Hilarious office pranks that won't get me fired?
March 8, 2011 2:05 PM Subscribe
There are only 24 shopping days left until April Fool's Day! Please give me suggestions for hilarious office pranks that won't get me fired.
Background: I work with a small team of scientists and engineers. Our team has a great, warm, and friendly collegial work environment, which also includes a lot of back-and-forth teasing, joking insults, and other ribbing. No one is a prude or uptight about anything.
I try to organize fun little events and surprises throughout the year, like birthday parties, a Christmas party, hiding Easter eggs, bringing in Halloween candy, etc., but I've never been able to do anything for April Fool's Day yet because it's always coincided with a major work deadline. :(
But this year it doesn't! YAY! So I want to pull one or more really funny, somewhat elaborate pranks on them.
BONUS: I have keys to all their offices and 24-hour access to the building so I can totally sneak in and do stuff at night. :D
Here are my criteria for what would make an appropriate prank:
1) Not mean/cruel, just funny, perplexing, or at the most, mildly irksome
2) No risk of damaging company property
3) Although my immediate colleagues are really laid back, I don't want something that would get us in a lot of trouble with HR if someone more prudish were to see it or hear about it
4) Won't cost me a ton of money
5) Can be set up by 1 person (me) overnight (between 9am and 7am)
Ideas???
Thanks in advance!!!!
Background: I work with a small team of scientists and engineers. Our team has a great, warm, and friendly collegial work environment, which also includes a lot of back-and-forth teasing, joking insults, and other ribbing. No one is a prude or uptight about anything.
I try to organize fun little events and surprises throughout the year, like birthday parties, a Christmas party, hiding Easter eggs, bringing in Halloween candy, etc., but I've never been able to do anything for April Fool's Day yet because it's always coincided with a major work deadline. :(
But this year it doesn't! YAY! So I want to pull one or more really funny, somewhat elaborate pranks on them.
BONUS: I have keys to all their offices and 24-hour access to the building so I can totally sneak in and do stuff at night. :D
Here are my criteria for what would make an appropriate prank:
1) Not mean/cruel, just funny, perplexing, or at the most, mildly irksome
2) No risk of damaging company property
3) Although my immediate colleagues are really laid back, I don't want something that would get us in a lot of trouble with HR if someone more prudish were to see it or hear about it
4) Won't cost me a ton of money
5) Can be set up by 1 person (me) overnight (between 9am and 7am)
Ideas???
Thanks in advance!!!!
put something fun and voluminous in everyon's offices so that when they open the door, things flow out?
With the possible exception of balloons, I wouldn't do this. Making a mess that keeps people from working and has to be cleaned up does not make for a fun time.
If you DO decide to do anything that involves leaving clutter in people's offices, please please please make sure to personally and quickly clean it all up as soon as the prank is discovered.
posted by Narrative Priorities at 2:14 PM on March 8, 2011 [2 favorites]
With the possible exception of balloons, I wouldn't do this. Making a mess that keeps people from working and has to be cleaned up does not make for a fun time.
If you DO decide to do anything that involves leaving clutter in people's offices, please please please make sure to personally and quickly clean it all up as soon as the prank is discovered.
posted by Narrative Priorities at 2:14 PM on March 8, 2011 [2 favorites]
Wrap everyone's phone in tinfoil? Or just one desk item that won't take eons to clean up.
posted by ShadePlant at 2:20 PM on March 8, 2011
posted by ShadePlant at 2:20 PM on March 8, 2011
Best answer: Let me present the Eviltron.
Super easy to hide. It's hilarious watching people as they try to find where these odd sounds are coming from, and if necessary, it's easy to swoop in and collect it inconspicuously.
Plus, no mess generated!
posted by Juso No Thankyou at 2:20 PM on March 8, 2011 [6 favorites]
Super easy to hide. It's hilarious watching people as they try to find where these odd sounds are coming from, and if necessary, it's easy to swoop in and collect it inconspicuously.
Plus, no mess generated!
posted by Juso No Thankyou at 2:20 PM on March 8, 2011 [6 favorites]
If they use desktop computers you can remove their innards, and replace with something like a phone book to simulate the weight.
