Office Prank Ideas
Brought to you by the readers of ZUG.
Contributed by ZUG reader Vermin:
One of my co-workers had one of those pin-art things, you know, where you press your face into one side, and it makes a 3-D pin-impression out the other? Well, first we acquired the most realistic-looking rubber penis we could find. Then at every opportunity, one of us would sneak the pin-art off the wall of this co-worker's cubicle, then press the rubber penis into it, making an obscene impression for all to see. Since only 4-5 people knew the truth, crowds would gather around his cubicle, arguing whether or not the impression was made by an actual penis, and who it might belong to. To this day, he still does not know whose penis it was.
Contributed by ZUG reader Tobbar:
Over the month of December I conducted the BERTIE BOTZ BEANS prank. Geeks among us might recall "Bertie Botz Every-Flavor Beans" from the HARRY POTTER movies. The Jelly Belly Company, being clever and greedy, have come out with Harry Potter-licensed "Every Flavor Beans" that include such classics as dirt, booger, vomit, grass, and (most disgusting of all) sardine. The prank itself is simple. Most offices have somebody with a jelly bean jar. Simply add in the Bertie Botz beans when nobody's looking. The reactions in my office ranged from cries of outright disgust, to grunts of surprise followed by more aggressive chewing. Overall, however, jelly bean consumption was not impacted by my prank. Most office workers love their free candy, no matter how bad it tastes.
Contributed by ZUG reader blandysnorhal:
If you work in an office or computer lab with a shared printer, print out a few copies of this graphic. Then put it back into the printer's blank paper tray (i.e., the tray where you load the paper). You'll know the prank has worked when you either see or hear someone discovering their work has been "sharked." Their nuisance = your laughs.
Contributed by ZUG reader Asan102:
Change one of their commonly-used browser bookmarks to this page.
Contributed by John Hargrave:
Most people keep a framed photo of a loved one or cherished pet on their desks. Cut out a random picture from a magazine or catalog (say, a woman wearing a bikini, or an ad for computer network hubs), open up the frame, and put the random photo in front of the real photo.
Contributed by ZUG reader Mythology:
Pry open the keyboard of a co-worker, and remove the rubber punching pad. The computer will still see the keyboard, but nothing will happen when your prankee punches the keys.
Contributed by ZUG reader Werehamster:
Take a paperclip and make a a few dozen photocopies of it. Mix them up with normal, unused paper. Watch people go crazy trying to find the paperclip that's stuck in the photocopier.
Contributed by John Hargrave:
I've always found it fun to redo the obnoxious little signs that people print out and hang around the office. At my previous workplace, for instance, there was a sign that read "This bin for recycling paper ONLY: reports, faxes, printouts." One day I changed it to read "This bin for recycling paper ONLY, fucknuts: reports, faxes, printouts." Then I waited to see how long it took for someone to discover it (about three days). If you're going to do this kind of stunt, it's important to match the look of the old sign exactly: copy the font style, size, spacing, etc.
Contributed by ritty:
Go to the Windows Control Panel and double-click "Mouse." Switch the right mouse button so that it's activated by the left mouse button, and vice-versa. For even more fun, make the mouse go as slowly as you can, then laugh as it takes them forever to switch it back.
Contributed by John Hargrave:
Everyone knows the old trick of hanging everything on a co-worker's bulletin board upside-down. You can also switch everything on the bulletin boards of two co-workers (making sure to keep placement exactly the same). Another trick is to photocopy everything on a co-worker's bulletin board, but put colored paper in the copier, so they arrive to find their bulletin board exactly the same, but a different color.
Contributed by Petertje:
Our digital photocopier has an option to make a "mirrored copy." Set that option and leave the photocopier for the next user. Some people check their copies right away, some wait until they sit down at their desk again, and some will just mail the backwards image without checking.
Contributed by John Hargrave:
We've all heard the story of the M.I.T. students that took a professor out to lunch, then plastered and painted over the door to his office -- so that when he returned, his office had simply been removed from the corridor. That's too much work for most people to do during office hours, but here's a simpler way of keeping people out of their offices: just hang a large sign that reads "ASBESTOS REMOVAL: KEEP OUT!" Make it look official, with some random letters in the bottom corner, and the current date. If you can make an X with masking tape across the door, all the better. No one is going to mess with the masking tape X.
