Joke’s on You: Failed Prank Stories That Will Have You Laughing For Days

Pranks, when correctly executed, can turn out hilariously. You want your joke to create an atmosphere of good clean fun where the audience is laughing with the prank victim, not at them. Unfortunately, there are times when the gag goes awry and has unintended consequences that may turn out to be just as funny, or not, depending on how you look at it.

The Corny Declaration Of Love

In middle school, a classmate of mine declared an undying affection for a teacher via crudely devised note complete with questionable grammar. The confession of admiration for the teacher looked as though another classmate penned it as a prank.

When the jokester friend slipped the note into the teacher’s desk drawer, he chuckled at the thought of our classmate getting pulled aside privately and reprimanded for the distasteful letter. Instead, she found the love note during class and proceeded to tell the poor unsuspecting boy that she appreciated how hard it must’ve been to tell her his feelings but that she didn’t feel the same way. As the class erupted in laughter, the prank victim ran to the bathroom in complete embarrassment.

The Hairdryer That Blew More Than Hot Air

It was the night of my class’s junior prom, and a bunch of girlfriends came to my house to get ready for the big night. I knew we would all be doing our hair, which included using hairdryers, so I got an idea for a little harmless prank. Well, I thought it would be harmless.

The caper plays out by dumping a bunch of baby powder into the end of the hairdryer, and when the unsuspecting victim turns the blow dryer on, they get a hair full. Only this time, my dear friend turned the dryer on pointed directly at her face, and the powder went right into her eyes. We both spent hours in the ER, getting her eyes washed out and missed prom.

The Fast Food Fake Out

In high school, my girlfriends and I loved to go to grab some fast food after class. As a tradition, when a new girl got inducted into our little grub clutch, we would pull the old ketchup packet at the end of the straw gag. This prank is where you take a person’s almost empty drink cup and attach a ketchup packet to the end of the straw that’s inside the cup.

When the victim takes a big swig, they get tomato goo instead of a thirst-quenching beverage. As the new clique addition got a mouthful of ketchup, she couldn’t help but throw up right in the dining area of the restaurant all over the table and the floor. Unfortunately, two other friends of mine proceeded to get sick as well, just watching my little prank unfold.

She’s Not Real, Really!

My bother had always been a jokester, and growing up, I was his intended target of pranks more times than I’d like to admit. I had just turned 20 and was getting ready to fly the nest when my brother decided he would try to churn out one more dastardly escapade.

We had long thought our big house had a ghost of an older woman who died there a century ago. The night before I was due to leave for college, my brother took an old mannequin he happened to retrieve from a department store dumpster and hung in the attic window. We returned home after my farewell dinner to find EMS and a bunch of police attempting to rescue the dummy through a window they busted out. Not only did my brother receive a fine after explaining the situation to authorities, but he had to pay for the busted window too.

We all have a little deviousness in us, and some love to prank people. A bit of advice from this old jokester is you’d better make sure a prank turns out like it should, or you might be the next victim, and it won’t be pretty. Remember to laugh and have fun but most importantly, stay safe when pulling your next high jinx.