Watch with glee as they try to power on their PC, call tech support etc
Or rearrange the QWERTY row of keys on their keypad to read APRILFO01S
posted by robotot at 2:21 PM on March 8, 2011 [5 favorites]
Watch with glee as they try to power on their PC, call tech support etc
Or rearrange the QWERTY row of keys on their keypad to read APRILFO01S
posted by robotot at 2:21 PM on March 8, 2011 [5 favorites]
Best answer: I saw a trick while net-surfing once that made me laugh (and resolve to use it, should I ever work in an office again).
Write "April Fool!" on appropriately-sized post-it notes and then stick them to the underside of every mouse in the office, over the light-sensor thingy.
posted by malibustacey9999 at 2:21 PM on March 8, 2011 [20 favorites]
Write "April Fool!" on appropriately-sized post-it notes and then stick them to the underside of every mouse in the office, over the light-sensor thingy.
posted by malibustacey9999 at 2:21 PM on March 8, 2011 [20 favorites]
I have a co-worker who is responsible for putting labels on company property with a label-maker, among other things. He was off for a couple days for a pretty serious surgery, so to cheer him up we borrowed the label-maker and printed up a hundred labels with "NAME's chair", "NAME's monitor", "NAME's doorknob", "NAME's label-maker" etc on them, and labeled everything in his office. We got pretty creative ("the bottom of NAME's desk" was one of them, the idea being that he'd see it the next time he got under there to plug something in), and we were sure to put some in clever/subtle places where he'd be finding them months later. We offered to take them all down if needed, of course, but both he and the boss were really amused by the whole thing.
We're in another office now, but many of the objects in his office still have labels on them.
posted by vorfeed at 2:22 PM on March 8, 2011 [3 favorites]
We're in another office now, but many of the objects in his office still have labels on them.
posted by vorfeed at 2:22 PM on March 8, 2011 [3 favorites]
I've done the April Fool's that was my father's favorite every year. At his work and one of my workplaces, the sugar for the coffee was kept in a bowl with a spoon. On April Fool's, replace the sugar with salt.
On April 2nd you place the bowl of salt back, and carefully layer a small amount of sugar. People will taste test the sugar to make sure it isn't salt, then dig deeply and get a spoonful of salt in their coffee again.
Then again, messing with people's coffee can be considered extremely evil in some places.
posted by Mister Fabulous at 2:25 PM on March 8, 2011 [3 favorites]
On April 2nd you place the bowl of salt back, and carefully layer a small amount of sugar. People will taste test the sugar to make sure it isn't salt, then dig deeply and get a spoonful of salt in their coffee again.
Then again, messing with people's coffee can be considered extremely evil in some places.
posted by Mister Fabulous at 2:25 PM on March 8, 2011 [3 favorites]
Best answer: If you have a lab or shop, the Eviltron would work great if you programmed in random beeps or buzzes. Nothing will drive lab/shop staff nuts faster than unexplained instrument panic noises.
posted by bonehead at 2:26 PM on March 8, 2011 [2 favorites]
posted by bonehead at 2:26 PM on March 8, 2011 [2 favorites]
Schedule a mandatory meeting that no one wants to attend, like "professional ethics training" or "team-building" with an annoying improv group. Groan a little bit about how you don't want to go either, but they're making all the employees do it. If you have a friend in HR, get them in on the joke and have them send the email. Schedule one of the serious-business conference rooms, like the one people go when they get fired.
In the serious-business conference room: No meeting! Just pizza or cupcakes or (if your company allows) beer. (I'm in favor of April Fool's pranks that end with a happy surprise.)
posted by Metroid Baby at 2:28 PM on March 8, 2011 [10 favorites]
In the serious-business conference room: No meeting! Just pizza or cupcakes or (if your company allows) beer. (I'm in favor of April Fool's pranks that end with a happy surprise.)
posted by Metroid Baby at 2:28 PM on March 8, 2011 [10 favorites]
desktop computers - where possible, attach Terry's monitor to Chris' computer, attach Lee's keyboard to Pat's pc, etc.
