Comments on: Seven College Pranks

By: Frank Schiffel

Frank Schiffel — Mon, 28 Sep 2009 16:05:48 +0000

I don't remember any great pranks when I was at the University of Texas, though while living in Jester, we did get some slides of ants (yes the little things that walk on the ground) and project them on the side of the dorm from our window. Had a nice slide show going for an hour or so one night.

There was the usual bit about putting dorm furniture in the elevator (we had a poker game in one during finals). Some guys would put chairs on top of the elevator for a ride. Not recommended. Though it was interesting to talk to the drunks when they got back from pub crawls. (I was in the elevator last night and talked to God...nobody was there...)

Besides the soap in the University fountains (interspersed with food coloring) it was pretty tame.
Though there was a marijuana plot (one plant) dedicated to the Board of Regents with a little paper sign.

I did hear from a student at the United States Air Force Junior College (what you called the AF Academy if you didn't graduate) that they moved the F-104 that was on their quad a few times. First time it was done, the AF in its wisdom brought in a crane, lots of engineers and put it back. After the second and third time the super finally declared and amnesty if they would show how it was done. Now the AF spent days moving it and this prank was done overnight. About 50 cadets looked at each other, shrugged, and marched over to the airplane, lifted it up, tilted the wings and got it through the barricade.

And like legions of students, pulled one over the administration.

College: an institution of higher learning where you learn to shoot tennis balls out of coke cans with lighter fluid. Fill soda machines with beer.

By: hanyujoys

hanyujoys — Tue, 22 Sep 2009 09:26:30 +0000

Support of the Lou Zhu, Lou Zhu worked hard
Signature------------------------------------------------------------- -------------------------------------------------------
Nothing is impossible for a willing heart.
ugg classic cardy

By: april5k

april5k — Wed, 19 Aug 2009 20:36:13 +0000

i'm stoked the rice prank was included.

By: Jenny smith

Jenny smith — Tue, 18 Aug 2009 22:44:11 +0000

Wish i had gone to school with some of you lot, looks like fun. Mine was rubbish no pranks, but im in the uk baby cot bed

By: Pumpkin Eater

Pumpkin Eater — Tue, 18 Aug 2009 04:07:10 +0000

I am amazed this one hasn't gotten a mention yet. In 1997, a large pumpkin was placed atop Cornell's McGraw Tower. It's a very tall tower.

http://www.news.cornell.edu/stories/Oct07/pumpkin.anniversary.html

By: Zee_X

Zee_X — Mon, 17 Aug 2009 05:46:57 +0000

not too clever but fun anyways.....while we were freshmen in college, we went around the entire campus for an hour telling every senior we could find that the dean was looking for them.....it was long time before they caught on.....but the line in front of the dean's office was awsome....

By: goedkope autoverzekering

goedkope autoverzekering — Sat, 15 Aug 2009 16:55:04 +0000

Great great thank you..

By: doorlopend krediet

doorlopend krediet — Sat, 15 Aug 2009 16:53:25 +0000

Again, great article.

By: Bill Duncan

Bill Duncan — Sun, 09 Aug 2009 13:41:27 +0000

Small scale, but still clever ... a few years ago, the Senior Prank at our local high school involved releasing 3 live chickens in the school ... and telling everyone that 4 had been released.

By: JustOneKalpa

JustOneKalpa — Fri, 07 Aug 2009 06:06:43 +0000

My dad and his buddies allegedly disassembled the Chem Prof's Model A over spring break back in the early 40's and reassembled it in his second floor classroom. I will never be as cool as him.

By: adventurelearning

adventurelearning — Thu, 06 Aug 2009 13:52:44 +0000

Every time I come here.. I always found a great and unique post..

By: Hypotheek

Hypotheek — Sun, 26 Jul 2009 09:10:27 +0000

That rooftop-ride is original i must say.

