NY Post Special Global Warming Edition (courtesy of The Yes Men). Thousands of hard copies hit the streets of New York at the crack of dawn.
posted by hellbient on Sep 21, 2009 - 33 comments

The Smoking Gun turns the table on a group of pranksters allegedly responsible for terrorizing strangers over the phone: Outing An Online Outlaw describes how the group leader used skype, an unprotected wifi connection and his mothers bedroom to engage in what TSG calls "an orgy of criminal activity."
posted by krautland on Aug 4, 2009 - 65 comments

So you're a minor-league pitcher in the Blue Jays system, not an exceptionally good one - a non prospect. So what do you do? You blog about a great prank you played on a teammate.
posted by Deep Dish on Dec 18, 2008 - 24 comments

When Man on Wire won a Grand Jury Prize: at Sundance this year, many could hazily remember Philippe Petit's high-wire walk between the World Trade Center Towers in New York in 1974 (previously) but few knew the extent to which the entire endeavor was a wacky multinational caper. [more inside]
posted by jessamyn on Oct 11, 2008 - 32 comments

Hey Meta,

Just saw a news report that you were on. Cool! Here is the link.

Best,

gnfti
posted by goodnewsfortheinsane on Jul 11, 2008 - 62 comments

A few days ago a post appeared on the Something Awful forums noting a curious website called Notes to Mary. The notes are a series of threatening letters from a high schooler named Robert to his crush, Mary. The goons figured out pretty quickly that they had an ARG on their hands and went to work on solving the puzzle. Several other forums picked up on the game. Robert began interacting with players, sending them strange messages and several series of numbers that appeared to be some sort of code. A Flickr pool was started. Players even created an IRC channel to swap clues and information in real time. The Notes to Mary site offered a link to a login. All effort was made to crack the user/pass combo. Finally, several days after the game began, users were finally able to log in. The game was solved. The players would be rewarded for their hard work. Where did the login lead? Here. [more inside]
posted by lysistrata on Jun 25, 2008 - 35 comments

Need a ghost? Here's an easy 'how-to' make one yourself... [more inside]
posted by pearlybob on May 26, 2008 - 22 comments

In the late '90s, pop-culture historian Bill Geerhart had a little too much time on his hands and a surfeit of stamps. So, for his own entertainment, the then-unemployed thirtysomething launched a letter-writing campaign to some of the most powerful and infamous figures in the country, posing as a curious 10-year-old named Billy.
posted by snsranch on Apr 29, 2008 - 21 comments

In 2003, Jordan Morris was bored. So, he did what any normal college graduate would do to entertain himself -- he made up a complicated and absurd story in order to prank a prank show, MTV's Burned. Particularly enjoyable: Jordan's absurd flopping about when the "burn" is "revealed." Jordan Morris is the co-host of Jordan, Jesse, GO! and friend-of-MetaFilter The Sound of Young America (previously here, and elsewhere.)
posted by Fuzzy Skinner on Apr 10, 2008 - 72 comments

Something about the library inspires one to jump.
posted by phrontist on Apr 1, 2008 - 33 comments

A glass bong filled with a corked '82 Petrus. Most exclusive restaurant in Chicago, or best April Fool's prank ever? I have reservations!
posted by timsteil on Mar 29, 2008 - 32 comments

Can I Get a Napkin Here? A food court musical brought to us by the fine folks of Improv Everywhere . For more musicals in public places, check out "Reach! A Lecture Musical!" and "Reading on a Dream: A Library Musical" both from Prangstgrup.
posted by Del Far on Mar 10, 2008 - 44 comments

Retro Sabotage is a collection of recreations of classic video games. Or is it? [more inside]
posted by JHarris on Feb 23, 2008 - 20 comments

Darko Maver: In 1999, An artist is killed in his prison cell in Podgorica.

Early works. Writings. Culminating exhibit. His arrest. His death. [more inside]
posted by klangklangston on Jan 17, 2008 - 13 comments

The Overdub Tampering Comittee Manifesto. What if there was a network of musicians who got a hold of albums right as they leaked, added subtle yet very much additional overdubs all over the album, and then re-leaked it to the internet? ... We set out to make that specific bewildering, annoyance a possibility. [more inside]
posted by whir on Jan 12, 2008 - 42 comments

Back in 2005, I (a trophy) was awarded to a team I didn't think deserved me. So I set out across the world in search of owners. Over the course of two years, said trophy visited throughout the US, Canada, Europe, Australia, and New Zealand, including celebrity visits with Phyllis from The Office and Shawn Marion of the NBA's Phoenix Suns. An exercise in dedicated pranksterdom.
posted by andifsohow on Dec 19, 2007 - 22 comments

