“A Tiny Piece Of Masking Tape Over A Coworker’s Mouse Laser”: 35 People Share Genius Yet Harmless Ways To Prank Others
If there’s something we've learned from the holy grail of television, aka The Office (except from everything about life, work, love and so on!), it's that a little trick and a tiny troll here and there do no harm. Hands up, everyone who remembers the prank on Dwight’s tape recorder!
Real life is no exception. To make our mundane reality a little more adventurous and somewhat hilarious, people come up with the most ingenious little ways to mess with others. “What are some harmless ways to [mess] with people?” someone asked on Ask Reddit, and oh boy, Pandora's box was opened.
Read on below for the best responses, and please, don’t try this at home! Or try at your own risk, which should be not only minimal, but basically nonexistent.
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My grandpa does this thing where he stops in the busy street and starts staring into the sky as if he’s seen something amazing. It doesn’t take long for other people to stop and stare too, once he’s reaches critical mass he quietly slips away chuckling to himself.
Edit, he’s in his 90’s now but when he was a teenager he was a bit of a young tearaway and had a pet monkey, which is weird considering this was the UK.
Edit 2: holy c**p this blew up overnight. And on my cake day too!
Buy a set of “Voice Activated” or “Motion Activated” stickers from Amazon, and the possibilities are endless
Every other week or so I'd change which side my coworker's drill's belt clip was on, 2 screws and 30 seconds for a maddening payout. Idk if he ever caught on, as he sadly passed away last year.
I got a huge kick out of doing it though. Might bring that one back as most of us share the same brand of drill.
He got a great one on me. Every day or two he'd hide a Magic the Gathering card in my toolbox, never the same spot twice. Genuinely made me mad when I'd pick something up only to see another card hidden beneath. Eventually I had enough cards to completely cover his locker door inner and outer, he never took them off. Even cut out cards to fit the vents on the locker. I spent a good hour or two on my day off making it. Proud of that one.
RIP Chris. Pranks haven't been the same since you left. Your locker still remains covered in Magic cards and nobody has questioned it to this day.
Senior prank at my high school a few years ago, they let 3 chickens lose: numbered 1, 2, and 4.
School took forever looking for the 3rd chicken
Occasionally I get Christmas cards sent to my address meant for the previous homeowners, wrong address etc. I take these cards and mail them to my friends and family with their correct names and addresses etc and with their return address. I can imagine them sitting around their table scratching their heads wondering who the hell the O’Reilly family is, in a family picture all dressed up in their Christmas garb sending them a Christmas card. A couple times I than learned that the next year out of courtesy, my relatives would then send the unknown family a Christmas card from them, and than that family is like who the hell are these people.
I put a tiny piece of masking tape over my co-worker’s mouse laser on April fool’s day one year, wrote “April fool’s” on it. He troubleshot every single thing except examining the mouse. He eventually called IT who simply turned the mouse over and pointed it out to him.
My grandpa glued a quarter to his driveway near the sidewalk and sits in his living room and watches people try to pick it up. I didn't know this till I found a quarter in the driveway one time.
When in an elavator with strangers (or just walking thru a lobby) casually look down and say "oh wow they really did a good job getting the blood out".
When someone knocks on the public washroom door you are in respond with come in!
I do this every so often because it's kind of a game to me to see how long I can keep it up till the person catches on.
I repeat the last word the person says in question form.
Example:
"Hey, me and Jenny are headed to Jim's Pizza Hut."
"Jim's Pizza Hut?"
"Yeah, you know the one on F street."
"F Street?"
Over there near the harbor with the big carousel."
"Carousel?"
"Yeah, you know the one you went with me and Jane."
"Jane?"
"My girlfriend."
"Girlfriend?"
"Ok, what the f**k is wrong with you?"
Once they call you out and have caught on the game ends. I've carried on a conversation over an hour once doing this. It's really awesome when the person you are doing it to has gone through this a few times with you.
My daughter has gotten me a few times herself and she'll laugh on and off for the day at my expense. Her husband has called me an a*s for teaching this to her a few times too.
My son can make dolphin sounds to perfection. We were on a dolphin excursion and he would randomly do the sounds. People kept looking over the sides to see the dolphins. He also confused the operator because he kept looking around for dolphins. One of our best family vacation memories.
