Five Tips for the Funniest Prank

Writing Prompt: Funniest prank you’ve ever played on someone

That one April when the feral tomcat pranked us by giving birth to four kittens in our garage. All were rescued. (Author’s photo; background licensed from Adobe Stock)

People think that pranks require a lot of time, effort, and planning to be funny. I am here to challenge that notion and present five sure fire (please don’t use fire) tips that will help YOU perpetrate the funniest prank I’ve ever pulled.

1. Planning is key. You can get keys made at local or national chain hardware stores. They have blanks available, and you can even find covers so you can easily tell which key goes to which plan.
2. Choose your victim wisely. The best mark is someone who doesn’t expect to be pranked. You probably don’t expect to be the victim of your own prank. Consider pranking yourself.
3. Pranks should be humorous, not hurtful. If your idea of a prank involves knives or explosives, might cause the victim of the prank, you, to wet or soil their pants or property (such as chairs, floors, etc.), could lead to an arrest or hospitalization, you should probably schedule an appointment with a therapist of some kind.
4. Timing is critical. Timers can be purchased at most home goods retailers, grocery stores, and general merchandise vendors online. Or, you can download a timer app to your mobile device. Once you have a timer, you can set it for your prank.
5. Practice makes perfect. Not everyone is good at pulling pranks. Take me, for example. I suck at pranks, and yet…wait, did I pull one? If you made it this far in my list, CONGRATULATIONS, you have experienced my funniest prank ever or at least to-date. Because…not good at pranks (gesturing to myself).

Generally I prefer jokes or fun surprises — like the time a group of us filled our boss’s office with so many balloons for his birthday that when he opened his door they came tumbling out everywhere. He laughed, felt loved and appreciated, and no one got hurt in body or mind. Plus, there was cake afterwards. Though, I’ll admit, I might like pranks more if they all came with cake.

While I am not good at pranks, I excel at puns. Don’t get my started with puns! No, seriously, don’t. People have lost an eye from my sharp-witted puns. AH! April Fools! No one ever lost an eye from punning…that I know of. (I’ll stop now.)

This was written in response to the April Writing Challenge hosted by Keeley Schroder. If you “enjoyed” this post (or perhaps giggled a little?), please consider giving me a clap or five.