April Fool

[Squirrelly61104]

I was going to do a gag strip for Nip and Tuck for april fools day (the most important of all secular holidays for squirrels). After consideration, however, I decided to extend 'proffessional courtesy' to the Malarky County resident pranksters. (and my fur better grow back, all of it, or there will be payback!)
Instead, I thought I'd start a thread for people to talk about their best (or worst) pranks.
Personally, when I plan a practical joke, it usually falls flat on its face.
Sometimes, however, a joke just... happens. My favorite practical joke story starts out with a line that usually catches peoples attention right off the bat.

As God is my witness, I thought he knew it was going to detonate!
On the way into work one day, I spotted a neat joke item. It looked like an ordinary pack of matches. Light a match, however, and after a few seconds it burned down to a small amount of gun powder or something.
Bang!
About what you get from a snap and pop.
I thought it was neat, and showed it all over the office that morning. Not trying to trick anyone. I warned everyone in advance, lit the match, bang, and everyone got a laugh.
Taking a break mid-morning, a bunch of us were watching some construction through a window. One of the guys, call him Jack, asked me for a light without taking his eyes from the window.
I don't smoke. Jack knows I don't smoke. I figure he was just making a joke, playing that he would be surprised when the match went bang.
As God is my witness, I thought he knew it was going to detonate!
It probably wouldn't have been nearly so bad, except the reason we were all watching the construction was because, well, the site was on almost solid bed rock. In order to do any building, they couldn't dig a foundation.
At the time Jack lit the match, we were waiting for a load of dynamite to go off.
Jack lights the match.
Jack just stands there with the match, waiting for the dynamite to go off.
The match goes bang.
Things are a little fuzzy after that.
But I think there's still a hole in a brick wall in that building shaped just like my head.

[UncleMonty]

I dunno, maybe I'm just weird, but I don't like playing pranks on people or having them played on me. April Fool's day isn't anything special in my life, except a way to determine which of my co-workers are going to be on my blacklist for the following year.
In the TV business, you don't want to be on the Engineer's blacklist.


In other news, we're going to have a hamburger-and-hotdog barbeque at work tomorrow, and the word went out for people to bring desserts, side dishes, salads... That sort of stuff. I've made up a batch of my infamous double-deviled eggs! After hard-boiling and shelling, I drop them into a jar of pickled pepperoncini peppers to soak up the pepper-vinegar flavor for three days in the refrigerator, then I make egg-boats out of them, with lots of good spices in the yolk mixture. Horseradish-mustard, hot sauce, black pepper.... A dusting of chili powder on top for garnish.

The guys at work love 'em. Really. No foolin'!


I'm calling them my "April Fool's Eggboats" just to worry people.

[DracoDei]

hmmm...
Here is a trick of my Father's that is both harmless (well... if done correctly... I really can't be responsible if someone who is not fully compentent attempts it and someone ends up in the ER getting there stomach pumped), and very amusing.
It requires a potluck meal.
Bring your favorite dish. This is just a decoy in reality so people don't wonder where your contribution is.
Now here is where it requires some skill/specialized knowledge...
previously you have gathered some wildflowers and other vegitable matter from a reasonably prestine area (IE NOT near the town dump or near a roadway let alone near anywhere that might be lead contaminated). You arrange these into a dense floral arrangement in a bowl. BUT you chose EDIBLE flowers etc...
See the looks on the other peoples faces when you get to the right point in the line and dig the salad tongs into the 'centerpeice'.
My Dad calls this dish 'Spring Fever Salad'.

[Bobcat]

Hee hee..

You know.. If RH was in a nasty, nasty mood, he could have had the 4/1 strip for N&T be simply a picture of a porno mag with a provocatively posed/undressed Thelma on the front cover..

Would probably kill some of the fans outright.

Anyway.. Personal pranks... Let's see... Most vicious one I've ever pulled is also the simplest: Saran wrap over the bowl of the toilet.

Also papered over someone's front door, so they opened the door to head out... and found the Sunday Funnies blocking their way.

TPd a friend's mailbox.. with one of those Mega-Plus-Paks... The thing looked like a snowman when we were done.

[The Lurker Below]

I'm not into April's Fools pranks, but I guess that I do have an event that qualifies.

To put this in context - back when I was a freshman in college, I was required to live in the dorms. An anti-Semite had carved a swastika in my dorm door, which I was then required to pay $225 to have replaced. (And this was in 1974, when that was a lot more money than now). While he had all types of fun bragging about what he did, I was unable to get the college to reverse itself, despite the fact that I would have been the last person in the dorm to carve such a symbol.

My chance for revenge came several weeks later. He had just finished painting his room a light blue and the paint wasn't dry yet. I used wedges and super glue to seal him in his room and then threw an orange smoke flare though his open window.

Not only did he end up having to pay for a new door too, but he had to pay for the smoke damage to his room as well.

Lesson to be learned - never mess with an ex-military engineer.

