Pranksters Plant Giant Companion Cube in NYC
by Marshall Honorof
The Escapist
14 December 2011

The California Institute of Technology invited your best friend, the Companion Cube, to Astor Place in New York City.

You can bet that the California Institute of Technology is making a note here: “huge success.” A group of students from CalTech traveled all the way across the country to pull off one of its nerdiest pranks to date – transforming the recognizable Alamo sculpture in Astor Place, New York City from a modern masterpiece into a supersized piece of gaming iconography. This morning, city dwellers between Astor Place and Lafayette Street found the rotating cube covered in a Companion Cube sleeve, accompanied by a note from Aperture Science (appropriate for the Portal theme). By the time the news began to spread, the pranksters had already disappeared, presumably by way of portal gun.

In keeping with the Prank Club’s tradition of good-natured shenanigans, the Alamo sculpture remained totally unharmed. The Companion Cube skin is simple cloth, and the students attached it with non-adhesive fasteners. The note detailed how to remove the Companion Cube skin, claimed full responsibility, and even provided the group’s e-mail address. It did warn, however, that “premature euthanization of your companion cube can interfere with your ability to complete the test.”

The Alamo has been the target of a few pranks before, so GLADoS probably ordered city officials to deal with the Compaion Cube fairly quickly. At this time, the CalTech pranksters do not appear to be in any trouble, although Mayor Bloomberg is not exactly congratulating them for interfering with a public work of art, either. If this incident has made anything clear, it’s this: New York City is in desperate need of a more permanent giant Companion Cube. Someone ought to get working on that, as soon as they finish baking that cake we were promised four years ago.

source: MTV Geek!, Alamo image: wapedia.mobi

CNN anchor interviews prank caller live
by ninemsn staff
news.ninemsn.com.au
November 29, 2011

A red-faced CNN anchor was fooled on live television by a prank caller impersonating a US student who had been arrested in Cairo.

The prankster phoned the studio on November 27 pretending to be Gregory Porter, a real 19-year-old student from Philadelphia who was arrested while participating in protests in Cairo’s Tahrir Square and then released.

Anchor Fredricka Whitfield appeared completely fooled by the caller, who sounded legitimate at first.

He said returning to the US was like “an early Christmas present”.

But the exchange came to a bizarre end when Ms Whitfield asked the caller what he had been doing the night he was arrested.

The man claimed he was “just down there looking” at the protest when the group was “grabbed by police”.

He then thanked his lawyer, his mother, the US embassy in Cairo, the North shore Animal League and Baba Booey’s monkey nuts. (more…)

B.J. Novak pulled off prank at MFA in 1997
November 24, 2011
7News WHDH.com

Boston — A well-known actor took the art of “pranking” to a new level.

The prank happened 15-years-ago at the Museum of Fine Art, but it was just this week that one of the stars of the NBC show “The Office” took credit.

B.J. Novak, a Newton native, admitted to the prank.

Long before his days on the hit NBC show, Novak, who plays the character, Ryan, reportedly recorded spoof audio tours with friends in 1997, and swapped them with the real one at the MFA. As the recording progressed, it became clearer that it was a joke.

(more…)

EXCLUSIVE: UCSD: Best Prank Ever
by Walter Mencken
San Diego Reader
November 17, 2011

Senior Class Fabricates Existence of Korean “Artist,” Cons Stuart Collection into Hanging House Off Edge of Seven-Story Building.

Stuart Collection Curator Attempts to Save Face: “Actually, joke’s on them: this prank is so genius that it ascends to the level of art. We’re proud to feature it in our collection.”

High-Fiving All ‘Round, UCSD – “It’s over,” says UCSD Senior Amanda Terwilliger. “Everybody can just stop planning their pranks now, because nobody is ever going to top this. Not, the noose, not the shoe, not the paisley, not even the April Fools’ acceptance email.”

