There is a Reddit thread that has gone viral asking people to share their best harmless pranks. While we can only hope that mean spirited jokes on people are a thing of the past, bullying is still a thing and should not be tolerated. That being said, as long as there is great confidence the victim of the hijinks will find the humor, all bets are off.
I am personally not a big fan of pranks. Mainly because I fall for them. Every. Single. Time.
For example, at a restaurant I had worked at for seven years, the manager asked me if I could go to the pub next door and see if we could borrow a rice peeler. Hook, line and sinker. I did get my revenge months later when a fellow server had the idea to approach the manager with some unusual requests from the customers.
It started off with things like “Table 7 wants to know if we have a Spanish/English dictionary.” Slightly strange? Yes. Possible? Also, yes. Of course, selling the sincerity of the inquiry was key. It was followed up with another prank. I said: “Hey man, I know this sounds weird, but there is no chance we have spare fireworks kicking around in the office, do we?”
Pretty strange, especially following the Spanish/English dictionary request? Yup. Was it the first time he had heard this type of request? Indeed. Sincerity of the delivery from the server? Check. The delivery was everything. We had the manager going for hours. He was extremely confused, saying “What is with all these weird requests? What is going on with today?”
It was not until some rookie blew the whole thing by asking if there was a spare trumpet kicking around. But it was a fun prank in the restaurant world.
Photo by Siviwe Kapteyn on
But there were over 15 thousand comments with different gags on this Reddit of pranks all around the world. From co-worker pranks to tricking your best friend, here are some of the highlights I caught:
level 1MarcusChapmanHere5.9k points·1 day ago
Hire a local actor to “run into” you and your friend while you are somewhere and “recognize you” as someone famous. Have them start speaking gibberish and you answer back in gibberish before taking a selfie with them. Then have them just leave extremely excited. When your friend ask what that was all about just say something in gibberish and when they say “What?” just say “Oh sorry.” and say “It was nothing.” and keep the charade going until your dying day.
PReasy3199.5k points·1 day ago·edited 1 day ago
I plugged a wireless mouse into a coworker’s computer. My cubicle was 40 ft away but from my desk I could see his monitor, so I slooooowly moved the cursor to the right while he was trying to use it. Then slooooowly to the left. I clicked on random things. I stopped and started randomly. I stopped every time he tried to show anybody else, even though they were all in on the prank. At one point while he was working on some papers and not looking at his screen, I opened the Start menu and shut his computer down. I kept it going for a week before he was at the point of losing his mind and I finally told him.
level 1originalidentity398 points·1 day ago
Steal their garden gnome and go on a trip. Take pictures of the gnome the whole time you’re traveling. Return the gnome with the photos sitting next him. Never admit to it.
level 1lobstrain112 points·1 day ago
One I like to do is to fill a heavy glass cup with water or some other precious liquid that the victim wouldn’t want to spill, then ask them if they’d like to see a magic trick. Have them place their hand flat on a table, palm facing down. Balance the cup on their hand and let go. Ask them if they feel anything. When they say no, act surprised and confused. Remove the glass and repeat the process with the other hand. When that also “fails”, have them stack their hands one on top of the other (palms down, very important) in a way where you can balance the glass on the top hand. The balancing might be tricky, just keep trying until it’s still enough for you to let go. Ask them again if now they feel anything. When they say no, shrug your shoulders and walk away, leaving the glass on their hands.
It is hard to top the Cousin Micki wax Jimmy Kimmel gag. If you have not seen this, you need to watch it straight through until at least 3:40.
Happy good natured pranking. Just don’t be that guy who calls up your friend who is trying to make it in show business and pretend to be Capital Records saying that you want to offer them a record deal. Yeah, I am talking about you, Matt Kapp. For most of you who don’t know, he was the bassist… IN THE SAME BAND I WAS IN THAT HE WAS PRETENDING TO SIGN!!!! People don’t forget, Matt. People don’t forget.