What are some harmless yet hilarious office pranks?

[Borek]

Is there such a term as a "confrontational idea" in English?

 

[Medicol]

Is there such a term as a "confrontational idea" in English?

Yes, there is.
For example,

Ben: Do you think I am coming to a meeting with a confrontational attitude ?
Ashley: Well, you look so.
Ben: :D I am free at the moment.

 

[256bits]

I'm using the word "evil" in an almost rhetorical way, I don't want to cause any actual havoc in his life, no property damage.

An idea I had today might be just what I'm looking for. I strongly suspect it is a purely American thing, though. There are these, erm, items some guys hang from the back of their trucks. Disgusting, really. So I'll make a homemade pair for his truck, and install them without his knowledge. I'll let you use your imagination how they're going to look ;).

See? That's evil with no havoc, and no property damage.

Ha! I can see them being transferred to the back of your car someday.

 

[DaveC426913]

A lot of people don't seem to be getting into the light-hearted spirit of this challenge.
Go to the dollar store, buy

• a half dozen pool noodles,
• a box of plastic picnic knives and forks
• a roll of packing tape.

Jam the handles of the forks and knives in one end of the noodles. points sticking outward.
Tape the noodles to the driver's side of your car, sticking straight out like a sea urchin.
Dare him to cozy up to your driver's-side door.

 

[DaveC426913]

Go to the dollar store, buy

• a half dozen pool noodles,
• a roll of packing tape.

Make a couple of tank traps. (3 noodles, lashed at 90 degree angles)

Sprinkle them in the spot next to you.http://oldtoysoldierhome.com/images/3HH01.jpg http://oldtoysoldierhome.com/images/3HH01.jpg

 

[DaveC426913]

Go into your basement. Drag out any old empty spraypaint cans. Alternately, use silly string (it's Hallowe'en season).

Find some silly bits of widget like some old circuitboards - anything that looks like it could be a triggering mechanism - even if it's silly. Tape a AA battery on there for good measure.

Attach the "triggers" to the top of the spraycans.

Attach the boobytraps to the driver's side of your car, pointing outward.

 

[Pythagorean]

Steal his keys and move his car to another parking lot

 

[DaveC426913]

Make a gigantic bullseye - like 3 feet across - easily visible from "cruising" altitude.

Scribble some geometry notes on the corner of the bullseye (maybe a ballistic trajectory diagram). Make sure you include the GPS coordinates for the current parking spot where his vehicle is (which you can get off Google Maps).

Tape the target (carefully, respectfully) to his roof.

 

[Danger]

I'm disappointed by your new pacifism, Dave. :D
I remain a fan of the old chunk of Limburger cheese taped to the exhaust system, dead rodents stuffed into the heater vents, nitromethane in the fuel tank to melt his pistons, swapping on a stolen license plate...
I have a lot more, but those are the only socially acceptable and non-lethal ones that I can think of right now.

 

[Borek]

Wow, I had to check date on this thread ;)

Long time no see.

 

[DaveC426913]

I'm disappointed by your new pacifism, Dave. :D
...
I have a lot more, but those are the only socially acceptable and non-lethal ones that I can think of right now.

Remember that the revenge door swings both ways.
She ALSO leaves her car parked unattended for 8 hours.

All my tricks are designed to get the message across without encouraging retaliation and escalation. ;)

 

[lisab]

Remember that the revenge door swings both ways.
She ALSO leaves her car parked unattended for 8 hours.

All my tricks are designed to get the message across without encouraging retaliation and escalation. ;)

My intention exactly - this is a (truly) friendly game!

 

[jedishrfu]

My suggestion is to read the Wisdom of Psychopaths book by Dr Kevin Dutton.

Here's a review in Scientific American:

http://www.scientificamerican.com/article/wisdom-from-psychopaths/

and here's a talk by Dutton on his research:



based on this you could:
- place workhorses in the contentious parking place with danger tape
- place it in the space next to your car
- add a sign to make it an employee of the month spot or better yet
- make a workplace suggestion to reserve that spot for employee of the month
- put a fake boot on the car wheels
- call in a "parking lights are" on for his car so he has to go and check
- call in a "will the owner of car xxx please come to the parking lot"
- add a Uber/Lift mustache to his car
- add a promotional bumper sticker advertizing PF on his car and get a freebie from Greg

A cautionary word:

http://www.thisamericanlife.org/radio-archives/episode/419/petty-tyrant

 

[Danger]

All my tricks are designed to get the message across without encouraging retaliation and escalation. ;)

Well... you know how it is with escalation; it's all good fun until someone ends up on a slab, and then the other guy wins.

 

[OmCheeto]

...
A cautionary word:

http://www.thisamericanlife.org/radio-archives/episode/419/petty-tyrant

O.M.G.

