# Favorite Pranks



## TheLocalMedic (Dec 5, 2012)

EMS is one of the best environments for pranking coworkers, and at my current company we put a lot of time into pulling off good and complicated pranks.  What are some of your favorites?

We have a newbie who thought it was funny to try and jump out and scare us all the time.  He was warned to knock it off or we'd get him back but apparently he didn't know when to quit...  So when he went out on a call we seized the moment...

Removed all his furniture and personal stuff from his room and set it all up in the app bay just the way he had it inside.  Then we took the hinges off his door.  Next, I took one of his favorite sneakers, triple bagged it (didn't want to ruin it after all...) then filled another bag with water, stuck his wrapped shoe in it and threw it in the freezer.  Finally we found his car keys and moved his car around the block.  

The look on his face as he discovered all of our sabotage...  priceless!


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## DesertMedic66 (Dec 5, 2012)

Got ahold of a coworkers keys and took out his front seats and then faced them backwards in his truck and bolted them down. 

Saline bag taped to the wheel with tubing ran up the side aimed at the driver. 

Hung the gurney from the hand rail inside the ambulance. 

And some other ones that I'm not going to say...


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## Achilles (Dec 5, 2012)

I've heard some bad ones like kool aid in the boots. However, if anyone messed with my equipment heads would roll. Which is why many departments have polices not to :censored::censored::censored::censored: w/ others' equipment. 
I recall reading someone where someones boots were filled w/ H20 & they ended up w/ steam burns. :censored: 

Fun pranks, like cinnamon dragon, drinking a gallon of milk in an hour, dumping water on someone. My buddy has tied up and forced to eat a paintball :rofl:
I've been sprayed a few times...
It's all fun in games.
When I was doing clincals, I would always back my truck in @ the dept, and when I went out on a run, a few guys tied latex gloves to my hitch. didn't notice it until the next day when my Dad had said something :blink:

they also saran wrapped my notebook and put peanut butter all over it.


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## Anjel (Dec 5, 2012)

10cc syringe filled with water. Inject it into the driver and passenger seat. Looks dry until you sit down. 

Also while a crew was at the hospital we strapped the back doors closed with backboard straps.


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## TheLocalMedic (Dec 5, 2012)

The super-cape trick is a fun one if you know that the crew is going to a specific place (i.e. NOT on a call).  Going to a meeting is the best.  Take a sheet and close it into the top of the back doors and then flip it up over the top of the ambulance so it isn't really noticeable.  When they pull out they have a great big cape streaming out behind them!  This one can backfire if management sees it though...

Our station has paneled ceilings and we've been known to run IV tubing through the ceiling between rooms.  Position the end over someones bed and then you squeeze the bag in the next room so they get a little shower!


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## Medic Tim (Dec 5, 2012)

TheLocalMedic said:


> The super-cape trick is a fun one if you know that the crew is going to a specific place (i.e. NOT on a call).  Going to a meeting is the best.  Take a sheet and close it into the top of the back doors and then flip it up over the top of the ambulance so it isn't really noticeable.  When they pull out they have a great big cape streaming out behind them!  This one can backfire if management sees it though...
> 
> Our station has paneled ceilings and we've been known to run IV tubing through the ceiling between rooms.  Position the end over someones bed and then you squeeze the bag in the next room so they get a little shower!



I have done something similar. I froze the bag so it will slowly drip on their face/head late at night.


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## mycrofft (Dec 5, 2012)

I'm too grumpy to answer right now. Suffice to say things can get out of hand.


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## CritterNurse (Dec 8, 2012)

I've never pulled pranks on the job, but I was involved in a prank war back in college in my early 20's. Highlights of the prank war involved:

Blowing up hundreds of balloons and stashing them in trash bags in a nearby dorm-room. Then when the victim went to the gym to work out, we 'borrowed' her room key from the locker room, and filled her closet with balloons, piled them on her bed, on the floor, and everyplace we could stuff them. Her key was then returned to the locker-room.

Pineapple life-savers in the shower head.

Two drops of methylene blue in a victim's bottle of Pepsi-Blue.

Filling paper water-bombs and dropping them on the victim as they passed under the window on their way back to the dorm.

Changing people's outgoing voice-mail messages.

Going to one of the public phones on campus and leaving prank phone messages. Usually from Elmo or a Telly-tubby with the aid of a toy.

Paper bag with flour, inflated, and the top crimped. Slide the crimped edge under the door and jump on the bag. Flour shower.

Tying a rubber bat to a piece of fishing line, and hanging in from the ceiling. When the door opened, the bat would swing at them at eye-level.