Terwilliger was referring to the installation of “Fallen Star,” the latest addition to the University’s prestigious and silly Stuart Collection of Artistic Oddities. (more…)

Submitted by Tim Jackson:

Fed false logic, campus eats up a hoax and revolts
by Mary Carmichael
boston.com
October 25, 2011

Northampton – All last week, students at Smith College were buzzing over a rumor that the school was going completely vegetarian and locavore. There were protests and counter-protests, with slogans chalked on walkways. There was a Twitter feed that caught the attention of VegNews, “America’s premier vegan lifestyle magazine.” At a student government meeting, the dining services manager came under attack: How did she expect students to pass their midterms without coffee?

But the Smith administration wasn’t really planning to ban meat, food from outside New England, or anything else.

The whole thing was a hoax – one in a decade of annual pranks perpetrated by professors Jay Garfield and Jim Henle as part of their introductory class in logic. The point is to teach rhetoric and argument, albeit in an unorthodox way. Logic classes get dry. Typically, students spend a lot of time working through inscrutable proofs on the chalkboard. (more…)

Aussie penis pranksters deface Google Street View
by Asher Moses
The Sydney Morning Herald
September 9, 2011

Pranksters have been playing tricks on Google’s Street View cameras ever since the mapping tool was first launched in 2007, but miscreants in Victoria have delivered a low blow.

Street View images of Long Gully and Maiden Gully near Bendigo in Victoria have been defaced with a giant green penis outline after vandals climbed on top of one of Google’s camera-equipped cars and drew the phallus on its camera lens.

View Larger Map

The find was first discovered by users on BuzzFeed and has since gone viral across the web. Google Australia has yet to remove the images or make a comment on the matter – and it is not clear who is responsible.

It follows the June discovery of an array of six penises etched into the grass of a school in Waikato, New Zealand. (more…)

Submitted by Gerant Johnston: I video myself talking to telemarketers. I do it for laughs and I do it to keep them occupied so they have less time to bother other people. I have this joke where I try to see how many times I can consecutively say ‘YES’… and yesterday I beat my record of 27 with a whopping 35. I’m quite proud.

Baseball’s Pastime: Pranking
by Scott Cacciola
The Wall Street Journal
August 9, 2011

How Ballplayers Use Practical Jokes to Police the Clubhouse; Mr. Laird, You’re Under Arrest

Late in Thursday’s game against the Toronto Blue Jays, Tampa Bay Rays second baseman Elliot Johnson sought to put his spin on one of baseball’s time-honored traditions. It had nothing to do with throwing around the horn or stretching in the seventh inning.

Instead, he rimmed the bottom of a paper cup with a big wad of bubble gum and set about affixing it to the top of third-base coach Tom Foley’s helmet—which happened to be sitting on Foley’s head.

Unfortunately, the cup came tumbling off, ruining the gag. But Foley understood the value of a good clubhouse prank, dating to his own playing days, and thus felt obligated to do his part. So he reattached the cup to his helmet, voluntarily becoming the butt of the joke. The scene was broadcast on television, and Foley said he got a text from his daughter: “You look like an idiot.”

Baseball pranks are a tradition nearly as old as the game itself. They run the gamut from innocent to extreme, a usually unseen facet of baseball that remains an essential thread in the sport’s fabric. “Listen, the game’s predicated on failure,” Milwaukee Brewers third baseman Casey McGehee said. “If you can’t laugh at yourself and enjoy yourself with teammates, it can be a long season.” (more…)

For flash mobsters, crowd size a tempting cover
by Eric Tucker and Thomas Watkins
AP
August 9, 2011

The July 4 fireworks display in the Cleveland suburb of Shaker Heights was anything but a family affair.

As many as 1,000 teenagers, mobilized through social networking sites, turned out and soon started fighting and disrupting the event.

Thanks to social networks like Twitter and Facebook, more and more so-called flash mobs are materializing across the globe, leaving police scrambling to keep tabs on the spontaneous assemblies.