By: Hypotheekrente

Hypotheekrente — Sun, 26 Jul 2009 09:09:33 +0000

Nice collection

By: geld lenen

geld lenen — Sun, 26 Jul 2009 09:08:52 +0000

I like that picture with the fish

By: Tom Galloway

Tom Galloway — Wed, 22 Jul 2009 08:20:35 +0000

Re the "We Suck" hack: You missed the intermediate step between Caltech's placard hack and Yale's. At the 1982 Harvard-Yale game, a group of MITers disguised as Harvard students passed out placards to the Harvard sections telling them it'd spell "Beat Yale" when they actually spelled "MIT". We didn't get as much notice as we might have due to two factors; 1) that was also the year the DKEs did the infamous "weather balloon with MIT written all over it inflating from a device buried under the field during the second quarter" hack which got the majority of coverage and 2) our rewiring of the sound system for a full halftime show failed (oddly enough, we later learned several other groups also tried to rewire it, and likely the various rewirings managed to cancel each other out). Still the Harvard folk spontaneously held up the placards whenever Harvard scored..and they scored a lot that game. After I heard about the "We Suck", I emailed the organizers and asked if they'd heard about our 1982 version. Got a back a reply that they had, and that it'd been a good thing that they had. Because of that knowledge, they went to extra effort to counterfeit Harvard ids to show dubious alumni, a fair number of whom were still paranoid about people claiming to be Harvard students handing them placards 20+ years later due to our hack.

By: Reading is good

Reading is good — Fri, 17 Jul 2009 16:36:45 +0000

If you're going to tell your readers to read an article, you should at least read it yourself first.
The prank that Cal Tech pulled at the Rose Bowl with the Cal Tech sign was in a game that was Minnesota vs. Washington. They didn't hand out the signs, the broke into a hotel room, and changed all the instructions for the signs that the Washington cheerleaders were already going to hand out. That way, the Washington cheerleaders started their routine, and everything went well for the first 11 images, and then the Cal Tech prank took effect.
It looks like you tried to do research, but didn't actually read the information you found.

By: A2veeness

A2veeness — Fri, 17 Jul 2009 10:04:37 +0000

See what some witty law students did this year at the University of Michigan Law School Library!

http://www.law.umich.edu/highlights/Documents/sharks.html

By: Synth

Synth — Fri, 17 Jul 2009 04:49:11 +0000

My school is all about pranks at the end of every year. The graduating class always finds something to pull that doesn't make the teachers life seem so much worse, and have little to nothing to clean up. But is always a blast!

By: Television Spy

Television Spy — Fri, 17 Jul 2009 04:45:06 +0000

some clever pranks that sometimes get out of hand.

By: JakesDad

JakesDad — Fri, 17 Jul 2009 04:01:56 +0000

What about Caltech changing the world-famous Hollywood sign to say Caltech? One of the students involved got a call from his mom in Scottland only hours after it was unveiled! That's how famous it was!
http://good-times.webshots.com/photo/1339006806053271124rijELG

By: Anon123

Anon123 — Fri, 17 Jul 2009 03:20:56 +0000

spelling error -- strata center should be stata

By: Alex

Alex — Fri, 17 Jul 2009 00:11:20 +0000

Oh, the last one ... BURN!

By: dbsmall

dbsmall — Thu, 16 Jul 2009 18:12:19 +0000

What about Harvey Mudd appropriating the Caltech Cannon from in front of Fleming Hall, in broad daylight? (with CalTech failing to do the proper load studies in getting it back)

What about MIT's subsequent "re-stealing" of the cannon, and transportation across the country, without being caught?

By: davesdsds

davesdsds — Thu, 16 Jul 2009 15:45:06 +0000

http://www.cbc.ca/canada/story/2001/02/05/bridgebug_010205.html

check this one out

By: davesdsds

davesdsds — Thu, 16 Jul 2009 15:44:43 +0000

check this one out

By: LisaL

LisaL — Thu, 16 Jul 2009 13:45:50 +0000

Oh that last one is just mean

By: stephen

stephen — Thu, 16 Jul 2009 08:20:26 +0000

Sydney University - late sixties or early seventies. Roadworks near campus. Phone call to local Police station. " A bunch of students disguised as workers are digging up the road " Someone tips off the roadworkers, telling them " A group of students disguised as police are coming down here to cause trouble " Sit back and enjoy mayhem. Probably apocryphal but funny.