If you have access to their pc, change the system sounds to silly noises. Turn the volume to 11.
http://www.themattefinish.com/blog/2009/06/harmless-office-pranks/
http://www.squidoo.com/OfficePranks
posted by theora55 at 2:42 PM on March 8, 2011 [1 favorite]
If you have access to their pc, change the system sounds to silly noises. Turn the volume to 11.
http://www.themattefinish.com/blog/2009/06/harmless-office-pranks/
http://www.squidoo.com/OfficePranks
posted by theora55 at 2:42 PM on March 8, 2011 [1 favorite]
The best prank I ever pulled at work - I took a "party popper" - those little things that you pull a string on and a little cap explodes and shoots out confetti - and rigged it to a rather expensive and semi-irreplaceable prototype electronics board on a coworker's desk. He picked up the board to return it to the lab and as he pulled on it the little popper went off. Nearly shat his pants thinking he destroyed thousands of dollars of lab equipment.
I also managed to disassemble another coworker's telephone and switch the numbers around. If you look at a phone keypad, the 1-2-3 and 7-8-9 rows are in the opposite positions as your keyboard numpad. So I made the phone look like the numpad and put it back together. I honestly thought it wouldn't work but the guy couldn't figure out why none of his calls were going through.
My group of friends from that job also has a "traveling" prank that's probably not appropriate for this, but I'll mention it anyway. I'm not even sure who started this, to be honest... at any rate, I used to keep a flight bag at work, and one day I finally took it home and discovered a 10-disc boxed set of softcore pornography in the bag. The guy who gave it to me had similarly discovered it in his desk or somewhere. When I went to cat-sit for a mutual friend, I buried it in his DVD collection - this was around Christmas and he thought it was some perverse surprise gift from his wife. Now it is his turn to find some unsuspecting recipient.
posted by backseatpilot at 2:53 PM on March 8, 2011
I also managed to disassemble another coworker's telephone and switch the numbers around. If you look at a phone keypad, the 1-2-3 and 7-8-9 rows are in the opposite positions as your keyboard numpad. So I made the phone look like the numpad and put it back together. I honestly thought it wouldn't work but the guy couldn't figure out why none of his calls were going through.
My group of friends from that job also has a "traveling" prank that's probably not appropriate for this, but I'll mention it anyway. I'm not even sure who started this, to be honest... at any rate, I used to keep a flight bag at work, and one day I finally took it home and discovered a 10-disc boxed set of softcore pornography in the bag. The guy who gave it to me had similarly discovered it in his desk or somewhere. When I went to cat-sit for a mutual friend, I buried it in his DVD collection - this was around Christmas and he thought it was some perverse surprise gift from his wife. Now it is his turn to find some unsuspecting recipient.
posted by backseatpilot at 2:53 PM on March 8, 2011
Step 1: Remove all the furniture from a corner of the office.
Step 2: Painstakingly transplant your bedroom into the now empty corner. Bed, dresser, pictures, etc. The lot of it.
Step 3: Go to sleep.
Step 4: When people show up at the office and wake you up, act bewildered and confused, as though you are the victim of the prank. Accuse random co-workers of being the culprit and demand that they put your bedroom back in your house.
Granted, this is a little elaborate and might not be possible to do with one person in one night. You may need an accomplice. Also, a van.
posted by sarastro at 2:59 PM on March 8, 2011 [9 favorites]
Step 2: Painstakingly transplant your bedroom into the now empty corner. Bed, dresser, pictures, etc. The lot of it.
Step 3: Go to sleep.
Step 4: When people show up at the office and wake you up, act bewildered and confused, as though you are the victim of the prank. Accuse random co-workers of being the culprit and demand that they put your bedroom back in your house.
Granted, this is a little elaborate and might not be possible to do with one person in one night. You may need an accomplice. Also, a van.
posted by sarastro at 2:59 PM on March 8, 2011 [9 favorites]
Here's a simple one that works with people who have to look at the keys when they type. Switch two keys that are normally right next to each other. I suppose you could do this with more than two keys, but the less obvious it is, the longer it is perplexing.
posted by SpacemanStix at 3:01 PM on March 8, 2011 [2 favorites]
posted by SpacemanStix at 3:01 PM on March 8, 2011 [2 favorites]
Take a screenshot of the desktop, set it as the wallpaper, and then hide the desktop icons. (don't delete but hide)
posted by alligatorman at 3:28 PM on March 8, 2011 [4 favorites]
posted by alligatorman at 3:28 PM on March 8, 2011 [4 favorites]
Response by poster: Update: I don't have the password to their computers, so anything that requires logging in to do anything won't work. (But those are very funny ideas and I hope that someone else is able to use them!)
posted by Jacqueline at 3:48 PM on March 8, 2011
posted by Jacqueline at 3:48 PM on March 8, 2011
Take a screenshot of the desktop, set it as the wallpaper, and then hide the desktop icons. (don't delete but hide)
I did this the second AFD I was at my job, to every single computer in the office. You not only have to hide the icons but also any taskbars and/or start icons as well or it will not work. Before you set the taskbar to autohide, drag it up to the top of the screen so it won't pop up when they hover near the bottom of the screen. When you take the screenshot, make sure the mouse pointer is not visible.