Using my roommate's computer's screen reader, and recording a message for the IT department from the computer saying it was sick and needed help. (actually got the fastest response time from them. Usually they took days to respond. This one got a response first thing the next morning. They also wanted to know how we got the computer to leave the message).


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## medic417 (Dec 8, 2012)

mycrofft said:


> I'm too grumpy to answer right now. Suffice to say things can get out of hand.



Agreed.  I will leave it at use search feature as this idiotic topic has been done multiple times before.


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## Achilles (Dec 8, 2012)

medic417 said:


> Agreed.  I will leave it at use search feature as this idiotic topic has been done multiple times before.



Yea anyone that puts nitro on the toilet seat should have their license revoked. And then banned from this site 

-no joke!


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## climberslacker (Dec 9, 2012)

I once had friends build a GIANT snowman in my shower. That took some serious effort but was hilarious.


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## phideux (Dec 9, 2012)

Had one guy put the "cracked screen" screen saver on one of the Toughbooks. The next shifts crew turned it into IT, who in turn looked it over and sent it to Panasonic for repairs.
And who says those IT guys are smart.:rofl::rofl::rofl:


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## Hunter (Dec 9, 2012)

not really an EMS prank but something i saw a while ago and i wanna try <.<


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## Handsome Robb (Dec 9, 2012)

medic417 said:


> Agreed.  I will leave it at use search feature as this idiotic topic has been done multiple times before.



Negative Nancy much?

Hanging the cot from the grab rails is always good provided it doesn't mess with a response.


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## medic417 (Dec 9, 2012)

NVRob said:


> Negative Nancy much?
> 
> Hanging the cot from the grab rails is always good provided it doesn't mess with a response.



Unless ambulance is out of service permanently no way to be sure won't mess with response.  

But again as the dangers to the stupidity have been pointed out previously many times in many of these exact post I bid you goodbye.


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## 46Young (Dec 9, 2012)

Tie a rubber band to the spray nozzle at the sink, and direct it forward. The first person to turn on the water will get a little shower.

If someone falls asleep in the day room, tie their shoelaces together, but be ready to catch them if they get up for a call so they don't do a face plant.

Take someone's sneakers, take out the shoe laces, and lace them starting at the ankle, so that the bow is at the toes. When they go to PT, they'll get a surprise.

Put someone's clothes in a basin of water and put that basin in the freezer.

Get someone's car keys, drive their car around the corner and put their keys back.

Call dispatch and use an Arnold Schwartzenegger soundboard to speak to them.

Come up with a word of the day or phrase of the day for sanity - work this word or phrase into dialogue during a call. My favorites are:

Sad and unfortunate

Who is your daddy and what does he do

Flaccid

That was epic

Let's roll up our sleeve and get down to business

You can also parrot back whatever the pt says. For example:

Pt c/o toe pain for three weeks

Provider 1 - So, you've had toe pain for three weeks?

Provider 2 - Did you say toe pain for three weeks?

Provider 3 - Copy, toe pain for three weeks

Provider 4 - Just to be clear sir, you say that you've had toe pain for three weeks, correct?

This all should occur in under a minute. First person to do it gets three points, 2nd gets 2 points, third person 1 point. If the pt calls you out on it, you lose all the points for the day up to that point. Loser gets dishes, or nightwatch, has to clean the bus by themselves, or something like that.


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## Anjel (Dec 9, 2012)

46Young said:


> Come up with a word of the day or phrase of the day for sanity - work this word or phrase into dialogue during a call. My favorites are:
> 
> Sad and unfortunate
> 
> ...



I'm doing this tonight!


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## medic417 (Dec 10, 2012)

*Pranks are harmless.  No One Gets Hurt!*

For all that say pranks are harmless tell that to the family of this nurse. 

You never know what can cause some one to reach the breaking point.  Your "harmless" prank may be it.  Suck to have to live with knowing your minute of laughter would be last thing in that persons mind.

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/art...tml?ITO=1490&ns_mchannel=rss&ns_campaign=1490


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## TheLocalMedic (Dec 10, 2012)

medic417 said:


> Unless ambulance is out of service permanently no way to be sure won't mess with response.
> 
> But again as the dangers to the stupidity have been pointed out previously many times in many of these exact post I bid you goodbye.



:sad:  Awwww...  Sounds like somebody doesn't like pranks...  

I'm a big fan of the Saran wrap across the door at face level.


