Acceptable Pranks

[sailingpj]

Well that other thread seems to be turning into the final scenes of a hallmark movie, but there was a question that I noticed was brought up a few times.

 

What does everyone consider to be an acceptable prank? I am looking for specific examples of pranks you have seen at scouts. Discussion of the merits of the pranks brought up is encouraged, along with discussion of the possible unintended consequences, but keep it civil.

[sailingpj]

Sea Scouts often have what we call night watch. That is where someone stays up all night to make sure the boat doesn't float away. It is usually done in 1 hour shifts. Sometimes when several ships get together a crew may get lazy and not do night watch, or the night watch may fall asleep. When that happens it is open season for pranks against that ship.

 

Ship flags will end up on other boats, frozen, flipped upside down, things like that. I saw a prank a few months ago that was pretty awesome. A crew took this industrial strength plastic wrap and wrapped the crews quarters of another ship. It took a couple hours for any of that ships officers to take pity on their crew and cut down the plastic wrap so the crew could get out.

[Tampa Turtle]

Our Troop ran the Troop T-Shirt up the flagpole at Summer Camp right before assembly.

 

Moved the Camp Director's Golf Cart up two flights of stairs to the deck outside his cabin.

[Cambridgeskip]

My favourite is one you need the right kind of tent for, it only works if you have a nylon one with the inner going up first with the fly going over the top.

 

If you are quiet it is possible to unpeg and detach the fly sheet while someone is asleep before turning it through 90 or 180 degrees so that the doors of the inner and fly no longer line up. Truly hysterical watching the occupants trying to get out! (best not to pull this one on anyone inexperienced in case they get a bit panicked on trying to get out!)

 

Our troop also has Norman the Gnome. No one, not even me, knows where he comes from. But he appears outside the tent with the worst reputation for sleeping in. I have my suspicions about who Norman belongs to but have never quite figured it out for sure. No one will admit to it. Seriously.

 

Other nice ones are to knit little woolly hats for tent pegs and hoisting of lost property up the flag pole (particularly any belonging to a leader)

[Troop185]

Last Summer, I was on a wilderness trip with a group of 1st year Boy Scouts. We had backpacked into a campsite on the north shore of Lake Superior. It was after dinner, and I was very tired, taking a rest on a rock, where I could not see my tent. The scouts were playing around, having a good time. Then they started talking about "I think there is something in Mr. W's tent."

 

I was tired and pay them no mind. But they kept it up: "I am sure I saw his tent move. Mr. W you better check your tent."

 

Finally, I got up and walked over to check the tent. Their was a raccoon tail sticking out the door, and I thought "Oh my gosh, there is a raccoon in my tent!"

 

The scouts had a good laugh. One of the scout had bought a racccoon hat a few days earlier. They had stuck the raccoon tail on the scout's hat, in the door.

 

 

[BDPT00]

So far, the only ones mentioned that I like are the gnome and the little hats. Nobody sees any problem with locking people in a room in a boat that they can't get out of? When an emergency happens, the only thing that matters is getting out in a hurry. Try explaining those little pranks to the authorities or grieving parents, or maybe just to the person whose boat or tent gets destroyed by somebody who can't appreciate the growth opportunity available, and busts out.

To me, "acceptable pranks" is oxymoron.

BDPT00

[Eagledad]

Plastic spiders on sleeping bag? CC never did figure out who did it.

 

Barry

[Engineer61]

I would call an acceptable prank one that does not injure (or have the potential to injure) the potential victim. Pranks are based in humor, not humiliation.

 

But hey, that's just me....I'm hyper anti-hazing...(This message has been edited by Engineer61)

[CCbytrickery]

Let's see--over the last two years, we've had:

 

Fake Snakes hidden in the women's cabin

Fake cockroaches and spiders hidden under sandwiches, in napkins, etc at mealtime.

The Web 2's hid a fake spider in the shower head at that campout, and loosened it so barely hanging on. The other Web DL and the ADLs hid in the other stalls, and acted like they were using them when the DL went to go shower. They said he screamed like a little girl......

 

One mom's stuff (including bed, bags, etc) was taken out of her room in the cabin and set up on the porch.

Same mom had her stuff toilet papered. (It was her 40th birthday, and several groups were pranking her independently.)

Same mom was handed 40 pennies at random times from random people. (I provided the pennies)...by the end of one hike, she was having to hold her pants up because there were so many pennies in her pockets!