...It occurs to me that I put perhaps a bit too much forethought into my jackassery.
posted by elizardbits at 4:33 PM on March 8, 2011 [1 favorite]
I did this the second AFD I was at my job, to every single computer in the office. You not only have to hide the icons but also any taskbars and/or start icons as well or it will not work. Before you set the taskbar to autohide, drag it up to the top of the screen so it won't pop up when they hover near the bottom of the screen. When you take the screenshot, make sure the mouse pointer is not visible.
...It occurs to me that I put perhaps a bit too much forethought into my jackassery.
posted by elizardbits at 4:33 PM on March 8, 2011 [1 favorite]
This takes a little prep. Fill a plastic container with confetti and rig a playing card to cover the opening. Affix a string to the card and tie the other end to a snap mouse trap. Tie a long string to the trigger.
Next, take replacement ceiling tile and cut a hole in it about the same size as the container's mouth. Mount the container and trap to it. Replace a ceiling tile over the victim's desk with your rigged one. Set it and carefully set up the string as a tripwire. You can tape it to the door or a desk drawer or to their chair.
When they hit the trip wire, the trap snaps, pulling out the card, dumping confetti. Best of all, s/he will likely look up to see what the cause was.
When I was at Adobe, there was a guy who had a pet rubber duck named Arthur. One of my cofiends found Arthur's clone and bought several. With one, he pounded a very large, rusty nail through its head and replaced Arthur with the nailed clone. When the victim came in, he flipped and when he went to go get someone, the perp slipped in and restored Arthur.
Where I currently work, people have asked about pranks and my take is absolutely except that whatever you do can't cause any damage and must be cleaned up in under 15 minutes.
posted by plinth at 4:41 PM on March 8, 2011 [1 favorite]
Next, take replacement ceiling tile and cut a hole in it about the same size as the container's mouth. Mount the container and trap to it. Replace a ceiling tile over the victim's desk with your rigged one. Set it and carefully set up the string as a tripwire. You can tape it to the door or a desk drawer or to their chair.
When they hit the trip wire, the trap snaps, pulling out the card, dumping confetti. Best of all, s/he will likely look up to see what the cause was.
When I was at Adobe, there was a guy who had a pet rubber duck named Arthur. One of my cofiends found Arthur's clone and bought several. With one, he pounded a very large, rusty nail through its head and replaced Arthur with the nailed clone. When the victim came in, he flipped and when he went to go get someone, the perp slipped in and restored Arthur.
Where I currently work, people have asked about pranks and my take is absolutely except that whatever you do can't cause any damage and must be cleaned up in under 15 minutes.
posted by plinth at 4:41 PM on March 8, 2011 [1 favorite]
Many years ago I had a running prank battle with one of the higher-ups (but not my direct boss). The unspoken rules were that nothing could get damaged or cause inconvenience to anyone else in the office.
One of my favorite pranks was super simple. I collected every empty box I could get my hands on for a couple weeks, and over a long weekend, I placed them 3 boxes deep from the door, from floor to ceiling (I didn't remove anything from his office, just moved items back next to his desk, behind the 3 rows of boxes). I threw a couple of books and the like into the front row of boxes near the door, so that when he opened the door it would hit a box, but the box wouldn't shift - all the rest of the boxes were empty. I then taped a note, ostensibly from the owner, that his office was needed for storage and that his things had been moved to the smaller room down the hall that served as storage. Then I made sure the storage room key was missing from its usual spot, and waited for the fireworks on Tuesday morning.
In retaliation, he taped shut with clear packing tape every drawer, file cabinet, window or any other item that opened in my office.
So I removed all the drawers from his desk and stacked them neatly in his closet. I think he wandered for a couple hours trying to find them.