Steven Raucci: Schenectady’s Satanic Maintenance Man
...
Raucci was finally brought down — indicted and convicted of 18 counts of arson, conspiracy, weapons and criminal mischief, and sentenced to 23 years in prison — after he was caught on tape discussing his methods and trafficking in explosives.
...

and

..."We felt like moving targets just waiting for Mr. Raucci to strike," said Ronald Kriss, who had testified that his pickup truck and his wife's vehicle were vandalized...

(ref)



Quite an incredible story.

And I though my bosses/coworkers were bad...

 

[lisab]

My suggestion is to read the Wisdom of Psychopaths book by Dr Kevin Dutton.

Here's a review in Scientific American:

http://www.scientificamerican.com/article/wisdom-from-psychopaths/

That's an interesting article!

based on this you could:
- place workhorses in the contentious parking place with danger tape
- place it in the space next to your car
- add a sign to make it an employee of the month spot or better yet
- make a workplace suggestion to reserve that spot for employee of the month
- put a fake boot on the car wheels
- call in a "parking lights are" on for his car so he has to go and check
- call in a "will the owner of car xxx please come to the parking lot"
- add a Uber/Lift mustache to his car
- add a promotional bumper sticker advertizing PF on his car and get a freebie from Greg

A cautionary word:

http://www.thisamericanlife.org/radio-archives/episode/419/petty-tyrant

:D ooooh yeah, some of those are good...

 

[HallsofIvy]

Do NOT slash his tires.

Aww, you're no fun!

 

[Danger]

Aww, you're no fun!

No, he's right. It's better to fill them with a hydrogen/oxygen mixture and wait for the static charges to build up while he's driving.

 

[lisab]

No, he's right. It's better to fill them with a hydrogen/oxygen mixture and wait for the static charges to build up while he's driving.

Nice to see you, Danger :w!

 

[jedishrfu]

How about just getting a sticker that says the tire has been inflated with the instant tire inflated stuff?

http://www.zoro.com/i/G5038871/?utm_source=google_shopping&utm_medium=cpc&utm_campaign=Google_Shopping_Feed&gclid=CK2D4sS2xMECFc87MgodY20AwA

I think fix a flat has a sticker that says the stuff is flammable so take care when repairing the tire.

 

[Danger]

Nice to see you, Danger :w!

Likewise.

 

[Pythagorean]

Welcome back, Danger.

 

[Danger]

Welcome back, Danger.

Thanks, Python.
Lisa, what does that keystroke combo that you mentioned do? I can't try it out because I'm strictly a Mac user.

edit: Hey, now... I just thought of a modification to my hydrogen joke that might actually be practical, if perhaps a bit expensive. If done repeatedly over the course of a few days or weeks, it should drive him nuts. While he's busy at work and you have some time to spare, let the air out of his tires and then reinflate them with helium. It should bleed through the rubber after a few hours (preferably over night) the same as it would from a balloon that isn't helium-rated. No matter how much surveillance he sets up around that car at home, he'll find them flat in the morning with nobody having gone near it, and no tire shop will be able to find a single flaw in the tires, rims, or valves. It would require some experimentation to get the timing tweaked.
Then again, there's always the good old exhaust whistle. Cram it up the tailpipe far enough that he'll have to undo the plumbing to get it out.

 

[jedishrfu]

The simple solution is to ride with someone else and get them to park there then if he tries that the car owner can jump on his case. It would be best if it was a lawyer or his boss or bosses boss...

Another thought would be concoct or find a story that matches what is going on and how the perpetrator was accused of work harassment and leave it anonymously in his mailbox or get someone else to send it to him...

We had one story at work where everyone was preparing papers for an upcoming conference. The papers had to be reviewed by legal by a certain date. So some of the engineers messed around with the printers and other devices to slow each other down.

But one engineer thought it would be funny to send a fake letter on corporate letterhead saying the papers were being held up because of corporate confidentiality.
The engineer got a call to go see the second line manager whom he was told knew about the joke and wanted to reprimand him. He goes to the meeting apologizing left and right and the manager says what are you talking about. It was then he realized he had been had and that he confessed for nothing. The end result was everyone got reprimanded for the horseplay and that one engineer got an extra large dose for forging the lawyers signature on the fake letter something you should never do.

 

[jedishrfu]

Get a car part like an old starter and place it under the car so he can see it and then call him and tell him you saw some drop from under his car. Muffler might work too or pour some transmission fluid on the spot where you'll expect him to park. Transmission fluid has distinctive color that he should recognize...

I did a similar joke at work when I returned a plotter to a manager who was gracious to let me borrow his. I walked in thanked him and banged the part against the bottom of the plotter and then dropped it to the floor. His expression was priceless, his mouth dropped at least ten inches. He couldn't believe that the motor just fell out...

Another time, I used paperclips and rubber bands to attach a phone handset to the base. When the phone rang and you picked it up it would snap back in place hanging up the call. You couldn't see the rubber bands until you lofted the handset.

Also I did a phone tag game. My coworker would answer other workers phones and take messages. So I called phones near her desk. She'd get up to answer and then I'd hang up. It took about six times before she caught on when she saw me laugh.