The Art of the Practical Joke
By: Connie Song
Tags: Humor, Impractical Joker, Happiness, Practical Jokes, Bullying

I’ve heard that it’s one of George Clooney’s favorite pastimes. As for me, unless the superstar celebrity is going to gift me a golden suitcase filled with a million dollars, his penchant is not my cup of tea. Or coffee. And it’s not how I market or brand myself. Unlike Clooney.

I am talking about playing practical jokes on people, including your friends.

You can ask his actor-friends like Brad Pitt, Richard Kind, Matt Damon, and Sandra Bullock, and a long list who have been “Clooney-ed” by the prankster. Notorious amongst the pranks he’s pulled: secretly attaching an offensive car sticker that mocked police, ultimately causing a traffic stop for a good friend; playing a prank with someone’s kitty litter; pretending to be part of a group getting ready to jump into the pool, blindsiding the one sucker who dives in, alone, at the count of three.

Classic is the story of how he duped Matt Damon, who, by the way, he knew was trying to lose weight, by involving a co-conspirator wardrobe seamstress to keep taking in Damon’s pants every few days, leaving Damon perplexed as to how his clothes were getting tighter on this diet.

Definition

A practical joke is defined as a prank or a mischievous trick played on someone, generally causing the victim to experience embarrassment, confusion, or discomfort.

Why do I laugh at practical jokes, watching them on videos for hours on end, yet dread one crossing my path? Ironic? Why do we laugh, when we see someone get pranked with a whipped cream pie in the face? Is there an art to executing practical jokes?

The practice has a history rich in hidden, candid camera stunts on intended innocent victims, by comic veterans like Allen Funt and Fannie Flagg. And there’s a contemporary ensemble of tricksters, called the Impractical Jokers.

And thousands of videos on You-Tube.

But, it goes back even further to ancient Roman festivals and Elizabethan times. All in the name of comic relief.

I’ve had a few experiences with a resident practical joker at work. He was actually our supervisor. Soon, we all became painfully aware of his pranks, but whenever anything was missing or amiss, he was always the one we intuitively blamed.

Psychological Effects of Practical Jokes

There are different categories of practical jokes:

Friendly Fire

This is the Animal House type of frat-boy camaraderie or rivalry between friends or groups. There is a spirit of competition and mental astuteness in outsmarting your social opponent.

And also, in retaliation. Move, counter-move. A veritable game of creative chess. This bond tells us to take the prank in stride and be a good sport about it but also invites a strategic, tactical reciprocal prank in response.

Rites of Initiation

Some social science studies show there is an innate sense of humor, bonding or social acceptance in performing rites of passage, and in seeing a friend’s or intended victim’s reaction, when going through an uncomfortable, often humiliating, but humorous experience, with a benign outcome. It’s often viewed as a rookie’s expected rite of passage, with the new guy paying their dues.

The victim might be the new office mate, who finds their stapler glued to the desk. Or the freshman who is forced to walk up and down the aisle of a bus, with their sweater and hat on backward, and apply for a job at the local eatery; (my actual high school initiation.)

Bullying vs Victim

Some psychologists have studied the behaviors of prank-playing with associated systemic bullying, targeted leveling of the playing field, victimization, or as a mirror of psychology to see behavioral reactions to stress. There is a fine line, where pranks by bullies are much less tolerated, except by proponents of survival of the fittest.

The Interconnection of Humor and Horror

Psychologists have studied the effect of watching comedies, as well as horror movies. Viewers can live vicariously through both scenarios, knowing the degrees of separation that exists between a virtual, rather than actual reality.

Some see the benefit of a comic release valve to cope with stressful, high-pressure situations, or the flip side, to relieve boredom. The element of surprise plays an important component to creating the quintessential practical joke.

One time, I was sitting in the massage chair in the mall, taking a break from some tiring shopping. Noticed people entering and exiting from a tent set up between me and the back base of the escalator cascade. Looking closer, I spotted a table being set up by a stage hand, with prop glassware. It was a prank TV show being taped. I have to admit, it was fun watching the production, I was just glad I wasn’t being punked.

Ingenuity

I recently came across something on the web, called the Pythagoras cup, when doing my research on practical jokes. Seems that, if this specially designed wine cup was filled above the line of demarcation, it triggered a siphon mechanism to drain the contents of the entire cup.

Turns out that Pythagoras was not intending to play a prank, but instead to terlimit inebriation from the wine for his guests and students. At least, that was the practical part of it.

Pharsaphobia

By now, many of us are either unsuspecting or cautiously aware of obnoxious prank antics from celebs like Sacha Baron Cohen or Ellen DeGeneres, or a multitude of YouTube videos on the platform.

Have a fear of pranks and practical jokes? That condition actually has a name, pharsaphobia. Are you the cynical type who incredulously asks the question, “Are you joking?” Either way, it’s wise to be on your toes, every day of the year, not just April 1st. Or the Ides of March.

When you stop to think about it, is there an epic, memorable practical joke that comes to mind?