It was good-natured between us, and it had to be, it's really easy for this sort of thing to slide into somebody getting mad. The rest of the office thought we were nuts, and tbh, unprofessional. Worked for us though, and I still laugh when I think of them.
posted by faineant at 4:57 PM on March 8, 2011
One of my favorite pranks was super simple. I collected every empty box I could get my hands on for a couple weeks, and over a long weekend, I placed them 3 boxes deep from the door, from floor to ceiling (I didn't remove anything from his office, just moved items back next to his desk, behind the 3 rows of boxes). I threw a couple of books and the like into the front row of boxes near the door, so that when he opened the door it would hit a box, but the box wouldn't shift - all the rest of the boxes were empty. I then taped a note, ostensibly from the owner, that his office was needed for storage and that his things had been moved to the smaller room down the hall that served as storage. Then I made sure the storage room key was missing from its usual spot, and waited for the fireworks on Tuesday morning.
In retaliation, he taped shut with clear packing tape every drawer, file cabinet, window or any other item that opened in my office.
So I removed all the drawers from his desk and stacked them neatly in his closet. I think he wandered for a couple hours trying to find them.
It was good-natured between us, and it had to be, it's really easy for this sort of thing to slide into somebody getting mad. The rest of the office thought we were nuts, and tbh, unprofessional. Worked for us though, and I still laugh when I think of them.
posted by faineant at 4:57 PM on March 8, 2011
I'm an engineer that works with engineers and scientists. Here's a few I've used:
As mentioned before, take someone's mouse, flip it over, and put a post-it note (the little guys 1" x 1.25") over the optical sensor. If they're still using a mouse with a ball, take the ball out.
Take scotch tape, and put it over the RJ45 connector for your network on their PC. Even the sysadmin will have a hard time figure that one out.
Get the manual for the thermostats in your office. Set a bias on the thermostat. You can usually bias a thermostat +/- 4ยบ. Freeze the people who are always cold, burn up the people who are always hot.
posted by Rob Rockets at 5:31 PM on March 8, 2011 [1 favorite]
As mentioned before, take someone's mouse, flip it over, and put a post-it note (the little guys 1" x 1.25") over the optical sensor. If they're still using a mouse with a ball, take the ball out.
Take scotch tape, and put it over the RJ45 connector for your network on their PC. Even the sysadmin will have a hard time figure that one out.
Get the manual for the thermostats in your office. Set a bias on the thermostat. You can usually bias a thermostat +/- 4ยบ. Freeze the people who are always cold, burn up the people who are always hot.
posted by Rob Rockets at 5:31 PM on March 8, 2011 [1 favorite]
here's one I've done, when people walk away from their desktop, and forget to lock their workstation:
1. right click on the desktop
2. go to "graphics options"
3. go to "rotation"
4. click "180 degrees"
bonus step: press ctrl-alt-delete, and lock their workstation, when they come back, watch and enjoy the genuine bewilderment and "WTF?" looks. Also, you can go over to them and say something like, "That happened to you too? I had the same thing happen last week...but I don't quite remember how I fixed it...."
One guy got so tired of messing with it, he just turned his monitor upside down...hilarious! Of course, we eventually set things right again....
Also, I second switching keys around on the keyboard, (switch the M and N keys).
posted by KillaSeal at 5:44 PM on March 8, 2011
1. right click on the desktop
2. go to "graphics options"
3. go to "rotation"
4. click "180 degrees"
bonus step: press ctrl-alt-delete, and lock their workstation, when they come back, watch and enjoy the genuine bewilderment and "WTF?" looks. Also, you can go over to them and say something like, "That happened to you too? I had the same thing happen last week...but I don't quite remember how I fixed it...."
One guy got so tired of messing with it, he just turned his monitor upside down...hilarious! Of course, we eventually set things right again....
Also, I second switching keys around on the keyboard, (switch the M and N keys).
posted by KillaSeal at 5:44 PM on March 8, 2011
Unplug stuff. Mice, keyboards, monitors.
Hide a walkie talkie somewhere and drive people nuts with it...much like eviltron.
Goldfish in water cooler tank. (Not that hard, they swim to the top when you turn it over.)
Superglue coins, pencils, pens etc. to the floor or other surfaces.
shrink/saran wrap desks, chairs etc.