If you're looking for a good prank this holiday season, why not have someone living in Europe send cryptic, bizarre postcards to your friends. Bidding has commenced.
posted by zardoz on Dec 18, 2007 - 29 comments

From Dubai: Go around twice if you’re happy (YT): Vincent Fichard and Matthew Jones put up fake construction signs around town to test the response of passing motorists
posted by growabrain on Nov 13, 2007 - 37 comments

You wake up in the morning and step outside for a breath of fresh air. Groggy and coffee-less, it takes you a moment to notice that your yard has been invaded by lawn gnomes. Don't be a victim. Conversely, become a part of the problem. Missing a loved one? [more inside]
posted by baphomet on Nov 3, 2007 - 17 comments

Mirror prank. (YouTube, SFW)
posted by loquacious on Oct 16, 2007 - 43 comments

The man got lit up early. Culprit out on bail. LOLCATS on the case.
posted by jcruelty on Aug 29, 2007 - 137 comments

Streeter and Amir work for CollegeHumor. One day, Streeter decides to pull an little prank on Amir. Amir then pranks back. Streeter retaliates. Amir dito. And now, in the fifth battle of the Prank War, Amir gets owned big time. To be continued ...
posted by Foci for Analysis on May 13, 2007 - 51 comments

On Sunday, April 1, ThinkGeek.com jokingly introduced the 8-bit Tie, and due to customer demand, claims that now it'll be a real product. On Friday, April 13, apparently due to customer demand, hard drive manufacturer WiebeTech has now introduced the MouseJiggler, and claims it's not a joke.
posted by Fofer on Apr 14, 2007 - 28 comments

Hacking The Superbowl. John Hargrave spends $40,000 for an elaborate Superbowl prank -- duping the feds, cops, and stadium security in order to pass out thousands of lights to fans, who were told they would spell out "Prince" during the halftime show. Instead, they spell out, uh... well, something. Just what they spell is unclear (though some are having fun "guessing") and Hargrave hasn't said yet (his write-up is up to part 5, hopefully of 6). Can you tell? And was it worth the effort, or is this just an expensive dud?
posted by notmydesk on Feb 14, 2007 - 71 comments

Speak n Spell your way into remote control of a Vista box.
posted by Blazecock Pileon on Feb 1, 2007 - 24 comments

The President's call for a troop surge in Iraq will likely be a headache for military recruiters, who have already had to relax standards to (barely) meet their quotas. But just how desperate are they for warm bodies? Radar prank called recruiting stations around the country disguised as a veritable Breakfast Club of misfit would-be soldiers, all dramatically unqualified or unattractive for service in some way. The resulting transcripts are hysterically funny (the writer poses as a flamboyantly gay man, a mama's boy, a martial arts freak, a junkie, an IBS sufferer and a lobotomy patient). The recruiters turn out not to be quite as sleazy as you might imagine, but the conversations are priceless.
posted by P-Soque on Jan 30, 2007 - 30 comments

Support FONACON in their protest against the year 2007.
posted by goodnewsfortheinsane on Dec 30, 2006 - 17 comments

How to mess with a telemarketer. (audio)
posted by Wet Spot on Oct 12, 2006 - 124 comments

This was bound to happen.
posted by allkindsoftime on Aug 22, 2006 - 38 comments

Payback is a B**** Someone played one too many practical jokes and/or pranks on some IT guys who had too much time on their hands. Impressive results ensue.
posted by FlamingBore on Aug 8, 2006 - 52 comments

REST IN PEACE: EmoKid21Ohio & Emogirl Good riddance! LONG LIVE THE QUEEN!
posted by loquacious on Apr 28, 2006 - 51 comments

LOOK AT ME BEING SERIOUS (nsfw: language, video)
posted by loquacious on Apr 21, 2006 - 48 comments

Howe & Ser Moving Company has completed its latest job: moving a Spanish-American War cannon from the pits of Pasadena, CA to sunny Cambridge, MA. The cannon arrived with one addition: a giant Brass Rat, the Massachusetts Institute of Technology class ring. In the past, the cannon graced the front yard of Caltech and took a brief vacation to Harvey Mudd College.
Last year, students from Caltech attempted to start a hacking war with MIT, with little response. This small delivery has drastically changed the score. More pictures.
posted by breath on Apr 6, 2006 - 37 comments

Michael Jackson's Credit Card. In which a band of pranksters manage to successfully imitate the King of Pop for one night.
posted by Joey Michaels on Apr 4, 2006 - 22 comments

