Practical Jokes

I like Practical Jokes. On any given day in the workplace, you could be the butt of a joke. That's part of the fun of spending 40+ hours with the same people week in and week out. If you can't laugh at each other, and accept being laughed at too, then you should probably find a new job.

My previous place of employment was an advertising agency in Philly, and there was no shortage of practical jokes between us. It's seriously how we made it through some long, long days. In honor of April Fool's Day, below are three simple practical jokes from my time there that you can pull on your co-workers today. Just be sure to get them before they get you. Enjoy and share other practical jokes in the comments section!

1. The 'N' and 'M' Switch - Pop off the 'N' and 'M' keys from your co-worker's keyboard and switch them around. This joke was played on me once and I was damn near ready to call IT to figure out what was wrong with my computer.


2. The Print Screen Wallpaper - Take a "Print Screen" screen shot of the co-worker's desktop as it normally looks (with folders, files and all). Next, change the settings on their desktop to not show those folders and files, but to hide them. And finally, upload that "Print Screen" screen shot as their new wallpaper. It will freak them out when their mouse cursor moves fine, but nothing opens when they click.
   


3. The Talking Computer - This one is for the Mac users, as I am not sure Windows has the speech function (but I could be wrong). Within Preferences, go to Speech. Open the Universal Access and activate the VoiceOver utility, whereby the computer will speak any action that is made--minimizing a window, typing, moving the cursor, you name it. Meant for those who have trouble seeing, it's great for pissing off co-workers. Oh yeah, make sure their volume is turned way up, too.

Good luck with your practical jokes, and please don't blame me if you get beat up or fired. I cannot be held accountable for your breach of office policies or inability to keep a straight face.


Hey everyone! All next week is going to be Andy Locke Likes: Phillies Week! The topic each day will center on my like--no wait, LOVE--of the World Series Champion Philadelphia Phillies and the start of the 2009 baseball season! Check it out starting Monday.