When the fun is over and you still want to play, play "dollar on a string". Take any bill and tape a few feet of fishing line to it, leave it somewhere that allows you to watch and snatch it away when someone reaches for it.
posted by snsranch at 6:07 PM on March 8, 2011
Hide a walkie talkie somewhere and drive people nuts with it...much like eviltron.
Goldfish in water cooler tank. (Not that hard, they swim to the top when you turn it over.)
Superglue coins, pencils, pens etc. to the floor or other surfaces.
shrink/saran wrap desks, chairs etc.
When the fun is over and you still want to play, play "dollar on a string". Take any bill and tape a few feet of fishing line to it, leave it somewhere that allows you to watch and snatch it away when someone reaches for it.
posted by snsranch at 6:07 PM on March 8, 2011
Have a photo of the boss? Then make several hundred copies of the photo (about passport photo sized) and sprinkle the photos like confetti in various places throughout the office, obvious places will do to start, like drawers. But also sprinkle a few in random places that won't immediately be discovered, like files that you only access every month or so. If you do it right, photos of boss will show up for years.
This year, my plan is to stick tons of googly-eyes on random objects because I think it's cute to anthropomorphize everyday objects.
posted by nasayre at 6:17 PM on March 8, 2011
This year, my plan is to stick tons of googly-eyes on random objects because I think it's cute to anthropomorphize everyday objects.
posted by nasayre at 6:17 PM on March 8, 2011
I actually saw someone looking for these on Reddit, but you can buy 2000 bouncy balls for about $80 plus shipping. Or go for half and save money.
Fill up an office, or an elevator, or, if there is an escalator that could even be fun!
posted by misha at 6:23 PM on March 8, 2011
Fill up an office, or an elevator, or, if there is an escalator that could even be fun!
posted by misha at 6:23 PM on March 8, 2011
Keyboard prankery:
Rather than switching M and N, take the numbers off and make them 0123456789 instead of 1234567890. Takes a while for people to figure this one out, and also a little while to set up in the morning. Have to get there early.
posted by misha at 6:30 PM on March 8, 2011
Rather than switching M and N, take the numbers off and make them 0123456789 instead of 1234567890. Takes a while for people to figure this one out, and also a little while to set up in the morning. Have to get there early.
posted by misha at 6:30 PM on March 8, 2011
This isn't very prankish, but when I worked for a fairly staid government communications services vendor, I got a lot of quiet, low key joy out of wearing harlequin check shoes and necktie on AF day.
posted by Bruce H. at 7:22 PM on March 8, 2011
posted by Bruce H. at 7:22 PM on March 8, 2011
You can also change the orientation of the screen by using ctrl + alt + down (or left or right if you choose). At least, on some computers. I can't seem to where I work.
Another possibility is replacing a desktop wallpaper with an image (found online) of a cracked monitor screen. And even if you don't have access to others', you could change your own and then lament to a higher-up of the "damage."
And I'd have to think there'd have to be a few inspired by Jim from "The Office," although some aren't so practical (eg, putting all of a co-worker's desk items in the vending machine).
posted by TheSecretDecoderRing at 8:06 PM on March 8, 2011
Another possibility is replacing a desktop wallpaper with an image (found online) of a cracked monitor screen. And even if you don't have access to others', you could change your own and then lament to a higher-up of the "damage."
And I'd have to think there'd have to be a few inspired by Jim from "The Office," although some aren't so practical (eg, putting all of a co-worker's desk items in the vending machine).
posted by TheSecretDecoderRing at 8:06 PM on March 8, 2011
Someone I worked with changed the auto-correct on our boss's email so it added an umlaut over the 'o' in his name.
There are lots of fun things you can do with auto-correct, the secret is making them subtle enough that it takes a while for the prankee to notice.
posted by fonetik at 12:06 AM on March 9, 2011
There are lots of fun things you can do with auto-correct, the secret is making them subtle enough that it takes a while for the prankee to notice.
posted by fonetik at 12:06 AM on March 9, 2011
I once hid a leek (the vegetable) behind our autoclave, and had everyone running around like fools when I told them that "there's a leak behind the autoclave". It only works in a verbal way though...
posted by car01 at 1:51 AM on March 9, 2011
posted by car01 at 1:51 AM on March 9, 2011
Tell your boss you have something serious to confide in him. Swear him to secrecy. You just found out you are pregnant (you can weepily slip in that you don't know who the father is) and will be needing maternity leave in a few months.