When I order coffee and they ask for the name I say “Green. Like the sky.”
My personal favorite is: Sit down on a park bench next to someone. Slide a manila enevlope with a picture of a random person from the net to them and say, "It has to be done by Friday and it has to look like an accident." Then get up and walk away quickly.
When you shake someone's hand, move yours left to right. As they do the traditional up and down, a hilarious circle ensues.
The child in me is laughing so hard I'm crying right now. These are fantastic!!
Edit: For PSA
Hide something around their house. My weapon of choice was tiny rubber ducks.
Open a drawer? Duck.
I need a spoon. Duck.
Lovely picture of their wedding with a nice frame? Duck on top.
Charging box? Duck.
Bubble bath? Duck.
Seldom used shoes? Duck.
Winter coat pocket they won't use for months? Duck.
Its ducking delightful how much mileage you can get out of tiny ducks.
PSA: Be extremely cautious in the case of households containing animals and small children. Both like putting little things in their mouths and other orifices so might be best to avoid Ducking these individuals/ensuring things are definitely out of reach.
I think this is the first ever time I've seen someone write ducking and actually intend to type ducking
Yeah... for a couple years those have been hidden around my middle school. The tradition was still going when I left.
Load More Replies...I do this to my kids, who are now grown. One of them loves llamas. The other loves piggies. And the oldest is a photographer. So, I collect llama things, piggy things, and camera things… and when I go visit them, I hide these things somewhere in their houses. After I’ve left, I love getting the photos of the items when they find them. Most recently: My youngest daughter was visiting my oldest daughter. I went to visit them both. I hid a little piggy thumb drive I found inside some socks in the youngest one’s suitcase. And I left some llama shaped salt and pepper shakers on the breakfast table for my oldest daughter to discover. :)
I cleaned out the kitchen one year and shoved in the back of a drawer was a stack of Hannah montana napkins from my 4th birthday. (I'm 21 now) and I meticulously cut out miley cyrus's face from them and slowly covered every single picture of my brother in the house with miley cyrus. mom didnt notice til she was getting ready to redecorate for christmas like 3 months later
get the 100 pack of tiny babies from amazon and hide them EVERYWHERE
My mom went on vacation several years ago and I bought 100 tiny, plastic ducks and hid them all around her house. Then, a few months ago, she went on vacation again and, THIS time, I hid 120 tiny plastic sheep! She is still finding sheep and has even found a couple of ducks that she missed! LOL!
So hiding a cyanide tablet in my dad's coffee wouldn't be a similar prank?
I had potpourri in the bathroom & it had a dried seed pod of some sort, about the size of a lemon but red. My daughter would take it every time she came over and I would steal it back. That went on for MONTHS!
I made hundreds of little baby feel (ink stamp closed fist and add little toes) and hid them in a co-worker's desk. In books, on her desk, basically everywhere. I attached a little story with it, and she thought it was hysterical. Every once in a while, she'd come across a foot and start laughing all over again.
You can get a pack of a dozen little 2inch bathtub toy cows on amazon for $9. Sometimes they go on sale. Sometimes you can get 3 packs for $18. I'm not saying i have an army of 36 cows around my house for various pranks... But that's because we've lost some.
I do this to my sister almost every time I'm there. Started with extra ducks after a baby shower we had there and grew from there. My kids are in on it too. Lol
I did this to one of my best friends, except with paper doilies. She's still finding them around the house 2 years later.
I vote spiders! I once cut one out of adhesive vinyl, then stuck it to the inside of a lamp shade because my husband hates spiders. It scared him as intended, but it also made me jump when I forgot about it and turned the light on two days later. Now I randomly sit and think of great places to put fake spiders... possibly the top drawer of my husband's nightstand...
I did this with a tiny furry toy mouse, my husband found it in his coat pocket at a conference...
Was it a catnip mouse cat toy? I bet the neighborhood strays followed him from his car to the door
Load More Replies...I am glad I’m not the only one who has done this. This was my April Fool’s Day prank at work.