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## medic417 (Dec 10, 2012)

http://gma.yahoo.com/djs-gutted-over-uk-nurses-suicide-114857115--abc-news-topstories.html


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## TheLocalMedic (Dec 10, 2012)

medic417 said:


> For all that say pranks are harmless tell that to the family of this nurse.
> 
> You never know what can cause some one to reach the breaking point.  Your "harmless" prank may be it.  Suck to have to live with knowing your minute of laughter would be last thing in that persons mind.
> 
> http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/art...tml?ITO=1490&ns_mchannel=rss&ns_campaign=1490



Sigh...  Yes, that was a mean one, but most pranks are harmless and fun at work.  If you don't want to play, then don't, but take your soap box elsewhere.


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## medic417 (Dec 10, 2012)

Actually that was not a mean prank.  it did no physical harm.  It delayed no patient care.  Yet it led to death.  Many of the idiotic things posted can lead to immediate harm to the person involved or to the patient that care is delayed for.  Then even just verbal games designed to annoy patients for points WOW unprofessional and if a patient brought that to my attention it would be immediate termination.


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## TheLocalMedic (Dec 10, 2012)

Don't be a wet blanket.  Take your soap box elsewhere.  If you can't handle a prank or take a joke, then don't.  Go read another post and quit messing with this one.

On that note...  The "I concur" game is fun.  When asking questions or taking vitals, ask if your partner concurs frequently.  

"His pressure is 120/80, do you concur?"

"I concur.  I am about to administer nitro, do you concur?"

"I concur wholeheartedly!"


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## CANDawg (Dec 11, 2012)

I think one of the biggest things to remember is that pranks should be a two way street. If I'm going to prank someone I start off with something small. If they reciprocate later on, then it's on. If they don't, its over.

Constantly pranking someone that doesn't enjoy it or reciprocate is rude, childish, and can be dangerous. There's a fine line between pranking and harassing.

Be responsible.


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## Tigger (Dec 11, 2012)

medic417 said:


> For all that say pranks are harmless tell that to the family of this nurse.
> 
> You never know what can cause some one to reach the breaking point.  Your "harmless" prank may be it.  Suck to have to live with knowing your minute of laughter would be last thing in that persons mind.
> 
> http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/art...tml?ITO=1490&ns_mchannel=rss&ns_campaign=1490



If you live your life thinking "gosh this could be the last thing someone thinks about before taking their own life," life would get pretty tough.


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## DesertMedic66 (Dec 11, 2012)

Your partner falls asleep while you are driving, pull up behind a semi towing another semi backwards and then scream. They tend to think the semi is heading towards you and will also scream. 

When we get a code 3 call and my partner isn't paying attention ill roll down the passenger window and then hit the siren.


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## TheLocalMedic (Dec 12, 2012)

I enjoy flipping the on the sirens in all the ambulances parked in the app bay so they go off when the engine is turned on.


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## Anjel (Dec 12, 2012)

TheLocalMedic said:


> I enjoy flipping the on the sirens in all the ambulances parked in the app bay so they go off when the engine is turned on.



That gets me every time! Lol


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## Ace 227 (Dec 13, 2012)

I have a few that I'll use depending on who my partner is. If we are clearing from the hospital and another one of our units is there we'll usually switch the radio mics(we have one for county dispatch and one for company dispatch), turn on the siren, and put surgi-lube on the door handles.  The best part is listening to the other crew clear themselves over the wrong radio frequency lol


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## TheLocalMedic (Dec 13, 2012)

That's pretty funny.  Sometimes I'll grab the mike and start screaming obscenities at dispatch (without depressing the talk button) for sending us on a call.  The shocked look on my partner's face is always worth it!


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## MediMike (Dec 13, 2012)

Switch the box spring and the mattress in the bed.  Trust me, when a 200lb man throws himself down onto the bed at night he'll realize it mighty quick haha.

Retaliation was taking every dish and piece of cutlery and spreading them throughout every flat surface in the station...


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## lightsandsirens5 (Dec 13, 2012)

Takes a little setup, but I like the one where you get a bag of expired saline and an expired dripset and set the bag in front of one of their tires (preferably on their pov). You then run the tubing up under their dash. If you stick an 18 or 16 gauge cath on the end and point it at where their crotch will be, when they drive forward they will get blasted. 

Put a zip-tie around their dive shaft (again, on the pov) so when they dive it slaps the floor board and makes a racket. Just be careful it won't tear anything up.


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## TheLocalMedic (Dec 14, 2012)

lightsandsirens5 said:


> Takes a little setup, but I like the one where you get a bag of expired saline and an expired dripset and set the bag in front of one of their tires (preferably on their pov). You then run the tubing up under their dash. If you stick an 18 or 16 gauge cath on the end and point it at where their crotch will be, when they drive forward they will get blasted.
> 
> Put a zip-tie around their dive shaft (again, on the pov) so when they dive it slaps the floor board and makes a racket. Just be careful it won't tear anything up.