Have each of the women in your office do this in turn throughout the day. You can follow up by stashing a few pregnancy tests in his desk, once he figures it out.
posted by ista at 7:38 AM on March 9, 2011 [2 favorites]
Have each of the women in your office do this in turn throughout the day. You can follow up by stashing a few pregnancy tests in his desk, once he figures it out.
posted by ista at 7:38 AM on March 9, 2011 [2 favorites]
Step 1: procure roughly 3 metres worth of stretchy surgical tubing, the kind they use to tie off tourniquets. Clear if you can find it. One of those giant rubber bands they use for water balloon slingshots may also work but you'll have to cut one end.
Step 2: double the tubing / make a loop, and loop the closed end round the pedestal of your victim's desk chair.
Step 3: push the chair in flush to the desk, then tie off the free ends of the tubing to the back / bracing supports of the desk underneath; the further back the better. Your goal here is to have only a tiny bit of slack left in the tubing, with the entire mechanism hidden from view.
Step 4: PROFIT!! When Colleague comes in in the morning to pull out their chair, hilarity ensues for probably 3 or 4 yanks until he/she figures out what's making the chair into a yo-yo.
alternatively you can put a bit of invisible scotch tape over either the speaker or mic end of their telephone handset. It's amazing how long it takes people to figure this one out; calls to IT for "muffled phone volume" will likely commence.
posted by lonefrontranger at 11:32 AM on March 9, 2011
Step 2: double the tubing / make a loop, and loop the closed end round the pedestal of your victim's desk chair.
Step 3: push the chair in flush to the desk, then tie off the free ends of the tubing to the back / bracing supports of the desk underneath; the further back the better. Your goal here is to have only a tiny bit of slack left in the tubing, with the entire mechanism hidden from view.
Step 4: PROFIT!! When Colleague comes in in the morning to pull out their chair, hilarity ensues for probably 3 or 4 yanks until he/she figures out what's making the chair into a yo-yo.
alternatively you can put a bit of invisible scotch tape over either the speaker or mic end of their telephone handset. It's amazing how long it takes people to figure this one out; calls to IT for "muffled phone volume" will likely commence.
posted by lonefrontranger at 11:32 AM on March 9, 2011
This ones more of a not-prank and involves acting more than anything else.
Starting now, tell people that you have the best idea for an April fools day prank ever. As the day gets closer, say your preparations are going along nicely and people are going to freak. The day before, act shifty. Hover around people's desks and then act suspiciously when caught.
During the day itself, wear a smug and expectant smile at all times. If anyone asks you about it, say something like "oh, you haven't found it yet? Well you're going to love it.
Hopefully they'll be on their guard and wondering all day.
Then, at the end of the day, present your 'April fools prank': a plate of homemade cupcakes! (or other appreciated office goodies)
posted by mosessis at 12:49 AM on March 10, 2011 [1 favorite]
Starting now, tell people that you have the best idea for an April fools day prank ever. As the day gets closer, say your preparations are going along nicely and people are going to freak. The day before, act shifty. Hover around people's desks and then act suspiciously when caught.
During the day itself, wear a smug and expectant smile at all times. If anyone asks you about it, say something like "oh, you haven't found it yet? Well you're going to love it.
Hopefully they'll be on their guard and wondering all day.
Then, at the end of the day, present your 'April fools prank': a plate of homemade cupcakes! (or other appreciated office goodies)
posted by mosessis at 12:49 AM on March 10, 2011 [1 favorite]
Response by poster: Thanks everyone!!!
I'm going to go with the post-it note over the mouse optical sensors as the diversionary April Fool's prank (so they think they've already found my prank) with hidden Eviltrons/Annoyatrons in their labs and offices as the *real* prank.
:D
posted by Jacqueline at 4:27 PM on March 19, 2011
I'm going to go with the post-it note over the mouse optical sensors as the diversionary April Fool's prank (so they think they've already found my prank) with hidden Eviltrons/Annoyatrons in their labs and offices as the *real* prank.
:D
posted by Jacqueline at 4:27 PM on March 19, 2011
This thread is closed to new comments.
posted by stellaluna at 2:11 PM on March 8, 2011