, such as the computer, mouse, mouse pad, staplers, etc…and be sure to cover the chair as well.
After you’ve finished, take a minute to bask in the glory of your epic prank.
This is a good one. You should be proud.
Once it’s time for work to start, go to your desks and act naturally, as if nothing is amiss. When your unsuspecting victim arrives, act as you normally would with him/her as to not tip them off.
Then, simply wait for them to walk into their cubicle and freak out. After this happens, you may commence with the giddy laughter and high fiving of a prank well done.
Saturday, May 29, 2010
May the Force be with You
Thinking back to my fresh out of college job earlier this week has made me a little nostalgic.
I’ve certainly crossed paths with my fair share of pranks over the years. Of course, there are some particularly flashy ones that stand out more than others. And then there’s one where “flashy” is a bit of an understatement.
It all started when I was shopping at Wal-Mart one afternoon. They were having a major sale on Aluminum foil. Serious rollbacks, if you will.
Don’t ask me why, but I just knew I had to stock up. Maybe it was just foresight, or my devious mind at work even when I wasn’t conscious of it, put something told me that I was going to need quite a few rolls.
It took me a while to figure out I was going to do with it.
But when I finally decided, I just had to smile to myself. It was going to be a good one.
I have a friend and co worker who’s a self proclaimed Sci-Fi geek. Why not create his own little spacecraft?
I waited until everyone had left the office the next night before starting his cubicle renovation. I was meticulous—covering every square inch of his office in foil—right down to his picture frames and Star Wars figurines.
As an aside, this was much easier said than done. I was at it for close to three hours before I was finally able to step back and admire my creation.
And it couldn’t be more perfect. Really… his cubicle looked like nothing less than the inside of a space ship, straight out of a cheesy 20’s alien flick. In fact, it was so shiny that it almost hurt to look at it.
Before unwrapping his cube the next day, Trekkie friend even took a picture of my creation.
Today, it sits in a shiny silver frame, right between his Wookie figurine and C3PO pen holder.
I’ve certainly crossed paths with my fair share of pranks over the years. Of course, there are some particularly flashy ones that stand out more than others. And then there’s one where “flashy” is a bit of an understatement.
It all started when I was shopping at Wal-Mart one afternoon. They were having a major sale on Aluminum foil. Serious rollbacks, if you will.
Don’t ask me why, but I just knew I had to stock up. Maybe it was just foresight, or my devious mind at work even when I wasn’t conscious of it, put something told me that I was going to need quite a few rolls.
It took me a while to figure out I was going to do with it.
But when I finally decided, I just had to smile to myself. It was going to be a good one.
I have a friend and co worker who’s a self proclaimed Sci-Fi geek. Why not create his own little spacecraft?
I waited until everyone had left the office the next night before starting his cubicle renovation. I was meticulous—covering every square inch of his office in foil—right down to his picture frames and Star Wars figurines.
As an aside, this was much easier said than done. I was at it for close to three hours before I was finally able to step back and admire my creation.
And it couldn’t be more perfect. Really… his cubicle looked like nothing less than the inside of a space ship, straight out of a cheesy 20’s alien flick. In fact, it was so shiny that it almost hurt to look at it.
Before unwrapping his cube the next day, Trekkie friend even took a picture of my creation.
Today, it sits in a shiny silver frame, right between his Wookie figurine and C3PO pen holder.
Friday, May 28, 2010
The Blue Screen of Death
Speaking of my freshman IT days (which is what I was doing in my last post), here’s another prank that we pulled back in the day.
Todd, our department lead, was a complete prankster. However, he was also the most dedicated person in that entire office. He took his job as seriously as it gets, and I will be the first to admit that he was darn good at it, too.
Which is exactly what made pranking him so much fun.
Believe it or not, we got the idea for the stunt we pulled from none other than Microsoft. (And they say that geeks have no sense of humor. HA!)
We had heard that Mr. Gates’ team had come up with a screen saver that was nothing less than a complete mimic of the Blue Screen of Death. For those of you that aren’t familiar with the BSOD, it’s the bright blue screen that appears when your system has encountered a major problem. It usually means that a major system wipe down is about to ensue.
