QotD: Best Practical Joke
What's the best practical joke you've pulled or had pulled on you?
Submitted by Mike Schwartz.
Many years ago, my friend Spass and I owned condos in the same
complex. These were fairly nice townhouses, with private
courtyards in front and reasonably large back yards.
Spass had a tendency to go overboard sometimes, and at some point he got it into his head that he needed to landscape the front courtyard. A normal person would put in some bark dust and planters, and toss a few plants in for good measure. They might even build a small rock garden or even plant a small tree, and if they were feeling especially ambitious, put in a drip irrigation system.
Spass was not a normal person in this respect, no sirree. He spent weeks digging up the yard, installing a zoned sprinkler system with electronic timer, building retaining walls for terraces, sculpting a walkway, building planters and a bench, and just generally spending way too much time and energy on a space that couldn't have been larger than two hundred square feet. Of course, his friends gave him no end of grief about this while occasionally helping out. We just did it for the beer, honest.
And then, right after the great landscaping project was finally finished, Spass's birthday rolled around. I've never been one to leave well enough alone, and I have just the tiniest streak of overkill myself. I decided that the courtyard, lovely though it was, needed some extra help. A trip to the local carnival supply store provided me with all the materials I needed, and I spent a few evenings getting everything ready.
The rest of the story, with additional photos, is here.
Spass had a tendency to go overboard sometimes, and at some point he got it into his head that he needed to landscape the front courtyard. A normal person would put in some bark dust and planters, and toss a few plants in for good measure. They might even build a small rock garden or even plant a small tree, and if they were feeling especially ambitious, put in a drip irrigation system.
Spass was not a normal person in this respect, no sirree. He spent weeks digging up the yard, installing a zoned sprinkler system with electronic timer, building retaining walls for terraces, sculpting a walkway, building planters and a bench, and just generally spending way too much time and energy on a space that couldn't have been larger than two hundred square feet. Of course, his friends gave him no end of grief about this while occasionally helping out. We just did it for the beer, honest.
And then, right after the great landscaping project was finally finished, Spass's birthday rolled around. I've never been one to leave well enough alone, and I have just the tiniest streak of overkill myself. I decided that the courtyard, lovely though it was, needed some extra help. A trip to the local carnival supply store provided me with all the materials I needed, and I spent a few evenings getting everything ready.
The rest of the story, with additional photos, is here.
