practical joke - The Art of the Prank

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

April 1, 2011December 15, 2023

April Fools 2011: Pranks Around the Web

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. Continue reading “April Fools 2011: Pranks Around the Web”

March 29, 2011December 15, 2023

A Prank Call Instructional

Proud art of prank calling still worth mastering
by Adrian Lahola-Chomiak
The Gateway
March 28, 2011

These days, with the invention of caller ID and text messaging, it seems that prank calls have more or less fallen by the wayside. But I’m not ready to surrender this classic joke just yet; too many hours in my life have been spent trying to decide who to call and which prank to pull. So for all you wide-eyed, greenhorn, wannabe pranksters out there, here are a few tips on how to transform yourself from a refrigerator runner to a master.

First, let’s review the tools of the trade. There’s the phone, and, well, that’s pretty much it “” but you do have to worry about how you use it. You’ll want to mask your voice with a modulator app, like Funny Call from iOKi. This will make you sound like anything from Rebecca Black to a chipmunk. Now that your voice is anonymous “” and hilarious “” you’ll need to know three simple rules before you call. Continue reading “A Prank Call Instructional”