We need a good (non-destructive) office prank.

Hmmmm must have a think... I suspect this thread will get some wild suggestions!!!

Just one question, is he an engineer and what does he do? Just thinking of something suitable for an engineer....!!

John.

Electroman,

Double E. And what does he do? As little as he can! Like I said, he's a sparky!

Joking aside, he really is a great guy. We just want to give him an appropriate send off!

Thanks,

-A-

I've seen people wrap every single item - desk, drawers, pencls, i mean everything - in someones cube with aluminum foil (that took forever!) and i've seen another cube filled with packing peanuts, using plastic pallet wrap to block the opening. Another time, the office was completely re-arranged.

This is not a prank, but if you say he's a good guy, here's something to think about.

A friend of mine worked at Remmington Arms, as the ME he developed new production lines, one receiver he working on got S/N 0001, he had it inspected and it passed. He tossed it in his drawer and forgot about it. 20 years late, he was ready to retire and his co-workers pulled that receiver out of his desk and had the rifle built JUST FOR HIM. That little gift with S/N 0001 is now worth a BUNDLE of money.

He never forgot them for that..

Make a nicely decorated cake for his office going away get together, out of foam rubber. Ask him to cut the first piece. Have the real cake in the closet.

I saw this done once. The fellow trying to cut the cake being a nice guy didn't want to embarrass the person who brought the cake in. He stood there sawing and sawing at this cake until we all started laughing and he knew something was up.

I think this might be just the thing. We could use the polymer from our own plant!

Brilliant!

so far. . .

-A-

I'd like to know how it goes if you use this. It was lots of laughs for days to come when I saw it.

That gives a new twist to the definition of sponge cake!

Because the intended victim loves golf, you could give him some worn out golf equipment, but put it in a box from a new item with a high-priced brand name on it.

Glue the clubs in the bag...

That's great! I'll have to remember that one for future use.

LOL that must be the best prank i've ever seen...

John.

That's soooo good.

Outstanding ! Well worth the effort.

Buy him a new sand iron or putter and fill the shaft with silversand...he'll wonder how come it's so heavy and completely useless until he gets the sand out.

"silversand"?

(Query from USA)

Fine dry sand... 'block paving' sand... good dry sharpsand would do, or dry builders sand... or salt or whatever (semtex? )

"a good (non-destructive) office prank."

There is no such thing as a non-destructive prank!

My favorite has always been Styrofoam beads. In the office it sticks to everything.... for days and weeks. Open a desk drawer and poof, it is snowing.

Another fellow who retired could not stand the smell of fresh popcorn. I, we removed the sun roof from his car and filled his car full of popcorn. As a parting gift a hot air popcorn maker. (no salt or butter was used in the filling of his car)

When the real stinker of our bunch retired, a single drop of skunk scent was carefully dripped onto the cushion of his desk chair and of course the scent transferred to him when he sat down. The office retirement party was pretty short but the scent stayed with him for days.

Last and not least, one fellow who often joked of having to do everything for everyone found himself completely alone for the first 4 hours of his last day. A camera was carefully placed to record his every move while working alone. The tape with audio was played back at his retirement party showing the highlights of his morning. Sleeping, loudly passing gas, scratching his crack and a few built in surprises for his morning....

Hope these ideas help? As you can guess each joke was tailor make for the person retiring.

Your plant polymer cake may be the real deal, and a tampered-with putter per Del would be a good gift, but if he's as desk-fussy as every EE I've ever known, try this - rearrange everything on his desk in a right-left mirror image. Stapler and tape on the right side? They go to the left side. Phone on the left side? It goes where the stapler & tape vacated. Etc.

If it's a real desk in a real office, and not the all-hooked-together cube farm stuff, then do it with the entire office - desk, chair(s), bookcase, every piece of furniture. That last day will make him dizzy, but nothing gets damaged (more's the pity!). But a good send-up send-off along with all the rest.

In the same vein that you suggest, I think oomsarel's link (post #9), while quite elaborate, is wonderful.

I'd contact one of the "name" golf ball manufacturers (10 leading manufacturers: Ben Hogan, Bridgestone/Precept, Callaway, Dunlop, Maxfli, Nike, Pinnacle, Titleist, Top Flite, and Wilson). See if they don't have some off-center golf balls that when one rolls a ball on the floor, it does really strange things. Hit one, and it can go almost anywhere, but certainly not where you intended! Possibly a "joke" store would have some of these joke balls.

There are some interesting golf balls on iwoot.com:

Like RC Golf ball and the Crazy Golf Balls.

Someone in our plant found a remote controlled whoopee cushion somewhere. We put it in our guys desk drawer. Had the Plant Mgr. call him to congratulate him on his retirement. While he was on the phone and all of us hiding outside his cubicle we fired off the whoopee cushion several times. Our guy couldn't keep a straight face or talk sensibly. Fun for everyone. Might not be appropriate for everyone but was great for our guy since he was a windy salesman type.

Simple but effective one:

1) Fill a latex glove with talcum powder or similar.

2) Tie filled glove around exhaust tightly so it does not come off.

3) All stand at window waving him off and wait.

4) Glove will fill with exhaust fumes and explode very loudly and give off a big plume of talc (which will give the impression that the engine has blown).

5) Sit back and laugh heartily.

P.S. Make sure he has not got a dodgy heart first or it could all literally backfire.

Excellent...quick, simple, effective ...and cheap

I knew I could count on you guys!

Thanks one and all!

-A-

P.S. This is gunna be good. . .

Make sure you tell us all about it (with pics, if at all possible...)

I second that! If no pics, then at least a good description...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YC6Wp8xcqto

PMSL ! The guy probably got called Wendy ever-after.

Gives a whole new meaning to Ted's Sheds*! Wotta classic!

(*a purveyor of garden equipment sheds, gazebos, etc. here in the U.S. for the Brits et al in the audience)

doh, i wasn't logged in!

I once made a jewelry box for a departing employee by cutting two lengths of 2x6 about 6 inches long. Set the two pieces one on the other and put a couple of cute hinges between the two 2x6s on one side and a cute hook latch on the opposite side. I stained the thing and put a coat of gloss polyurethane on it so it really looked beautiful. Of course when you opened it, there was no inside.

Another time, I took a 4x4 about 16 inches long. I turned down a handle at one end and labeled it "Freds Employee Incentive Plan". Fred got quite a laugh out of it.

Bill

Do all of them.

A great gag gift for a golfer is to take a 6 pack or so of golf balls and paint them with a camouflage paint job. Words on the gift card should indicate that it is a hard to find gift.

OOOH good one. Of course you know I'm going to pass this off as my own idea.

Thanks,

-A-