What was even more awesome was that the simulated Blue Screen even used your computer’s real info to customize the screen saver and progress bar. (This was back during Windows XP days, but I’m pretty sure you can probably find a version to match whichever version you’re running. There’s no way that something this cool has been discontinued)
Anyway, it took us but a few moments to install the screensaver on Todd’s computer while he was in a meeting one day. By the time he returned to his desk, he was just about ready to flip out at the sight of the screen.
He began doing all those fun things that IT people do when something goes seriously wrong—muttering to himself, shaking his mouse, and finally shouting angrily at his screen.
It wasn’t long before our laughter gave us away…
Todd, our department lead, was a complete prankster. However, he was also the most dedicated person in that entire office. He took his job as seriously as it gets, and I will be the first to admit that he was darn good at it, too.
Which is exactly what made pranking him so much fun.
Believe it or not, we got the idea for the stunt we pulled from none other than Microsoft. (And they say that geeks have no sense of humor. HA!)
We had heard that Mr. Gates’ team had come up with a screen saver that was nothing less than a complete mimic of the Blue Screen of Death. For those of you that aren’t familiar with the BSOD, it’s the bright blue screen that appears when your system has encountered a major problem. It usually means that a major system wipe down is about to ensue.
What was even more awesome was that the simulated Blue Screen even used your computer’s real info to customize the screen saver and progress bar. (This was back during Windows XP days, but I’m pretty sure you can probably find a version to match whichever version you’re running. There’s no way that something this cool has been discontinued)
Anyway, it took us but a few moments to install the screensaver on Todd’s computer while he was in a meeting one day. By the time he returned to his desk, he was just about ready to flip out at the sight of the screen.
He began doing all those fun things that IT people do when something goes seriously wrong—muttering to himself, shaking his mouse, and finally shouting angrily at his screen.
It wasn’t long before our laughter gave us away…
Mousing Around
I know I’ve covered mouse pranks before, but it’s definitely worth revisiting. After all, the mouse is an essential workplace tool. And one that, for the most part, we tend to take for granted. It’s just there… sitting next to our keyboards, waiting for us every time we fire up our computers.
And that’s exactly why they make perfect targets for every day pranks. What’s worse than reaching for something benign and completely reliable, only to find that it’s not working?
With the growing popularity of laser pointers, you may feel like you’ve lost the ability to mouse prank. (No roller balls, sigh) But the truth is that there’s another option just waiting to be exploited. A few small pieces of transparent tape placed on the underside of someone’s mouse will have the same effect as the old school ball theft would. Plus, the fact that it’s see through means that unless they actually touch it, your victim might not realize what’s going on at all.
But why stop there when there’s other mousey fun to be had? If you’ve got a few minutes at a coworker’s desk, click your way into their computer’s control panel. From there, you can go into their mouse settings and change the default pointer to the hourglass.
Then, every time they move their mouse, it will look like the computer is busy. They’ll have a heck of a time trying to figure out why the computer is suddenly going so slowly!
And as long as you’re hanging out in the mouse settings, why not switch up its speed? Having a mouse crawl along the screen—or zoom past at the slightest touch—is enough to drive anyone crazy. Or, for some extreme frustration, switch the primary and secondary button functions. That way, every time the click, they’ll really be right clicking.
Have fun!
And that’s exactly why they make perfect targets for every day pranks. What’s worse than reaching for something benign and completely reliable, only to find that it’s not working?
With the growing popularity of laser pointers, you may feel like you’ve lost the ability to mouse prank. (No roller balls, sigh) But the truth is that there’s another option just waiting to be exploited. A few small pieces of transparent tape placed on the underside of someone’s mouse will have the same effect as the old school ball theft would. Plus, the fact that it’s see through means that unless they actually touch it, your victim might not realize what’s going on at all.
But why stop there when there’s other mousey fun to be had? If you’ve got a few minutes at a coworker’s desk, click your way into their computer’s control panel. From there, you can go into their mouse settings and change the default pointer to the hourglass.
