Q.
Prank shows are having another moment. Do you like watching prank videos, or being caught in escalating prank wars? Or do thoughts of indelible ink, fake bosses, exploding patients, and hidden audiences fill you with dread? What insights have people gathered about pranking?

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A.

First, what is a ‘prank’? Merriam Webster captures the conundrum in a this or that definition:

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YouGov polled 3,695 US adults on the whole issue of pranks. Starting with the recipient side: 59% of respondents say that they do not like having pranks played on them. When asked about shenanigans central – April Fool’s Day – 45% say they find the day’s pranks amusing vs. the 47% who find them annoying.

In a One Poll survey of 1,000 adults, 33% of respondents say it’s “always” acceptable to prank back someone who has pranked you.

What do you think of these pranks…?

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The Most Acceptable Pranks – One Poll
i. Filling a room full of helium balloons – 58%
ii. Putting google eyes on unexpected household objects = 42%
iii. Posting something false on social media (🥺) – 40%
iv. Messing with someone – e.g. giving them an ink moustache –  who has fallen asleep – 38%
v. Intentionally scaring someone – 37%

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The Least Acceptable Pranks – One Poll
Do we even consider these ‘pranks’? These seem a lot more malicious than mischievous.
i. “Pantsing” someone in public – 29%
ii. Catfishing someone – 29%
iii. Faking a proposal or breakup – 28%
iv. Changing someone’s phone settings or contacts – 27%
v. Tampering with someone’s food or drink – 27%

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www.justcurious.ca

Header Art: Brassaī. The Balloon Merchant. 1931