Sir John Hargrave's Mischief Maker's Manual

by John Hargrave

  Put the Pringles can where someone is likely to enjoy it. Be sure to have a video camera handy.

  For even more spidery goodness, you may wish to put a short empty Coke can on top of the platform, then layer the spiders on top of the Coke can. This operates as a “spacer” that allows all the spiders to safely escape.

  DIET COKE EXPLOSION

  Every mischief maker knows that a Mentos candy dropped into a two-liter bottle of Diet Coke will result in the eruption of a mighty soda geyser. But only skilled troublemakers, who have studied the secret art of mischief, know how to rig the Diet Coke Explosion so it erupts on someone else.

  How to Make the Diet Coke Explosion:

  Lay the Mentos on a work surface. Place a needle in the center of the Mentos, and gently tap with a hammer until you can thread the needle through the other side. If the Mentos breaks, start again with another. It’s only Mentos.

  Tie the thread loosely to itself to secure the Mentos.

  Open the Diet Coke. Hang the Mentos over the side, with the thread over the lip of the bottle.

  Step 2

  Step 3

  Carefully put the cap back on, and tighten. Perform this step over a sink, with the bottle pointing away from your face, just in case anything explodes.

  Snip the end of the thread off, so the prank is invisible. When they screw off the top, the Mentos should now be poised to drop into the Diet Coke, causing a cold, brown, carbonated jet of chaos.

  Regular Coke will also work, but it makes a sticky mess afterward. Diet Coke is better. Either way, you should offer to help clean up, while you vow to help them catch the person who did it.

  Practice the Diet Coke Explosion. Have your partner take it into the yard and open it, to make sure it was built correctly.

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  THE SCIENCE OF SPEWING SODA

  Mentos have millions of microscopic nooks and crannies. These are called nucleation sites, places where bubbles of carbon dioxide can form. And Diet Coke is already full of carbon dioxide, just waiting to be released into gas (carbon dioxide gives Diet Coke its familiar fizz).

  When you drop the candy into the Diet Coke, the Mentos loads up on carbon dioxide. The water in the Diet Coke “resists” this giant belch, and the resulting “power struggle” between water and CO2 is what causes the mighty blork! of soda out the top.

  You can see a similar effect, though not nearly as cool, when you drop a scoop of ice cream into root beer.

  EXPLODING DEVICES

  EXPLODING CIGARETTE

  Cigarettes are bad for you. That’s a medical fact. So if you know anyone who still smokes, an exploding cigarette is an “intervention” to help them stop. It’s not a prank; it’s a public service. After a few exploding cigarettes, the smoker will be fearful of lighting up.

  The technical term for the device is a “cigarette load.” Although they’ve been available in novelty catalogs for years, it’s much easier to make one yourself, and as an added bonus you’ll learn how to make a cheap homemade firecracker (see Figure 1: Exploding Firecracker).

  WARNING: Smokers tend to get grumpy when they don’t have their cigarettes. This prank should be carried out with extreme caution.

  How to Pull off the Exploding Cigarette:

  With your sharp instrument, poke a hole in each toy cap, and empty the powder onto a piece of paper. Clean out each cap thoroughly.

  Using the paper as a funnel, collect the powder and put it into your square of tissue paper.

  Make a little “pocket” out of the tissue paper, and twist the top closed. This is your cigarette load (see Figure 1: Exploding Firecracker for other ideas).

  Step 2

  Step 3

  Take the cigarette, and carefully scoop out tobacco from the end. The goal is to create a hole big enough to fit the cigarette load into.

  Drop in the load and carefully replace tobacco in the end of the hole, so the load is invisible. Use extreme care when doing this step; be patient and start again with a fresh cigarette if necessary.

  When the load is complete, put the cigarette back into the pack, and leave the pack where you found it. (This is the part that makes it really believable.)

  Step 5

  Step 6

  FIGURE 1: EXPLODING FIRECRACKER

  Steps 1-3 can also be used to make a quickie homemade firecracker. To make a “fuse,” simply roll masking tape until it resembles a long candlewick.

  Don’t smoke.

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  THE HAPPY CONFETTI GRENADE

  This prank was made popular in the mid-1980s by Chinese schoolboys working in the electronics markets of Shanghai. The prank is a film canister that is placed or thrown into an unsuspecting area. After a few seconds: KA-POW! The film canister explodes in a shower of confetti.

  Film canisters are used to hold 35mm camera film, still used by most non-digital cameras. This means film canisters are readily available at your local drugstore or anywhere you go to develop photos. Store employees will usually give you a couple for free if you ask nicely. Ask for the white or clear ones, which generally seal more tightly than the black ones.

  Compressed air is usually used to blow dust out of computers. It’s easily available at drugstores, Wal-Mart, etc. (Look in the computer section.)