You wouldn't believe how confusing it was for me finding little rubber ducks, and they are always exotic somehow-neon colors or camo or maybe an army duck I think was the most recent one, left on my Jeep in public randomly. Like it never happened at home or work, but Walmart or a restaurant in the city, I come out and find ducks on my Jeep 😂 I guess it's got something to do with Jeeps, something about them being "so ducking cool" as it was explained to me. I've owned a Jeep since I was 15 and we used to just wave or occasionally stop and tell each other lies for a bit. But it's amusing for my gfs 5 yr old.
My Mom and me planned something similar for one of my Ex stepfather, except we planned on using rubber chickens. To this day we regret not actually pulling off that plot.
Internet, toy store, Oriental Trading Company, to name a few...
Load More Replies...Sea shells. My boyfriend carried a seashell in his jacket for months (front pocket, baggy suede jacket). When he finally realized it, smiled and put it back in. I
Dios bendiga a Todos los que estan leyendo esto! Deseo que tengan un hermoso dia! Buscad a Dios mientras pueda ser hallado! Jesus es el camino y el unico camino y regresa pronto! Recuerda cuando te sientas que no eres amado... el mayor sacrificio se hizo por amor! EL SUICIDIO NUNCA ES LA RESPUESTA! Porque de tal manera amó Dios al mundo, que ha dado a su Hijo unigénito, para que todo aquel que en él cree, no se pierda, mas tenga vida eterna. S. Juan 3:16 RVR1960 La paga del pecado es muerte (infierno) pero Cristo pagó nuestra deuda en la cruz para nuestra salvacion! Debemos volvernos a Dios y apartarnos de nuestros caminos pecaminosos, confesar que Jesús es el Señor y creer con nuestro corazón que fue resucitado de entre los muertos por Dios, y debemos de ser bautizados en el nombre del Padre, del Hijo y del Espíritu Santo y vivir por Su palabra y mandamientos! Confia que Dios ayudara con el resto! Busca a Dios, antes de que sea muy tarde! A Dios Sea La Gloria!
God bless anyone reading this! Hope you have an awesome day! Seek him while you can! Jesus is the way and the only way and he is returning soon! Whenever you think you aren't loved... Remember the ultimate sacrifice was for love! ENDING YOUR LIFE IS NEVER THE ANSWER! For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life. John 3:16 KJV The wages of sin is death (hell) but Jesus paid our debt on the cross, for our salvation! We must turn to God and away from our sinful ways, Confess Jesus is Lord and believe with our hearts that he was risen from the dead by God, and we must be baptized in the name of the Father, the Son and The Holy Spirit and live by His word and Commandments! Trust that God will help with the rest! Seek God today before it's too late! To God Be The Glory!
I am confused.... how does a animal put it in "other orifices" or is it with the help of small children
When you're talking to someone, just keep handing them random items. They'll just keep taking them without realizing it.
This one is harmless but occasionally can drive someone mad.
My mom has a bunch of framed family photos hangin on a wall. One day I was visiting I took them all down and scanned them with a little hand scanner. I photoshoped small changes on them, removed some people from some photos, added a couple of celebrities in the background, etc, print them out and replaced them a few days later.
I can't forget her face when she realized it was me and she was not losing it.
My friend was logged into his twitter on my tablet so I kept changing his profile picture to a banana.. he thought someone hacked him and tweeted about it.. I replied to the tweet using his profile.. it got so bad he was arguing with himself on twitter.
When I was a corrections officer we had a guy who worked with us who was kind of a d**k to everyone, and he was computer illiterate. We took a screenshot of his desktop and moved all of his icons off of it so it looked legit but nothing worked. It took him an hour before he finally called IT and they figured it out pretty quickly. He wouldn’t talk to any of us for about a week.
You need to take this to the next level. Take the screen shot. Load it in paintbrush. Rotate the image 180deg. Set it as the desktop wallpaper. Next go into your screen settings and rotate the display 180deg. THEN hide the icons and toolbar. The mouse controls will be flipped too. Yes I am 100% evil.
Whenever I visit my extended family across the country, I bring a bag full of random remotes that I don’t use anymore. Just random remotes that go to old dvrs or anything really. Just hide them around their house, they only recently caught on.