“They’re gathering with an intent behind it – not just to enjoy the event,” Shaker Heights Police Chief D. Scott Lee said. “All too often, some of the intent is malicious.”

Flash mobs started off in 2003 as peaceful and often humorous acts of public performance, such as mass dance routines or street pillow fights. But in recent years, the term has taken a darker twist as criminals exploit the anonymity of crowds, using social networking to coordinate everything from robberies to fights to general chaos. (more…)

Submitted by Brian T.: Let’s hear it for Homeland Security!

DMV Drivers License Prank:

Related post:

From Just For Laughs TV:

Funniest Japanese Girls Prank

April Fools Day Prank TV Shows from ABC
Huffington Post
April 1, 2011

Charlie Sheen may need a new TV job, but this one is just a prank.

The network put out a fake lineup of spoof shows, combining pop culture with their current TV offerings. Included are “Mr. Sunsheen,” an unlikely pairing of Charlie Sheen and Matthew Perry’s new comedy, “Mr. Sunshine”; “White Castle,” a recipe cooked up with their quirky hit police procedural starring Nathan Fillion, “Castle”; and “Extreme Makeover: Rome Edition.”

Some work better than others.

To see them all, click over to ABC.com.

Lots of hilarious stunts yesterday… Follow the links and have some fun.

Pull a Prank — There’s an App for That, Phoenix New Times

Playmobil(tm) Apple Store Playset, thanks Chris

Ikea Invents State-Of-The-Art Doggie High Chair, from BestWeekEver.tv

More links: (more…)

April Fools’ Day 2011
Metro.co.uk
March 31, 2011

April Fools’ Day: Top five April Fools’ Day jokes in sport ever: For some, April Fools’ Day is all fun and high jinx, but for others it’s just those with no sense of humour playing along with the rest of the human race. At Metro we thought we’d celebrate five of the best sporting April Fools’ jokes of all time.

Top 5 YouTube pranks: To celebrate April Fools’ Day this year, we’ve had a look back at some of the best YouTube pranks to cross our jape-loving paths.

April Fools’ Day: Joke ideas to play on your work colleagues and friends: It’s April Fools’ Day and once again workers around the country will be playing a host of tricks on their colleagues and friends. If you’re short on prank ideas, read on for Metro’s guide to the best jokes to play.

April Fools’ Day movie special: Top 5 ill-advised film pranks: It’s the week of April Fools’ Day and innocent pranks are very much the order of the day. We bring you our five best film pranks.

Submitted by Nick: Over the last few days we have been working on an infographic entitled, April Fools 2011: Pranks Around The Web. We stayed up late so we could get first peek at 2011 pranks online this morning, which allowed us to quickly add them to our infographic. Needless to say were a bit tired, but very happy with the infographic we created.

We will be updating this post throughout the day with any new and exciting April Fools’ Day pranks of 2011. Keep your eyes peeled and… enjoy the below April Fools infographic which includes the top pranks of today as well as the past.

[Editor's note: We added the links. They probably won't work after today]

Top April Fools 2011 Pranks Online

Google – Motion gaming has become extremely popular over the past few years with the Wii, Move, and Kinect. Now Google wants to make Gmail motion controlled, thus launching Gmail Motion. No keyboard or mouse needed, hand and body gestures will control everything for you. All of this is detailed on the custom site Google launched for April Fools day. The motion functionality even looks to extend to Google docs, for which Google also created a custom site experience. Another Google prank you will notice when typing in a search today is a job open for autocompleters, and you only need to type 32,000 words per minute to apply.

YouTube – In honor of April Fools, YouTube decided to go retro and give users a feel for what it would have been like for the business in 1911. They even have 1911 logos on all YouTube videos, and when you click it, the video will transform into a vintage, silent, motion picture. Everything will turn to a dirty and grainy yellow accompanied by old-school piano music, looking something like a Charlie Chaplin film. (more…)