  The wonderful thing about the Happy Confetti Grenade is that it’s versatile. It can be filled with many different things—not only the many different types of confetti (see Five Types of Confetti, page 172), but also substitutions like flour, baby powder, or even dried basil, if you want to make the room smell like lasagna. Or you can put nothing at all in the canister. The prank works so many different ways.

  FIVE TYPES OF CONFETTI

  Every mischief maker should be familiar with confetti, as it can be left in many convenient locations: under car visors, on top of ceiling fans, inside rolled-up projector screens. Here are five common types:1. Torn-up paper: easy to improvise from a sheet of notebook paper; can be made anywhere.

  2. Cut-up paper: takes a little more time, but worth it. If you have access to a paper cutter (available at Kinko’s and in most art rooms), this goes even faster.

  3. Hole-punched paper: maddeningly small, and beautifully symmetrical. Many hole punches have a little “confetti holder” that can be easily filled and emptied.

  4. Shredder confetti: If you’re lucky enough to have access to a crosscut paper shredder, it will pump out vast quantities of confetti in minutes.

  5. Store-bought confetti: At party supply stores and drugstores, you can buy ready-made confetti that is often much fancier than you can make at home: shiny foil confetti in ridiculous shapes (party horns, Cupids, birthday cakes, etc.). When you want to impress someone with a prank, don’t be afraid to splurge.

  How to Make the Happy Confetti Grenade:

  Turn the can of compressed air upside down, and spray it into the film canister. Do this gently and calmly, spraying the liquid down the side of the canister, which should be tilted at an angle. WARNING: The liquid that comes out is extremely cold and can cause severe burns! Keep away from skin.

  Quickly put your confetti inside the canister and close the lid. You need to have a tight seal on the lid for the pressure to build, so don’t use too much confetti.

  Quickly set down the canister, then get out of there. It will take anywhere from a few seconds to a full minute to explode. Stay away until it does.

  THE EXPLOSION EXPLAINED

  The “air” inside “compressed air” is our old friend carbon dioxide (CO2), which is compressed into the can at high pressure. At high pressures, carbon dioxide turns into a liquid, which is what you hear when you shake the can.

  By flipping the can upside down, it allows the liquid to escape into the canister. As the liquid warms inside the canister, it expands, eventually blowing the airtight lid off the top.

  Go to the photo-developing desk at a local store, and ask for a few film canisters. (They also come in handy for st
oring things.)

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  PURCHASING FIREWORKS IN THE UNITED STATES

  Look up your own state on the map, and memorize what types of fireworks are allowed.

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  PRANK RANK ACHIEVED!

  Congratulations, young mischief maker. You have pranked hard, and learned well. You are now a Major Mischief Maker, and ready to be trained in the most sophisticated mischief, from Staging a Fake UFO Landing (page 224) to How to Get on the Local News (page 204).

  Visit www.mischiefmakersmanual.com to track progress and download badge.

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  You are now only two levels away from achieving the ranking of Master Mischief Maker, your ultimate destiny. At this point, you are a legend in the making. Complete the next section, and your legend will be made.

  EXPERTS ONLY

  PRANKS WITH PARTNERS

  WORLD’S LARGEST BUTT PHOTO

  Every prankster should know how to create a really huge sign. This comes in handy for many pranks, like a ten-foot message wishing someone a happy birthday (when it’s not really their birthday) or an enormous picture of a butt.

  The expensive way is to go to Kinko’s or a local print shop. Bring along your digital file, and ask them to turn it into a sign. They can print great-quality butt banners, but they’ll charge you.

  The cheaper way is to get access to a printer (fast laser printers work best) and a free online program called The Rasterbator (www.mischiefmakersmanual.com/tools/rasterbator ). This unfortunate name is a play on the word rasterizing, the process of turning an image into dots or smaller pieces (which is what it does). This site will accept any picture, and turn it into a file that you can easily print on regular pieces of 8.5” x 11” white paper (or colored paper, to give your sign a festive touch). You then trim the edges, and paste up all the pieces, one by one, until you form a giant photo collage. Also works for fake student council banners or ridiculous messages, but nothing beats a butt.

  DON’T BE A BULLY

  If you’re going to use someone’s photo, use this only on people who will be cool with it. Be prepared for a massive prank in return.

  How to Create the World’s Largest Butt Photo:

  Measure the wall. Decide how large you want your photo to be. (This prank is much easier if you measure no higher than you or a partner can reach on a small stool; ladders will slow you down.)

  Prepare your digital image and upload it to www.mischiefmakersmanual.com/tools/rasterbator. You can also upload a photo from the Internet.

  You will now have a PDF file that can be sent to any printer. Fast laser printers work best, but you can use an inkjet printer if you have enough ink refills ready.

  Number each page in pencil on the reverse side, in case they get shuffled out of order.