Then, every time they move their mouse, it will look like the computer is busy. They’ll have a heck of a time trying to figure out why the computer is suddenly going so slowly!
And as long as you’re hanging out in the mouse settings, why not switch up its speed? Having a mouse crawl along the screen—or zoom past at the slightest touch—is enough to drive anyone crazy. Or, for some extreme frustration, switch the primary and secondary button functions. That way, every time the click, they’ll really be right clicking.
Have fun!
Speaker Swap
I remember my very first office job, at an IT upstart. It was a casual atmosphere, and probably where my love for all things prank related was born.
I was the baby—fresh out of college, the only woman on the team, and by far the youngest person in the department. The guys took me under their wing, and really taught me a lot. (Some of them are still my closest friends!) They also took advantage of the situation by playing more pranks, tricks, and practical jokes on me than should ever be allowed!
The ringleader was Todd, an MIT graduate with a love for all things computer related. (Not to mention a passion for pulling pranks)
The way the IT room was set up, all of us techies were in the same general area. It really resembles a classroom, with sets of desks pushed up next to each other to form a group of 4. Todd happened to be part of my little square, and he certainly used that to his advantage. Like the time he rigged my desk chair to sink all the way down to the floor every time I sat in it.
Anyway, revenge was finally mine one day, when I got back from lunch before Todd, and proceeded to pull a little speaker swap on him. I disconnected one of his computer’s speakers, and replaced it with one of the one’s from my desk—the one without volume control, of course.
Then, when he came back and fired up his PC, I put my plan into action. When he began playing music on his computer (as he always did when he was working) I found a Youtube video that involved some cats meowing… and set my volume at low.
Todd spent the rest of the afternoon going crazy, trying to figure out where the faint meowing was coming from!
I was the baby—fresh out of college, the only woman on the team, and by far the youngest person in the department. The guys took me under their wing, and really taught me a lot. (Some of them are still my closest friends!) They also took advantage of the situation by playing more pranks, tricks, and practical jokes on me than should ever be allowed!
The ringleader was Todd, an MIT graduate with a love for all things computer related. (Not to mention a passion for pulling pranks)
The way the IT room was set up, all of us techies were in the same general area. It really resembles a classroom, with sets of desks pushed up next to each other to form a group of 4. Todd happened to be part of my little square, and he certainly used that to his advantage. Like the time he rigged my desk chair to sink all the way down to the floor every time I sat in it.
Anyway, revenge was finally mine one day, when I got back from lunch before Todd, and proceeded to pull a little speaker swap on him. I disconnected one of his computer’s speakers, and replaced it with one of the one’s from my desk—the one without volume control, of course.
Then, when he came back and fired up his PC, I put my plan into action. When he began playing music on his computer (as he always did when he was working) I found a Youtube video that involved some cats meowing… and set my volume at low.
Todd spent the rest of the afternoon going crazy, trying to figure out where the faint meowing was coming from!
Thursday, May 27, 2010
Nix the Booty Pix!
Ah… the classic prank.
There are a few office pranks out there that are, for all intents and purposes, considered classic. The industry standard, if you will. However, among these old school pranks, there are a few that, considering modern rules of workplace etiquette, just aren’t such a good idea any more.
Chief among these is the photo copying of your derriere.
Yes, copying your butt and distributing Xeroxes of your happy place may seem hilarious—at first. But there are plenty of reasons not to.
First of all, there’s the safety concern. On more than one occasion, people have broken right through a copier’s glass attempting to pull this off. Broken glass in your bottom = OUCH!
Of course, that would also mean you’d have to explain what happened to the copy machine. Common sense says that a paycheck deduction and possible dismissal wouldn’t be far behind.
Now I don’t know about you, but no prank is worth my job! Talk about making the worst mistake of your life.
You could also suffer the supreme embarrassment of having a coworker walk in during the prank. Sexual harassment, anyone?
Again, grounds for a major Donald Trump moment. Not to mention that you could wind up in the pokey for indecent exposure. Definitely NOT my idea of a good time.
