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College Pranks Go Commercial
Anonymous Coward writes: "The MIT/CalTech prank rivalry is legendary. Who else could put a cow
on a domed roof? And it inspired the Geek Classic Real Genius.
Apparently the folks at RPI are into
it as well, as evidenced by the DropSquad.
What caught my eye was the commercialization. They're selling
mousepads with photos
of various objects that have been subjected to 'gravitational
modifications'. When this hits MIT, I want a Cow on the Roof coffee
mug!"
Anyway, there were better hacks on campus than dropping things down the nine story stairwell, and these were two of them:
The JEC engineering building had a walkway around the Northern side, and during my Freshman year, workers were resurfacing it by placing large tiles (red and grey) on the walkway. The tiles were raised above the surface to provide drainage, but were not cemented in place. Only plastic spacers kept the tiles in position. While a bane to any women wearing heels, it was obvious that a strong but narrow bar could easily pry these tiles up, after which they could be rearranged. So, myself and about half a dozen friends sketeched out a plan to reposition the tiles from the red and grey strips that the workmen had laid down to a big smiley face, approximately 8x8 tiles. Then, one morning at about 2 AM, we ran out, moved the tiles, took a picture, and went back to our dorms.
The impressive feat about this prank is that while the workmen broke countless tiles laying down their regular pattern with real tools, we preserved every one we moved. We also posted guards at both ends of the walkway to guard against Public Safety and passerbys. I think one of our guards wound up going home with a passerby she tried to dissuade... Anyway, the next day, there it was, the RPI Smiley Face, for all to see.
The second, smaller scale prank, occured on April Fools day about a year later. Because some rooms were always being closed due to the endless campus contruction, we printed up some room change signs and ran around in the early morning posting them on various classroom and lecture hall doors. Of course, they all directed students to the same room, which in some cases was completly across campus. This room of redirection happened to be where I had a recitation later in the day, and it was quite amusing to see students sitting outside the occupied room, stating "But it said to come here!". I think we even got one professor...
Anyway, these were great pranks, because nobody really got hurt, nothing was destroyed, and people looked back on them and laughed. It was also a nice diversion from drinking, studying, and wondering why the hell we had decided to come to Troy, NY for a higher education...
This might have been somewhat funny when Letterman first did it, decades ago, but it isn't now, and it sure isn't much of a prank.
Removing someone's door and plastering over the opening, that's a prank.
Replacing the card section at a football game, that's a prank.
Bankrupting the Soviet Union with vaporware, that's one heck of a prank.
Not telling the refugees in your attic that the war has been over for 40 years, that's a heck of prank.
Dropping stuff down a stairwell? Boring.
George
The MIT Gallery of Hacks