  Trim off the white edges of each page. By far the fastest way to do this is with a paper cutter, which you’ll find in most art classes, offices, and Kinko’s. (Don’t worry about getting every cut perfect.) You can use scissors if you’re patient.

  Pick a time and location where you’ll have a good half hour to work uninterrupted. Post lookouts as needed.

  With a partner, tape each page to the wall, one by one, moving left to right, top to bottom. After you complete each row, tape the corners of each page to the other corners. Use additional tape as necessary to secure. Don’t be afraid of the tape.

  Before you leave, be sure to get a picture of the picture. People will be talking about this prank for years to come. You want to make sure there’s photo proof.

  PHOTO TIPS

  • Use high-quality images. The better quality the photo, the better quality the final prank.

  • Choose the smallest dot size available. Choosing larger dot sizes will break it up into huge-dot patterns, which is useful if you just want to make cool artwork for your wall.

  • Change the file name. Be forewarned, the program creates a file called rasterbation.pdf, which is not the kind of thing you want someone finding on your computer.

  Find your nearest source for a quality laser printer. This could be a library, school, a local print shop, or (if you’re lucky) your home. See what the cost is, if any.

  MY NEAREST LASER PRINTER IS:

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  THE POST-IT NOTE MAKEOVER

  Post-It Notes, those small sticky squares, were first introduced by the 3M Corporation in 1977, the invention of Dr. Spencer Silver (who had invented a glue that was only mildly sticky) and Art Fry (who had the idea to use the glue on pieces of paper) . The product failed its first time out, but once the company convinced people to try the slightly sticky squares, everybody was hooked.

  Now Post-It Notes (or similar “sticky notes”) are everywhere, just waiting for mischief. They’re perfect for quick signs or messages, where previous generations of pranksters had to use tape, or (in olden times) tree sap.

  The Post-It Note Makeover is a large-scale stunt where you completely cover an object in Post-Its: a refrigerator, your mom’s car, etc. If you have access to different colors of Post-Its, you can even make cool patterns—just sketch out your pattern first, using graph paper (see Figure 1 and Figure 2).

  Figure 1: Plotting Your Post-Its

  Figure 2: Applying Your Post-Its

  THE BACKWARD CLASSROOM

  If you have a teacher who is frequently late to class, The Backward Classroom is a great trick. This prank must be pulled off with a partner who is willing to stand lookout.

  How to Pull off The Backward Classroom:

  Before anyone gets to class, write a message on the blackboard. Try to make it look believable. The message should read:

  Leave the room. Have a partner stand lookout (see How to Make a Lookout Station, page 33).

  Stroll in just before class begins. Most of your class should already be there. Pretend to notice the message. (You really need to sell it here.)

  Convince classmates that the message is real by simply turning your desk and encouraging your classmates to obey the instructions. Get a friend to help you move the teacher’s desk to the back of the room. Work quickly and calmly. It should look like the room has been flipped 180 degrees.

  Signal your partner by cell phone when the switch is complete, so your partner can return to class.

  Sell it: To convince others that a hoax is real.

  ADDITIONAL MISCHIEF IDEAS:

  • Rotate the room ninety degrees, so everyone’s facing the window. (Better view.)

  • Rotate the room by just a few degrees, so the teacher knows something’s wrong, but can’t figure out quite what.

  • Write PLEASE MEET ME IN THE GYM, WHERE TODAY’S CLASS WILL BE HELD. Then convince everyone to go to the gym.

  On a piece of paper, write the names of each of your teachers. Over the next ten days, count which teachers are late, and how many times. Then take this number, multiply it by ten, and subtract that number from one hundred. This gives you that teacher’s On-Time Percentage (OTP).

  For instance, if Ms. Jenkins is late two out of every ten days, her OTP is eighty percent (100 - (2 x 10)). You want teachers with low OTPs. The best OTP would be zero percent—they’re just late every day.

  The OTP is an extremely helpful tool in the prankster’s arsenal.

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  THE ROAMING GNOME

  If you’re unfortunate enough to live in a neighborhood infested with a garden gnome, there’s only one thing you can do: Return it to the wild.

  Garden gnomes are horrid creatures that some people keep in their yard to ward off evil. They can be identified by their pointy red hats, long white beards, and occasionally a pipe.

  FIGURE 1: THE GARDEN GNOME

  The prank begins when the owner of the gnome receives a letter in the mail:

  You can get creative with the letter. Give the gnome a name. Make up an elaborate story for why he’s leaving. Say he got tired of sitting in
the garden. Complain that the bushes wouldn’t shut up. Gnomes should be feisty.

  Over the next few weeks, the gnome owner should receive a series of photos or postcards from exotic locations like Egypt and New Jersey, with the gnome pictured in each photo. After this “trip” around the world, the owner comes out to the garden one morning to find that the gnome has silently returned.