That mom toilet papered my clothes (reused her t.p--she even separated and wrapped my socks separately)

My car was toilet papered (with the reused tp)

 

The Cubmaster feel victim to two pranks this year. First, we strung socks up on rope w/clothespins and strung them in his tent. We did use clean ones only inside, and hung the stinky ones on the door outside. We hung a sign on the door that said "Cub Scouts Don't Wear No Socks".

 

The second--well, backstory first: last year my daughter was in art class and made this hideous paper mache puppet. It was a giant bird's head (about the size of a basketball), painted green--no eyelids and huge eyes, with a tiny cloth body. It was hideous. It gave me and my husband nightmares--it had become a thing in our house to hide it in rooms and see who it would freak out first. One night, my daughter hung it up on the ceiling fan, and I wasn't able to sleep--it took me 3 days to find the thing.

 

So, guess what ended up in the CM's sleeping bag, while he was napping?

It now hangs on his dresser at home, and he keeps swearing he's going to bring it and get the ACM with it, but he hasn't yet. The CMs wife--she hates me now.

 

The CM's birthday was a few weeks ago, and this weekend, his car (the one he isn't taking camping) is being plastic wrapped.

 

We don't prank the boys, but I figure adults are fair game, and everything has to be easily fixable.

 

(This message has been edited by CCbyTrickery)

[shortridge]

Not acceptable among regular Scouts, but with a hardier crew ... A few years before I joined summer camp staff, during staff week a group picked up the soundest sleeper / loudest snorer on staff in his cot and verrrry carefully and quietly carried him to the waterfront, and tied him and his bunk securely to the boat dock. I was told his waking shouts were very memorable and not at all suitable for mixed company.

 

In my time on staff, we had a huge water war that included people climbing on the roof of the staff lounge with hoses and drenching passers-by. I myself had peanut butter smeared on the wall of my cabin one year. If you don't damage property and if the recipient has a good sense of humor, you can get away with a lot.

[sailingpj]

They could have gotten out by going down and through the boat. It would have been a PITA though. That crew is hella lazy though, so they saw what had happened and just rolled over and went back to sleep.

 

This other crew is known for their pranks. One year they captured another ships flag, put it in a bowl of water and froze it all nice and folded up, and returned it before anyone had noticed it was missing. Apparently it took a really long time for the flag to defrost.

 

Summer cruise is a great time for pranks and flag stealing. Especially because there is a set of rules everyone follows. Sort of a Code. It basically consists of three things, 1) No Officers are to be involved in the planning or execution of any tactical strikes, and ship defense. Scouts only. 2) No damage to any boats. 3) You cannot approach the enemy's boat from land.

 

That last one requires much creativity.

[Scoutfish]

The best prank I ever did, was no prank at all.

 

One of my friends got me with a parnk, and we all had a great laugh afterward.

 

He then commented that I was a real good sport about it, to which I said:

" I don't get mad, I get even. It won't be tommorrow, won't be the next day. It won't be next week. Matter of fact, it probably won't happen in the next 4 months...but it will hapen one day, after you have forgotten about it.

 

Been 5 years now and I haven't retaliated yet. Not going to.

 

The worry this fella has is about 10 times greater than any prank I could ever plan on doing.

 

Now, the trick is, it doesn't work on everybody, so the effectiveness depends on the potential vitim that is being retaliated against.

 

We like to play jokes too. At our last B&G, we pulled a gag on one of our longtime DL's. We gave out tickets for door prizes.

 

Well, we had already marked a ticket for our DL. When his number was called and he came up to get his door prize...he got a door. A hollow hung closet door !

 

The big trhing is making sure nobody gets hurt and knowing the person you are pranking. I know guys who you could shave their head and they would get and laugh at the prank. I know others that all you have to do is randomly point at them at a pack meeting and they are humiliated and will turn read with embarassment.

 

The prank's acceptability is entirely dependant on who is being pranked

[boomerscout]

You've never been on a snipe hunt?

[sailingpj]

Nope, I have never been on a snipe hunt.

[Crew21_Adv]

Sailingpj,

 

The frequent and least harmful is sending the new Scouts or Venturers over to the neighboring campsite to request something.

 

The left-handed smoke shifter or the recently developed de-hydrated water solution.

 

Scouting Forever and Venture On!

Crew21 Adv