Contributed by ZUG reader Marko:
A subtle little thing. If you have two computers in close proximity, switch all the cords between the two. Then turn both on. Imagine the fun when someone puts in a CD and can't access his files, while the woman in the next cube suddenly sees "John's Nude Pixx" in her D: drive.
Contributed by ZUG reader wfitz78:
Switch the coffee from caffeinated to decaf. After everyone has gotten over their caffeine withdrawals, switch the coffee again, but use a coffee that is shockingly high in caffeine.
Contributed by ZUG reader nlilley:
I used to use sit and chat in my co-worker's office, and one day, I idly picked up his cellphone. I began playing with the alarm, and set it for 3:45 a.m. That was funny enough, but I also switched the language on the screen to Portuguese, thinking he'd see it on the way home and have a hell of a time reprogramming it. Imagine the laugh I got when I heard he never noticed the change, until the alarm went off in the dead of night.
Contributed by ZUG reader kennethg:
We take papers from the recycling bin and put them in our manager's desk file drawer. Drives him nuts trying to figure out why he saved those papers.
Contributed by ZUG reader prolex:
This prank will require a few accomplices. Pick the most gullible and hopefully vocal person in your office. Bring in some home automation electronics (you can get these off the Web, or at your local Radio Shack), and wire up the victim's office. We wired up my co-worker's office so that I could turn her oscillating fan and her giant desk calculator on or off from anywhere in the building using a remote control. Accomplice #1 is a disbeliever. Every time accomplice #1 leaves the victim's office, things start turning on and off, but never when the accomplice is in the office. Accomplice #2 is a believer. When the victim admits stranges things have been happening, #2 will tell the victim that he/she has noticed strange things in his/her office too. Accomplice #3 is hopefully the victim's boss. Anytime accomplice #3 hears the victim talking about strange things happening, or sees accomplices 1 or 2 in the victim's office, he/she tells them to quit talking about this nonsense and get back to work, getting angrier each time. See how long this will work for you. My victim fell for it for three weeks, until everyone in the building knew her office was "haunted."
Contributed by ZUG reader FlipperOnAPlate:
This is a classic prank that works best in an office setting. All you need to do is go to your local grocery store, and buy a LARGE amount of gelatin (not Jell-O, just clear disgusting-tasting gelatin). Go to your bathroom at work -- this works best with the men's urinal/stall combo bathroom -- and put it in the toilets. You'll need to use 3-4 "servings" per toilet, but this is still quite inexpensive. Within minutes, the water in the toilets will have congealed into a CLEAR, yet hard substance. Now, when someone goes into a stall (which means, of course, that they have to expel solid waste), their feces will fall out, bounce up, then remain SITTING on top of the toilet "water," stinking like hell! This does no permanent damage -- all you have to do is scoop about 1/2 of the congealed water out, then flush, and it's gone.
Contributed by ZUG reader FlipperOnAPlate:
Icy Hot on the toilet seats.
Contributed by ZUG reader congr@ulations:
Buy some sweets for the office. Any brightly-coloured jelly-like ones will do. (Wine Gums work particularly well, though they may be available in the UK only.) Then drop an eraser or two into the pack. The closer the match in colour, size, shape etc. the better. Then wait for the expressions of surprise and disgust.
Contributed by ZUG reader Spacehaven:
When your target isn't at his/her desk, write fake appointments in his/her calendar a few months into the future. Stuff like "2:00 pm: GYN Appointment," "Format computer today," "Layoffs," and so forth.
Contributed by ZUG reader Spacehaven:
Pick a deserving target (let's say "Kathy"). Come in early and leave a Post-It on everyone else's monitor saying "See me when you get in -- Kathy."
Contributed by ZUG reader Dicky:
Saran-Wrap the toilet bowl.
Contributed by ZUG reader Victoria:
Scotch tape their phone handset down. Believe it or not, a lot of people don't notice this. Or, if they have an older mouse, scotch tape the bottom of the mouse. They move their mouse back and forth, and nothing happens. Some of them even slam it around, trying to get it to work.
Contributed by ZUG reader Steven Kawski:
Get one of those industrial-sized rolls of plastic wrap, the kind they use to wrap up palettes of stuff in factories, and wrap a co-worker's car in it. After you go around the car a couple of times, your target won't be able to just grab it and rip it off. A combination of knives, teeth, and blow torches will be needed.