If I know someone is walking a little ways behind me and I turn a corner with nobody else around I like to run 10-20 steps to widen the gap and then laugh to myself thinking that the person behind me will be confused.
I doubt anyone ever notices but I get a kick out of it every time.
At work: give them a "While You Were Out" note saying a "Mr. Fox" called for them and write on the note the number for your local zoo.
I was talking with a supervisor and I happened to have like 4 hard boiled eggs in my jacket pocket for lunch. So while talking with stuff, I took out an egg, cracked and shelled it and ate it. The conversation kept going so I did it again but I could see he was growing quizzical. I waited a few more minutes, pulled out another and ate that too. By then I could tell he was like WTF. The conversation was wrapping up so I pulled the last one out and he stopped mid conversation and asked me, “how many f$cking eggs do you have?”
I just shrugged, shelled, and then ate, the last egg.
Reassure people there's nothing wrong with the item they are about to use.
Right before they sit down: "there's nothing wrong with that chair"
When driving I like to wave at random people as if I knew them. Hilarious to see instant confusion on their faces
When my husband pours his coffee into his mug and turns around to get milk out of the refrigerator, I pour his coffee back into the coffee pot or into my mug. I cackle as I run out of the room.
A lady in my office wouldn’t stop talking about gas lighting and people who were gaslighting. So we told her it was actually called “gaslamping” and she has the term wrong. Took a bit of convincing but she started using that term and telling everyone else they were wrong too. A week later we changed it back to gaslighting.
Our neighbour has chickens. About once a week or so we would sneak over and put extra eggs in the lay box, so it looked like the chickens had been on a laying spree. So fun chatting with them, trying to work out why sometimes the chickens were super producers and sometimes not. It ended when we put a chocolate egg in there, they worked it out then 😄😄
Say "I don't want to sound racist, but" and then say something completely positive yet irrelevant.
"I don't want to sound racist, but the sun looks lovely on those flowers".
Look at their forehead, ear, or chin during the entire conversation.
Call in sick to a place you don't work.
At the deli, ask for the most human tasting meat they have.
Go to the grocery store and ask for Gomber. "You know, it's kind of red, and you put it on mayo sandwiches."
Ask if they like your perfume and get them to smell your neck, wrist, ankle, or other body part. Don't actually be wearing any perfume.
If two neighbors have opposite political signs during an election, swap them
The movie theater in my town is usually mostly empty. There's been a couple of times when I've come in to get seated and there's literally only one other person in my auditorium.
There's an evil part of me that wants to just go sit right next to them. Not illegal, but it should be.
Sooo.. if you're a guy, and the person is a female.. this would just be creepy and intimidating
Some guy on Quora had this genius idea. Grab a highlighter, and randomly highlight one name on a public list (attendance, lunch money, extracurricular classes, whatever). You won't get to see it, but some poor fellow will silently lose their mind trying to figure out why their name is highlighted.
For people who like to take up two parking spaces, leave a note that says "Sorry, but you can barely see it"
You're not just pranking, you're doing the Lord's work.
Load More Replies...I did one at my workplace, someone had brought in a big tub of Celebrations chocolates. Once the tub was empty, I stuck a post-it note on it that read: "Do not open unless you are willing to kill it". The tub just sat there for about a month, no-one would go near it.
This would drive me nuts. I would be caught between wanting to open it and kill it, or watching how long people would avoid it. I'm the office superhero for trap and release or killing various critters.
Load More Replies...I loathe practical jokes, because most of the time they are humiliating and mean spirited. These are what practical jokes should be. The chicken one is particularly hilarious 😂
Agree, there were still some on this list that I found a bit mean, but the really harmless ones made me smile
Load More Replies...My dog managed to chew the face off of one of his stuffed toys in such a way that the face is perfectly intact, just separated from the stuffy. My son is a bit grossed out by this bodiless face, as it has been liberally bathed in dog slobber and sketchy mouth odor. Naturally, it has found it's way into his backpack, hoodie pocket, sock drawer, and car gear shift. 😂
I changed “carpark” in the autocorrect in my wife’s phone to “gin bar”. Like when she’s coming home from work and she tries to text “Just walking to the carpark” She doesn’t know how to fix it. It drives her crazy, but still always laughs.