Have you ever wondered why we don't harvest milk from pigs? Or why the Amoco Corporation is always leaving all the lights on in their building in such an energy-inefficient fashion? What the hell is the Grimace anyway? What does Ruth Bader Ginsburg think of the legal problem of Siamese twins, when one is retarded and the other commits a felony? What are the qualifications of the buzzer-pressing "judge" on "$100,000 Pyramid"? Can you crash on the Sultan of Brunei's sofa when you're in town? For many years, Guy Petzall attempted to get answers to questions like these. Sometimes he succeeded.
posted by Gator on Apr 1, 2006 - 43 comments

Must-haves for your coffee table, lavatory reading, or just killing time on the subway: The Nutritional Benefits of Nose Picking; Perfecting the Art of Fart Projection (NEVER be blamed again!); How to Murder a Complete Stranger (and get away with it) [paging scarabic]. These and other eyebrow-raising books can be yours, assuming you already have a book that you can put these dustjackets on. FlapArt: The Alternative Book Cover.
posted by Gator on Mar 17, 2006 - 17 comments

An act of civil obedience. Kids with cameras drive the speed limit en masse, thereby blocking traffic and raising questions not only about the difference between de facto and de jure speed limits, but also about how incredibly pissed I'd be had I been behind them. [via]
posted by Sticherbeast on Mar 1, 2006 - 155 comments

What makes a prank great ? The Economist (of all places) is looking for the finest prank in history. I'd be happy just to hear your finest. "For the most impressively elaborate pranks, however, go to a university campus. Take thousands of bright young things with too much time on their hands, itching to achieve, amuse and misbehave, and splendid acts of delinquency will follow." See also: Shenanigans
posted by spock on Jan 8, 2006 - 53 comments

A student has been charged with felony for posting a link to his school's web site and telling others to hit the F5 button to refresh and crash it. Irony ensues as Fark, Digg, and Slashdot crash the high school's web site by linking to it. A news video with more information here.
posted by banished on Jan 6, 2006 - 67 comments

Why you yellow rat bastard...When I get ahold of you, I’ll put two zigs on both cheeks. You’ll remember me for the rest of your.... I know you! Don't worry! Louis 'Red' Deutsch spouted perhaps the filthiest, yet most eloquent cursing you may ever hear. I got an underground tape of the prank phone calls from a buddy of mine back in high school. Certainly it's influenced everyone from Matt Groening to the Jerky Boys. The prank calls to Red have even had a (lousy) movie feature (with perhaps the best casting I've ever seen). More than 25 years later I still laugh my head off at even the cadence of Red's profanity.
posted by Smedleyman on Oct 2, 2005 - 16 comments

Send a Spam-a-Gram to a lucky corporate whore! Tired of receiving mounds of unsolicited letters and offers in the mail? Want to fight back? Want to get rid of that old tire in your garage that the garbage man won't take? Then read on...
posted by Mr Bluesky on Sep 24, 2005 - 28 comments

The robot comes calling... When web services attack! NotifyPhoneBasic will call any phone number in the US/Canada and read your message to that phone number. You can even set the caller id information.
posted by ph00dz on Sep 13, 2005 - 45 comments

The scammer gets scammed in this tale of an ebay auction gone hilarious as well as many other fine pranks. Favorites include the credit card prank and the Chinese tattoo prank. What is also hilarious is when the Nigerian E-mail Scammers target Pro Poker Player Paul Phillips, and get schooled themselves.
posted by Mroz on Aug 23, 2005 - 51 comments

Testing the limits of credit card receipt signatures. Are there any?
posted by DBAPaul on Jan 14, 2005 - 62 comments

The Torture Tape Experiment Create for combat purposes a tape so wretched and foul that anyone who listens to it for 24 hours will never be able to think straight again. Warning: dangerous MP3 files contained within.
posted by boost ventilator on Jan 9, 2005 - 62 comments

Letters to a new employee I think it's so nice that the President and CEO of Starbucks International would send a welcome letter[s] to such an unimportant person. Don't you?
posted by johnj on Dec 28, 2004 - 28 comments

Drunk Jenga.
posted by fungible on Dec 15, 2004 - 26 comments

RoboDump I need one of these for my workplace
posted by meowchow on Nov 25, 2004 - 12 comments

Robo-Dump A device which simulates that guy over in the Sales cubes who usually doesn't drink coffee but had 3 cups over lunch.
posted by scarabic on Nov 14, 2004 - 14 comments

Finally, an Internet "really short quiz with astonishing results" that is 100% accurate.
posted by Shane on Mar 16, 2004 - 32 comments