mischief - The Art of the Prank

February 21, 2012December 15, 2023

Ben Hurt Chariot Wars

‘Ben Hurt’: Portland bike warriors smash and crash
by Nigel Duara & Terrence Petty
Newsday/AP
February 21, 2012

Portland, Ore. — Looking like punk gladiators, teams of young adults on junk bikes pulling chariots made of junk parts frenetically chased each other around a makeshift arena, slamming each other and swinging away with foam clubs.

Spectators tossed beer cans, flour and smoke grenades. Firecrackers popped and obscenities flew during the battle, called the “Ben Hurt Chariot Wars.”

And then, toward sundown, the grown-ups arrived. Seven police cars pulled up and told all 400 or so people they had to leave because they were trespassing on railroad property. They complied. But the contest was over anyway.

Victors had already emerged: Jon Penfold and his teammate Nick Schlabach. Falls, collisions and smashed wheels eliminated the other teams. Penfold’s and Schlabach’s chariot, armored with a bubble-shaped metallic cage, was the last one still able to maneuver.

“You attack, and then run. Attack, and then run,” said Penfold, 29. “It’s a war of attrition.”

Asked later on how he felt after winning, the 26-year-old Schlabach said: “I wanted to puke.”

Read the rest of this article here.

October 28, 2011December 15, 2023

Smith College Logic Professors Snare Students… Again

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. Continue reading “Smith College Logic Professors Snare Students… Again”

September 9, 2011December 15, 2023

Google Street Theater, Act III

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.

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. Continue reading “Google Street Theater, Act III”

August 9, 2011December 15, 2023

Baseball Pranks

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.” Continue reading “Baseball Pranks”

April 16, 2011December 15, 2023

Japanese Girls Prank

From Just For Laughs TV:

Funniest Japanese Girls Prank