I was at the local Walmart waiting for a curmudgeon to decide what kind of soup he wanted. The supply was limited and he was none-too-happy about it. Kept mumbling and grumbling and may have even cursed under his breath. His phone rang and as he pulled it from his pocket I said "if that's for me I'm not here." He walked down the aisle and said to the caller, "no. I haven't seen him." I guess he wasn't quite as crabby as I thought.
Forest animals should never invite hunters into the forest, hunters must enter the forest within their own capacity!
My ask time favorite is when some person you know but not THAT well asks you "how are you" and you answer "better". They will feel suddenly so guilty about not knowing what happened to you.
Find an empty mayo jar. Fill it with vanilla pudding. Take a spoon. Go to some public place, find a bench, sit down and start eating...
I wanted to do this but use scooby snack cookies that look like dog treats.
Load More Replies...I had this little device (about the size of two stacked quarters) that made sounds - including a creaking door opening, a little child giggling, fast footsteps, and my favorite: a voice whispering, "hey, can you hear me?" you could set it to go off at multiple different intervals, and adjust the volume... It was attached to a magnet. I loved to put it in the ceiling airvent in the management office especially - a nice prank especially for the overnight manager (who was always alone). You could set it faintly enough that it usually couldn't be heard when multiple managers were in there working together and during the bustle of daytime business activity... But at nighttime, when you're all alone and it's nice and quiet... Gold!
At my school there was a teacher with a nervous tic, who kept shaking his head. Not funny during an oral exam.
Load More Replies...I remember once a colleague gave another colleague a note saying that someone had called and asked to speak to him and could he call him back. The person who had "called" was a Mr Chris Packet and when he called the number he got through to Walkers Crisps. He asked to speak to Chris Packet about four times before it dawned on him.
My mother's students did something similar. They snuck a note into her desk saying that Ms Poe's parents had called and asked to set up a meeting, leaving the number for the Edgar Allen Poe Museum.
Load More Replies...There was a guy at my old job that had an expensive car. It was his baby. Always talking about how his car had all these special ordered parts and how sad everyone else’s cars were compared to his. One of my coworkers put this guy’s car in the Uncle Henry’s for $400.00 or best offer with the guy’s phone number. The Ad said call anytime day or night. Guy started getting a TON of calls at all hours and was completely confused and angry. Ended up changing his phone number.
My husband would tell random strangers that they dropped something. When they'd look down, he'd proceed to say "by your other foot," "behind you," and/or "It's right there." Watching them spin and lift their feet are until they realize it's a prank. Children are the best to pull this on because they often become frustrated that they can't find it.
I put my phone in a break room locker with an alarm set to go off during the pre-shift meeting for the opposite shift.
When I was a teenager, I went to a roller rink Saturday nights. When I saw someone being a little shaky on their skates, I would glide up to them, and say, "You know, the Finigan Pin on your left skate is loose." The person would go sit down, and I would see them fiddling with their skate. When I passed them on the rink, I would tell them, "ah, you fixed it, that will help". They could blame their awkward skating on the fictional Pin.
funny this thing about harmless ways to mess with people on a website that will ban you because a few assholes don't like your comment. that's not very harmless
Find a really long zip tie and wrap it around a coworker's drive shaft. The zip tie will make a crazy noise and make them think there's something wrong with their car. You could also spill some Mtn Dew in front of their car and they'll think they have a coolant leak.
These are not harmless. They could cost the person a lot of money.
Load More Replies...For people who like to take up two parking spaces, leave a note that says "Sorry, but you can barely see it"
You're not just pranking, you're doing the Lord's work.
Load More Replies...I did one at my workplace, someone had brought in a big tub of Celebrations chocolates. Once the tub was empty, I stuck a post-it note on it that read: "Do not open unless you are willing to kill it". The tub just sat there for about a month, no-one would go near it.
This would drive me nuts. I would be caught between wanting to open it and kill it, or watching how long people would avoid it. I'm the office superhero for trap and release or killing various critters.