Contributed by ZUG reader Kenneth Humphrey:
If you have co-workers with cubes in long rows: come in early one morning with a set of Allen wrenches. The common cube wall is held on by two Allen screws at the top of the wall. Grab a section of wall from some other (perhaps unused) cube, and seal over the co-workers opening. Remove any identifying pictures, nameplates, etc., and watch the co-worker come into work. Some will actually walk into the cube wall, expecting an opening but not looking. Others will walk right past, only to stop farther on with a look of confusion on their faces.
Contributed by ZUG reader Sindawg:
Get a co-workers phone, and put it next to your own phone. With the 2 phones, dial the phone numbers of two other co-workers you wish to prank. When they start to ring, hold the phones together, speaker to mic, so that one of the phones can hear the other and vice versa. (Speakerphones work best for this.) Sit back and listen in on the confusion.
Contributed by ZUG reader HannahG:
Buy some Vaseline and smear it all over the phone. Especially effective when they're expecting an important call. Best of all, no permanent damage to the phone!
Contributed by ZUG reader AudreyKPoole:
Take a picture of a beloved personal item on your coworker's desk (stuffed animal, small plant, trinket, etc.) Then kidnap the item and leave the picture in its place with a fake ransom letter.
Contributed by ZUG reader Victoria:
If anyone has a digital clock in their office, set the alarm for late afternoon. Turn the volume all the way up, and set it to the most unlikely radio station. (If they usually listen to country, change the station to heavy metal.)
Contributed by ZUG reader Gonzo:
This one is simple, but very effective -- even more so if the victim has been on vacation, and away from computers for a while. Simply switch the "M" and "N" keycaps on their keyboard. Most office workers these days only partially touch-type. It's a big bonus if their password contains an "M" or and "N." Their frustration at not being able to log in is hilarious.
Contributed by ZUG reader Boots at the Boar:
Re-record the voicemail message on an unsuspecting coworker's phone using a fake French accent. Don't change any of the wording. Most passwords are easy to figure out.
Contributed by ZUG reader David Pounds:
First, take the little pieces of paper out of all the hole punchers in the office. Sneak into one of your workmates' cars and tip all the little pieces of paper into the air vents. Point them upwards, and set the fan to full power. When they get into the car and start the engine, the paper should come at them like a blizzard! Classic.
Contributed by ZUG reader aquaticubegirl:
Put confetti in a co-worker's umbrella. Simple, harmless, annoying.
Contributed by ZUG reader Boots at the Boar:
Bake cookies for everyone. Divide the dough. For one batch, bake normally. For the second, add cayenne pepper, Tabasco sauce, peppercorns, etc.
Contributed by ZUG reader SheCabbage:
We hijacked one of the tech support guys' machines while he was out sick, took a screenshot of his Windows desktop, made that his wallpaper, then hid all of his icons and the taskbar. When he started up his computer the next day, his Windows desktop looked normal. But then he clicked and clicked on everything, to no avail.
Contributed by ZUG reader Sazji:
One to play on the secretary with about 10 phone lines to answer. Get a bunch of people to call her all at once. Half of them ask for people, and the other half say "please hold for [someone important]," or just "please hold." Watch the secretary get flustered ... but make sure she can take a joke.
Contributed by ZUG reader AmyPoo:
If you work in a retail environment, sneak a sign onto a co-workers' back that reads "WARNING: EXPLOSIVE GAS."
Contributed by ZUG reader Zoltek:
Find a box about the size of a cake. Then cover it with frosting, making it look like a cake. Then put it out in the office kitchen, or wherever people leave free food. Sit back as one of your co-workers tries to cut a slice. I'll be a monkey if it isn't funny.
Contributed by ZUG reader ChiefKittyKat:
Shrink-wrap a co-worker's car while they are inside at work.
Contributed by ZUG reader DanaSandy:
Wait until one of your co-workers leaves the office, then remove their doorknob and turn it around so that the lock is on the outside. When he/she gets back, find a reason to close the door, then lock it. Just don't forget about your co-worker, so he or she doesn't have to spend the night at the office.
Contributed by ZUG reader bookofwhispers:
Find a "zip tie" (also known as a "cable tie") that's similar in color to your co-worker's phone cord. Place around both ends of the cord, as close to the handset as possible. This will shorten the cord to about an inch. Clip the end of the zip tie so it's not sticking out suspiciously. Wait until your co-worker tries to answer the phone. There's nothing funnier than watching him or her try to answer with the rest of the phone hanging from the handset.
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