grampye Posted July 11, 2006 Share Posted July 11, 2006 A couple of weeks ago I was witness to one of the greatest camp pranks ever. Two of my Scouts - let's call them Joe and Sam - tentmates -had begun exchanging pranks. Two others - Ben and Tim - had come to Joe's aid. Sam was out of the camp and the three conspiritors were trying to come up with an idea. Suddenly Ben exclaimed "We got to get a ladder!" "Why a ladder?" Joe questioned. "We'll put his bunk up on the roof over our dining area!" Joe wasn't so sure, but Ben was and he and Tim headed down to Sam's tent. Soon the two of them were coming up the trail with the bunk and mattress. They pushed a wooden bench over next to the roof and Joe and Ben got up on it. Tim passed the bunk and mattress up to them and they slid them up onto the roof. I was watching all this and thinking it a pretty lame prank until Ben hopped down and whispered as he passed by "It's not Sam's bunk - it's Joe's." Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OldGreyEagle Posted July 11, 2006 Share Posted July 11, 2006 And when the scouts had fallen off the roof, your comment would have been? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SemperParatus Posted July 11, 2006 Share Posted July 11, 2006 That's funny Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Eamonn Posted July 11, 2006 Share Posted July 11, 2006 A couple of years back at summer camp OJ and an other scout from the troop set about convincing the Camp Staff that Joe who was born and raised in our small town, with a Dad who comes from Pittsburgh and a Mom from the same area, was a Mexican! Joe found a fairly large sombrero and a blanket over his shoulder. He is a little tanned looking and has deep brown eyes. One problem was that neither Joe or OJ speak any Spanish!! But they weren't going to let that get in their way they managed very well with a kind of Spanish sounding gibberish!! Things were going well, they had about half the camp staff believing that Joe had just transfered in from Mexico and then Pam our DE at the time who knew both of them arrived at camp and ruined it all. Eamonn. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cajuncody Posted July 11, 2006 Share Posted July 11, 2006 Tasteless and tacky now, but way back when I was in High School we took a camp trip to Six Flags. It was common knowledge that handicap people could skip line and ride first so we had a friend pretend she was blind. We walked her around in dark glasses and she asked all the right questions about where we were (even stumbling if we didn't tell her about a step). We got to ride everything. Looking back as an adult, yes it was insensitive but it taught us alot about going through acitvities with limited or no vision. I just had to add that for OJ's Hispanic buddy ;-) Kristi Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Texas Scouter Posted July 11, 2006 Share Posted July 11, 2006 I just got back from SC. I had the boys shrink wrap the Scoutmaster and another ASM's clothes to their bunks. It took 15 minutes for those guys to get that stuff off. In retaliation they called the boys to hang all my clothing, bunk, sleeping bag, etc from all the trees in our camp site. It took me 1 1/2 hours to cut all my stuff out of the trees!!! The boys loved every minute of it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
knottyfox Posted July 12, 2006 Share Posted July 12, 2006 Camp pranks are so cool! These are the memories that the boys and adults will cherish forever! My son remembers the camp outs, pranks and good times more readily than the details involved in working on a merit badge. Laughing with your Scouts is such a great joy! My son is off to college and we don't do Boy Scouts much anymore. I do miss the good times with Boy Scouts! My younger son and I are busy doing Cub Scouts these days! What a thrill a second tour of duty is. I am enjoying the experience once again and look forward to Boy Scouts in the near future. Knotty Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FScouter Posted July 12, 2006 Share Posted July 12, 2006 I must be a misfit. I don't find any of those pranks funny in the slightest, except for Eammon's Mexican act. But that's an act and not a prank. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
evmori Posted July 12, 2006 Share Posted July 12, 2006 Excellent pranks even Eamonns! And all seemed to be done not to hurt but to amuse! Ed Mori Troop 1 1 Peter 4:10 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hunt Posted July 12, 2006 Share Posted July 12, 2006 What makes a prank funny, and what makes it cruel? It seems to me that there are several factors: 1. Target. The target of the prank should be someone that the pranksters know can take it with good humor. It should not be the most vulnerable or sensitive person, or a person who is powerless to reciprocate. The target should be someone that everybody likes, not someone who is disliked. 2. Reciprocity. Pranks are better if they are back-and-forth between targets that meet the qualifications above. 3. No harm. No harm to person or possessions should result from the prank. A wet sleeping bag constitutes harm. Level of inconvenience should be modest. 4. Novelty is a plus. Hiding somebody's boots isn't funny. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GernBlansten Posted July 12, 2006 Share Posted July 12, 2006 4. Novelty is a plus. Hiding somebody's boots isn't funny. Yes, but swapping somebody's boots with very similar but two sizes smaller is a hoot. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
knottyfox Posted July 12, 2006 Share Posted July 12, 2006 Hunt, Great attention to detail! Keen sence of the obvious! Thanks for sharing the rules of engagement to the rest of the adults here! I would be willing to bet that nobody here could have thought of them without your help! Tee Hee! Boots: $50.00 to $Thousands Boot Polish: $1.98 Hiding them in a harmless prank: Priceless! (This message has been edited by knottyfox) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Eamonn Posted July 12, 2006 Share Posted July 12, 2006 I enjoy a good laugh as much as anyone. Over the years I've sat around many a camp fire and listened to the tales of pranks that will live on for ever. I have been involved in a good many pranks, some were really funny at the time, but are not worth retelling, some have been added to the camp fire list of tales. A lot of the best stories are about pranks that others have pulled on me!! I know that I'm big enough and that I'm able to laugh at myself. I do get a little worried when pranks take on a life of their own and people try to repeat them and improve on them. Things like stealing Lodge signs from Conclaves and NOAC, might seem like harmless fun, but it is still theft. Even at Wood Badge when I was CD, we had Saint Bushskinowski Day. We added all sorts of sausages and cabbage to the menu and Bubski Dancers, even if the music sounded more Greek than anything else and a pirogi eating contest. This was all done at times when it didn't interfere with the course and was just for fun. There can be a very fine line from what is a prank and what might be something that isn't very kind. I don't see this as being PC, just careful. Eamonn. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
grampye Posted July 12, 2006 Author Share Posted July 12, 2006 I started this thread to perhaps hear about some of the great pranks that others had witnessed or been a part of, but it's getting way too serious for me. I had a couple more I was going to share, but I suspect they would just draw more fire. Too bad. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
knottyfox Posted July 13, 2006 Share Posted July 13, 2006 grampye, I would love to hear them! Please share either in the forum or send me a note. Knotty Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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