Load More Replies...I loathe practical jokes, because most of the time they are humiliating and mean spirited. These are what practical jokes should be. The chicken one is particularly hilarious 😂
Agree, there were still some on this list that I found a bit mean, but the really harmless ones made me smile
Load More Replies...My dog managed to chew the face off of one of his stuffed toys in such a way that the face is perfectly intact, just separated from the stuffy. My son is a bit grossed out by this bodiless face, as it has been liberally bathed in dog slobber and sketchy mouth odor. Naturally, it has found it's way into his backpack, hoodie pocket, sock drawer, and car gear shift. 😂
I changed “carpark” in the autocorrect in my wife’s phone to “gin bar”. Like when she’s coming home from work and she tries to text “Just walking to the carpark” She doesn’t know how to fix it. It drives her crazy, but still always laughs.
I was at the local Walmart waiting for a curmudgeon to decide what kind of soup he wanted. The supply was limited and he was none-too-happy about it. Kept mumbling and grumbling and may have even cursed under his breath. His phone rang and as he pulled it from his pocket I said "if that's for me I'm not here." He walked down the aisle and said to the caller, "no. I haven't seen him." I guess he wasn't quite as crabby as I thought.
Forest animals should never invite hunters into the forest, hunters must enter the forest within their own capacity!
My ask time favorite is when some person you know but not THAT well asks you "how are you" and you answer "better". They will feel suddenly so guilty about not knowing what happened to you.
Find an empty mayo jar. Fill it with vanilla pudding. Take a spoon. Go to some public place, find a bench, sit down and start eating...
I wanted to do this but use scooby snack cookies that look like dog treats.
Load More Replies...I had this little device (about the size of two stacked quarters) that made sounds - including a creaking door opening, a little child giggling, fast footsteps, and my favorite: a voice whispering, "hey, can you hear me?" you could set it to go off at multiple different intervals, and adjust the volume... It was attached to a magnet. I loved to put it in the ceiling airvent in the management office especially - a nice prank especially for the overnight manager (who was always alone). You could set it faintly enough that it usually couldn't be heard when multiple managers were in there working together and during the bustle of daytime business activity... But at nighttime, when you're all alone and it's nice and quiet... Gold!
At my school there was a teacher with a nervous tic, who kept shaking his head. Not funny during an oral exam.
Load More Replies...I remember once a colleague gave another colleague a note saying that someone had called and asked to speak to him and could he call him back. The person who had "called" was a Mr Chris Packet and when he called the number he got through to Walkers Crisps. He asked to speak to Chris Packet about four times before it dawned on him.
My mother's students did something similar. They snuck a note into her desk saying that Ms Poe's parents had called and asked to set up a meeting, leaving the number for the Edgar Allen Poe Museum.
Load More Replies...There was a guy at my old job that had an expensive car. It was his baby. Always talking about how his car had all these special ordered parts and how sad everyone else’s cars were compared to his. One of my coworkers put this guy’s car in the Uncle Henry’s for $400.00 or best offer with the guy’s phone number. The Ad said call anytime day or night. Guy started getting a TON of calls at all hours and was completely confused and angry. Ended up changing his phone number.
My husband would tell random strangers that they dropped something. When they'd look down, he'd proceed to say "by your other foot," "behind you," and/or "It's right there." Watching them spin and lift their feet are until they realize it's a prank. Children are the best to pull this on because they often become frustrated that they can't find it.
I put my phone in a break room locker with an alarm set to go off during the pre-shift meeting for the opposite shift.
When I was a teenager, I went to a roller rink Saturday nights. When I saw someone being a little shaky on their skates, I would glide up to them, and say, "You know, the Finigan Pin on your left skate is loose." The person would go sit down, and I would see them fiddling with their skate. When I passed them on the rink, I would tell them, "ah, you fixed it, that will help". They could blame their awkward skating on the fictional Pin.
funny this thing about harmless ways to mess with people on a website that will ban you because a few assholes don't like your comment. that's not very harmless
Find a really long zip tie and wrap it around a coworker's drive shaft. The zip tie will make a crazy noise and make them think there's something wrong with their car. You could also spill some Mtn Dew in front of their car and they'll think they have a coolant leak.
These are not harmless. They could cost the person a lot of money.
Load More Replies...