by Edgar Craven

Created on: August 21, 2008   Last Updated: March 18, 2010

There are a few simple rules required to pull off the perfect prank. Number one, make sure the victim has a good sense of humor. Number two, be prepared to go to full lengths to ensure the quality of the prank. And, most importantly, never be afraid to laugh at yourself because before you know it, retribution will strike.

Pranks are often seen by the unwilling participant as childish or vulgar. I would disagree and call it an art, if done properly. The key to a good prank is finding out what it is that is really going to hit home on the victim. If, for example, you've learned a fear about someone, don't be honor bound not to use that to your advantage. Long ago, I worked in a lab with a man who told us he was afraid of snakes. Over the following six or seven months, snakes were all he saw. We rigged them to pop up whenever he opened a desk drawer, or to pop down and land right in front of his face whenever he reentered a room. Of course, the elemental surprise attacks never go out of style- we would likewise place small firecrackers just within a bunsen burner, only to blast off when the burner was lit.

Take a note from martial artist Jackie Chan, whenever possible, to use the surrounding environment. If, for example, you live someplace hot, car pranks, like peanut butter under the door handles in the midday sun, or vaseline wiped over the headlights (takes forever to clean off and when it's dark out, the headlights are wavy) are excellent tricks. My personal "hot weather" trick favorite is the open can of cat food left on the engine manifolds (the engine will cook it up and the car will eternally smell like old fish!).

Car tricks in general are always good- most people dont know enough about cars to identify something as simple such as a removed distributor cable.
A great rule to live by when doing a prank is to make the prank itself personal. When I was younger, I roomed with a guy who eventually started a "prank war" with me. One day he'd get me by, say, turning the power off when I was using the computer. The next day, I'd pour laundry detergent over his head when he was in the shower (funny as hell- it took him an hour to get it all off and the entire time he was slipping and falling down). As luck would have it, we also worked together in a conrete business. Like I said before, use personal information as an advantage whenever possible. One day, after he had made a large display of how much just a little sand in his shoes can bother him, we were pouring

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