OK, let's be honest. Stuff like glittery soap in the bathrooms or chalk in the erasers (does anyone actually still use chalk any more?) is cute, but pretty pedestrian. Maybe OK for a quick gag at summer camp, but these are not really the stuff that legends are made from.
The surprising addition of a flag pole (complete with pirate flag) or moving a multi-ton rock is heading in the right direction, and worthy of an honorable mention.
But if you want examples of how the professional leagues do it when it comes to institutional pranks, then there is only one place to go - to the
great M.I.T. Hacks.
MIT engineering students have a history of creative, clever and non-damaging pranks that combine the best of an engineering challenges and good sense of humor. They are so good that they have spawned several books to record their history, and are a regular feature on the MIT campus. It is not unusual to find them on the front pages of newspapers around the world each spring.
Some of the favorites include this year's installation of the Apollo 11 lunar lander on the top of the great dome:
and the
Robot Rights Protest
although this has to be one of my favorites:
-dave
.