[April Fools]
Yes, you keep hearing about the battle of the formats and you wonder whether you should just stick to DVDs. Or CDs. Or maybe 5.25″ floppies.
But what about your beloved movies? They don’t make things like Dallas nowadays… The thing you were waiting for is here: a Betamax to HD-DVD Converter. Dig out all those old recordings and join the digital age!
You even get a nifty video with the converter in action.
We all know what April 1st means – we’ve been planning the pranks for months in advance, or fear being the victim, or are waiting eagerly to see what our co-workers come up with. This Top 5 April Fools’ Pranks under $30 is for everyone. Yes, even the victims. If you’re forewarned you won’t fall for it if the mouse starts moving (aparently) on its own.
5. If you’re not feeling particularly evil, you can just give someone a little scare. They’ll realize soon enough that the Fake Parking Tickets won’t get them a fine (but they’ll probably be pissed off if they read the whole insulting message…)
4. If you’re into childish pranks, the Revenge Toilet Paper is for you. Just replace the existing roll with this and snicker away when the poor victim strolls out of the bathroom and tells the tale of the mysterious paper which doesn’t tear. One of these in every company toilet stall would wreak a nice amount of havoc – at least until enough people realize there’s something wrong.
3. But my favorite type of prank involves more technology than these first two. For example, the Mouse Jiggler. You only have to plug it into an USB port and it will start to randomly move the mouse pointer. Since most of us are so dependant on our computers, seeing them apparently go crazy can be a very distressing experience. It’s up to the prankster to decide when to end the torture and reveal the trickery involved… (Of course, s/he can also become an office hero by “fixing” the “malfunctioning” computer with his/her 1337 skills.)
2. If the designated victim is a couch potato with an unhealthy interest in soap operas, Jerry Springer or football… well, they deserve it, right? The Micro Spy Remote makes it easy to play with their nerves a little, because it allows you to control the TV. Turn it off, change the channel, mute it… The sky’s the limit. Or the patience of the victim. If you’re seen barely controlling your laughter, they will know something’s wrong.
(Alternately, do this in a bar. When a game’s on. You’ll be more difficult to spot and you’ll annoy more people.)
1. Since the office is where we spend most of our time, number 1 is another gadget for computer-related madness. The Phantom Keystroker uses an USB port and makes the user’s mouse and/or keyboard go insane. Random cursor moves and gibberish text will have the poor victim feel like s/he’s the victim of a virus or an electronic ghost.
Although this is supposedly sold as a device to prevent your computer from going to sleep and is aimed at computer forensics investigators and IT professionals, I think its best (and most entertaining) use is co-worker torture.
The name makes it obvious: the Mouse Jiggler jiggles your mouse. Well, not physically, but it makes the cursor move across the screen with no input. It comes in two versions: slow and fast. I suppose you can imagine what happens when Bill from Accounting finds his cursor keeps jumping from one place to another, although he’s not touching the mouse. The slow Jiggler is not impressive prank-wise, but on fast… he’ll be screaming in frustration in minutes. You just have to plug this baby in an USB port and watch.
(Or you can use it to prevent your screensaver from starting and forcing you to relogin. But that’s not as much fun.)
Some people really shouldn’t be allowed to have cars. Just because you passed your exam doesn’t mean you can forget anything you learnt and drive like a madman. Just because you can doesn’t mean you should park on 2 spaces and block the whole street.
Before you use more drastic measures (keys, hammer and the like) on the offender’s car, maybe a more suble approach can work. For example, fake parking tickets. They look like a real one… until the victim reads the text. The offense list includes: Mentally Handicapped Driver, Parking Like a Jack-Ass, Driving a Hunk of Crap, Inventing a Parking Space, Taking Up 2 Spaces (Jerk!), Too Stupid to Drive a Car, Ugly Driver Violation, Parking While Under The Influence of Rap Music and Parking While Being a Real Bitch. You’ll probably find one for every annoying driver you meet…
Sharing a TV with someone can be a real pain. It’s one thing not being able to watch your favorite show, but having to watch someone else’s favorite, which happens to be the most annoying piece of television ever made… now that takes the cake.
There were times I so wished to have one of these… A Micro Spy Remote can control most TVs, and you will probably feel revenged when the victim stares at the remote in their hand and doesn’t understand what’s going on. You just have to push the mute button until the TV gets silent… and you own it.
A particularly mischievous mind can probably think of several pranks involving this little remote. Victims are guaranteed to go insane.
“Don’t get mad, get even” (beside being a pretty cool Aerosmith song) is sometimes a good idea. For example, if someone pulls a toilet prank on you. Something maybe involving some Ex-Lax and the mysterious absence of any toilet paper. Payback time, but it has to be something different. The prankster will be sure to check the availability of paper on every ocassion.
The perfect counter-prank involves the presence of toilet paper. What’s the catch? It’s a special kind. The Revenge Toilet Paper cannot be teared, so the victim will find him or herself with a large amount of paper s/he cannot use.
All’s fair in love and war, right? Just watch out for the counter-counter-prank.
Have you ever considered hiding your drinking habit? I don’t mean alcoholism, just that maybe sometimes you want to have a beer at work without the boss knowing. When I was a teenager the guys would drink vodka out of Coke cans, but you can’t transfer beer like that.
If this is a problem that’s really troubling you… you’re weird, but, skipping that, here’s a solution for your problem: Beer Can Wraps – Canouflage – reusable wraps with fake soda brand names printed on them. Each pack includes four different wraps with the thinly disguised names of Skunkpiss, Risk, Peski and Mountain Spew. The labels look close enough to the real thing, so anyone giving your can a quick glance will see nothing suspicious.
(But remember, kids, alcohol is bad, mmkay? One beer is okay, just don’t go over the top.)
I generally don’t like people’s idea of pranks. Maybe it’s just me, but most of the pranks I’ve recently heard about were not just for a friendly laugh, they were for (viciously) making fun of someone. If, when I picture myself as the victim, I feel angry rather than amused, something is wrong (and I appreciate jokes, really).
The Phantom Keystroker surprised me in a very pleasant way because it’s a prank device which doesn’t do anything distructive and doesn’t make the target look like an idiot (ok, maybe just a bit). The prankster has a very easy job: just plug the Keystroker in an USB port of the victim’s computer and watch. The device emulates a mouse and keyboard and, depending on the setting, randomly moves the mouse, types gibberish or both. Because the interval between “manifestations” can also be adjusted, someone’s poor co-worker can spend a very long time trying to figure out whether his computer was being haunted or he got a virus…
Pranks are the funniest thing ever for some (usually the pranksters) and a reason for major annoyance for others (usually the victims). Some pranks are seriously deranged and over the top, some are harmless fun.
A mosquito won’t cause serious problems, but it will disrupt your peaceful sleep. But is there a mosquito?… It might just be your best buddy trying out the Buzzing Mosquito – Light Sensitive Sound Box.
This toy is darkness activated – which means it will start making noise when you turn off the light and will be quiet when the light is on. It will take a long long while for someone to realize there is no mosquito hiding in the dark, only a prankster laughing his ass off somewhere.
[April Fools]
5. If you’re not feeling particularly evil, you can just give someone a little scare. They’ll realize soon enough that the 
4. If you’re into childish pranks, the 
3. But my favorite type of prank involves more technology than these first two. For example, the 
2. If the designated victim is a couch potato with an unhealthy interest in soap operas, Jerry Springer or football… well, they deserve it, right? The 
1. Since the office is where we spend most of our time, number 1 is another gadget for computer-related madness. The 
.
