Interwebby Goodness

Oh, pranks. Remember the days before called ID when you could call a random stranger and ask for "Mr. Wall". Of course, when they inform you that there is no "Mr. Walls" there, you ask the practical question: No walls? Then what's holding up your house? They never see it coming! And then there's the real life pranks; the fodder that April Fools Day is made of! Tacks on the teacher's chair, anyone? Well, thanks to the internet pranks have been taken to a whole other scale. If you want to relive some of that pranky greatness and discover some interwebby goodness all at the same time, check out Improv Everywhere.

This website comes from a dedicated group of pranksters who take pleasure in causing mass confusion with involving large numbers of people. These "missions" are carried out in NYC with volunteers gathered through their e-mailing list. The website offers videos, written accounts, audio, and even merchandise for sale.

One of my favourites was Mission: Best Buy. Basically, IE instructed a group of people to show up in a designated location, each wearing a royal blue polo shirt and khakis - the exact uniform of Best Buy employees. Then, about 80 of these people entered a nearby Best Buy. If asked directly, they told the truth, saying, "No, I don't work here," but otherwise they did try to help customers who needed assistance. Let's just say the police ended up showing up but it was hilarious.

Other noteworthy missions include:

Mission: Fake Ben Folds

Mission: No Shirt [see video above]

Mission: McDonalds Bathroom Attendant

Mission: Cell Phone Symphony

IE ended up doing some episodes for NBC. You got to give them E for effort and A+ for awesome. Still not sure what it's all about? Think Just for Laughs Gags only actually funny.