8)

[Mwalimu]

Also papered over someone's front door, so they opened the door to head out... and found the Sunday Funnies blocking their way.

A good variant of that - paper someone's door three or four days in a row. Then the next day, paper it again and set a coffee table just outside the paper.

The best joke I ever pulled off was one my younger brother and I did to my little sister. She was expecting a call from a friend, so we taped the phone down, then from the other extension dialed the code to make our own phone ring (a feature still available circa 1980).

[RHJunior]

I'm not into April's Fools pranks, but I guess that I do have an event that qualifies.

To put this in context - back when I was a freshman in college, I was required to live in the dorms. An anti-Semite had carved a swastika in my dorm door...
I used wedges and super glue to seal him in his room and then threw an orange smoke flare though his open window.

Not only did he end up having to pay for a new door too, but he had to pay for the smoke damage to his room as well.
8)

I woulda sneaked in and papered his door and his room with "gay pride" stickers....

[Narnian]

Back when I was in college we set up a friend for a surpise party by getting him out of the dorm by having me dress as a "townie" and hang around his car looking at his expensive hub caps. (yes, we had cars back then)

He looked out of the window, saw me, and came down with a bunch of friends (who were in on it) and started to chase me through the town. I ran around a house and threw off the outfit and ran right into him - he thought I was helping to look for the guy and asked me if I had seen the suspect. When we got back to the dorm the surprise party had been set up by the girls.

[Tbolt]

It's not really a practical joke, but I thought it was pretty funny anyways:

In order to fill my slot in my national guard unit I was required to undergo infantry training down at Ft. Pickett. We spent about a week out in the field learning the basics on how to crawl around the brush without getting yourself killed. Our platoon was broken down into squads. My squad consisted of : 1 Staff Sergeant (E-6 two steps up on the food chain), 2 Sergeants (E-5), 3 Specailists (E-4, including myself, Wannabe Sgt's) and 1 Private (E-1 pond scum)

Anybody that has ever gone camping knows what a valuable commodity toilet paper is when you're out in the woods.

Anyways we were out in the field when the Private decides to answer nature's call. Being a private, he neglected to bring his own roll of toilet paper. Did he think to ask his teammates for a hand? NoooOOOooo... He went to the DRILL INSTRUCTOR!

The next thing I know we are "paying" for our comrade's toillet paper for the bargain price of only 100 pushups for the roll!

While we were accomplishing that task our instructors glibly informed us that our comrade would be in a very compromising position as he concluded his dooty out in the field. First, the Staff Sergeant was required to teach our private how to dig a military specification cat hole (and yes, there is an official publication in the U.S. army on how to dig one)
Secondly we were to set up a 360 degree perimeter to defend our comrade against possible attack!

This E IOU 1 private was guarded by 1 heavy machine gun, 2 light machine guns, 2 automatic rifles and a grenade launcher !!!!

The Staff Sergeant in charge of this whole fiasco commented:
"Never, in my entire military career, have I had to pull guard duty for a man taking a s#@*!!"

I LOVE the army !!!

[Squirrelly61104]

I LOVE the army !!!

While we are on the topic of military silliness...
After a looong boomer patrol on the old USS Andrew Jackson (about three months underwater) the boat surfaces and is finally heading in to port. The only people topside are the line handlers and the OOD (officer of the deck).
The OOD comments that he expects us all to act proffessional as we head in.
Dignified.
A proper NAVY crew.
There's still no proof who started ( ) but soon the entire topside crew, crusty old salts to a man, at the top of their lungs...

were singing the theme to the Smurfs!

The OOD just sort of covered his eyes and put as much distance between us and him as he could on the small deck.

la la lala la laaaaa

[Sharuuk]

This E IOU 1 private was guarded by 1 heavy machine gun, 2 light machine guns, 2 automatic rifles and a grenade launcher !!!!

The Staff Sergeant in charge of this whole fiasco commented:
"Never, in my entire military career, have I had to pull guard duty for a man taking a s#@*!!" I LOVE the army !!!

ROTFLMAO!!!! *Wiping tears and gasping for breath*

That has to be the SAFEST sh*t in or OUT of combat that troop will ever take for the rest of his life!!


Shaaruuk

[UncleMonty]

Wonderful stories, all...

I don't know why, but I remembered a little thing I "invented" 'way back in high school that still wows the grand-nephews. All you need is a sheet of "kleen-x" type tissue, a little bit of tape, and some small amount of acting ability.

Roll the tape into a tube, sticky side out and hide it in the tissue.
Walk into a room, pause, pretend to sneeze into the tissue.
If you can manage it without actually emitting fluids, pretend to blow your nose too.

Casually slap the wad of tissue against a wall as you walk back out of the room, so the tape sticks it there.

End of gag.
Beginning of gagging.

[Tbolt]

NICE!!!

I'll have to remember that one when I visit my friend's new apartment!

[SolidusRaccoon]

Ohhhhhhhhhh simple and sadistic.