Of course, there are still plenty of ways to mess with the copier and still keep your company position (and dignity) intact.
For example, try setting the paper size to Poster, reset the number of copies to 140, or turn on the enlargement feature.
All of these are good for a laugh—but won’t cause serious trouble!
There are a few office pranks out there that are, for all intents and purposes, considered classic. The industry standard, if you will. However, among these old school pranks, there are a few that, considering modern rules of workplace etiquette, just aren’t such a good idea any more.
Chief among these is the photo copying of your derriere.
Yes, copying your butt and distributing Xeroxes of your happy place may seem hilarious—at first. But there are plenty of reasons not to.
First of all, there’s the safety concern. On more than one occasion, people have broken right through a copier’s glass attempting to pull this off. Broken glass in your bottom = OUCH!
Of course, that would also mean you’d have to explain what happened to the copy machine. Common sense says that a paycheck deduction and possible dismissal wouldn’t be far behind.
Now I don’t know about you, but no prank is worth my job! Talk about making the worst mistake of your life.
You could also suffer the supreme embarrassment of having a coworker walk in during the prank. Sexual harassment, anyone?
Again, grounds for a major Donald Trump moment. Not to mention that you could wind up in the pokey for indecent exposure. Definitely NOT my idea of a good time.
Of course, there are still plenty of ways to mess with the copier and still keep your company position (and dignity) intact.
For example, try setting the paper size to Poster, reset the number of copies to 140, or turn on the enlargement feature.
All of these are good for a laugh—but won’t cause serious trouble!
Tuesday, May 25, 2010
Potty Prank
I have to admit, I was pretty impressed with Dave’s email the other day. It takes some serious guts to pull off a good bathroom prank. And so, with that thought in mind, I decided to see if I could find a few restroom inspired prank ideas for Dave (and all of you guys, too).
This idea came from someone who definitely loves himself a good prank: my fiancé. Trust me on that one—I have been his unwilling participant on more than one occasion.
But first, a word of warning: While this prank calls for the use of ketchup packets, tomato might be a little difficult for your coworkers to wash out of some of their nicer or more delicate fabrics. Consider swapping the ketchup for maple syrup packets (for a sticky alternative) or any other condiment that is a little more forgiving on clothing.
If you really want to stay true to the original idea and use ketchup, then might I suggest pulling this potty prank on a casual Friday? (Jeans are much easier to clean than a silk skirt or suit pants!)
Ok, so now that I’ve done a considerable amount of warning, how about I let you in on the actual prank?
It’s a pretty simple procedure, actually. Just take one of those foil fast food ketchup packet (or the condiment of your choice) and cut a small slit in the top. Then carefully place the packet on the bowl of the toilet, with the slit facing out, and lower the seat until it’s resting against the packet. For added blast, use more than one packet.
When your unsuspecting victim sits down to relieve themselves, the ketchup packs explode, squirting a delightful red mess all over the back of their knees and calves. Pretty sinister, if I do say so myself.
This idea came from someone who definitely loves himself a good prank: my fiancé. Trust me on that one—I have been his unwilling participant on more than one occasion.
But first, a word of warning: While this prank calls for the use of ketchup packets, tomato might be a little difficult for your coworkers to wash out of some of their nicer or more delicate fabrics. Consider swapping the ketchup for maple syrup packets (for a sticky alternative) or any other condiment that is a little more forgiving on clothing.
If you really want to stay true to the original idea and use ketchup, then might I suggest pulling this potty prank on a casual Friday? (Jeans are much easier to clean than a silk skirt or suit pants!)
Ok, so now that I’ve done a considerable amount of warning, how about I let you in on the actual prank?
It’s a pretty simple procedure, actually. Just take one of those foil fast food ketchup packet (or the condiment of your choice) and cut a small slit in the top. Then carefully place the packet on the bowl of the toilet, with the slit facing out, and lower the seat until it’s resting against the packet. For added blast, use more than one packet.
When your unsuspecting victim sits down to relieve themselves, the ketchup packs explode, squirting a delightful red mess all over the back of their knees and calves. Pretty sinister, if I do say so myself.
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