Well done.  I also like the one where you place a bag of saline under the seat with the tubing wrapped around to the back of the headrest so that when they sit down they get a blast down the back of the neck.


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## 9D4 (Dec 16, 2012)

Gotta go with the classic shock pen, of course. I bought one for like $15 that delivered a really strong shock, kind of actually hurt. Someone asked to borrow it in class one time, I gave it to them, it shocked them. She got so scared she threw it straight up in the air and it got stuck in the ceiling point first... I went on a ride along with one of my friends and there was a non-priority pt and I let him use it. Pt and the rest of the fire crew got a kick out of it... Him, not so much. 
I only prank people that will prank back, though. If they'll get pissy, not worth it. I did a pretty bad one, they got me back by putting syrup of ipecac in my drink... I tasted it, but I drank it all, just to spite them. Ended up, not so great... They won that prank war.
Another thing I used to do in class. Take their back pack, take everything out, flip it inside out, put everything back in and ziptie the zippers on the inside as tight as you can get them.


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## 74restore (Dec 17, 2012)

blittle said:


> I did a pretty bad one, they got me back by putting syrup of ipecac in my drink... I tasted it, but I drank it all, just to spite them. Ended up, not so great...



I'm still unsure of why anyone, prank or not, would willingly drink syrup of ipecac?


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## Achilles (Dec 17, 2012)

Any chem majors in here?:mellow:

Methylene blue:blink:


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## Jon (Dec 17, 2012)

74restore said:


> I'm still unsure of why anyone, prank or not, would willingly drink syrup of ipecac?



I concur. Better: He claims his friends won that prank battle.

I contest that once ipecac becomes involved, no one wins.


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## 9D4 (Dec 17, 2012)

wasn't aware of what they put in it. Just tasted a little off. I drank it all, because no one is making me waste one of my $7 starbucks... I only get those like once a month, ha. 
I did get him back though, but I still think he won. I went out to his POV and jacked it up just so the rear tires weren't touching and he spent like 15 mins trying to figure out why he wasn't going anywhere. The next day, I took out all his seats and took his doors off the car and hid them in different class rooms around campus. Made sure I stayed with the car so no one took anything else, though.


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## TheLocalMedic (Dec 17, 2012)

Achilles said:


> Any chem majors in here?:mellow:
> 
> Methylene blue:blink:



Yessss.  A truly interesting prank, although red also gets a pretty good reaction when they think they're peeing blood...


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## 74restore (Dec 18, 2012)

Achilles said:


> Any chem majors in here?:mellow:
> 
> Methylene blue:blink:



^^ This is awesome.


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## CritterNurse (Dec 18, 2012)

Achilles said:


> Any chem majors in here?:mellow:
> 
> Methylene blue:blink:



I was a chem minor, but I got mine from a biology major during the prank war when I put it in someone's Pepsi Blue.

There is a food coloring sometimes sold as 'Natural Red' that will turn urine red if you eat enough, but I would not suggest using it as a prank. I know far too many people who would run to the ER if they thought they had blood in their urine, and that is an awful expensive prank if they don't have insurance.


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## Glider (Jan 4, 2013)

Ace 227 said:


> I have a few that I'll use depending on who my partner is. If we are clearing from the hospital and another one of our units is there we'll usually switch the radio mics(we have one for county dispatch and one for company dispatch), turn on the siren, and put surgi-lube on the door handles.  The best part is listening to the other crew clear themselves over the wrong radio frequency lol



FOUND YOU!

Someone did this to me last month, word for word, and also put a headblock on the windshield.


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## Shepard (Jan 4, 2013)

I worked with a medic who, after clearing from a call would wait for another unit to come in and give a ring down. He liked to key the mic on and off, making it seem like the other unit had radio problems. He did it to his friends and wave and smile as they came in looking all kinds of pissed off.


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## TheLocalMedic (Jan 8, 2013)

On Spinter ambulances there is a way to reprogram the siren to get that European "hee-haw" sound.  It takes a little time, so this is best done when the unit isn't in service.  We kept doing it to one of our rigs and the boss got so mad that he spent an entire day figuring out how to completely disable that particular siren!


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## lightsandsirens5 (Jan 8, 2013)

Shepard said:


> I worked with a medic who, after clearing from a call would wait for another unit to come in and give a ring down. He liked to key the mic on and off, making it seem like the other unit had radio problems. He did it to his friends and wave and smile as they came in looking all kinds of pissed off.



This of corse only works if your radio doesn't automatically identify you when you key up....


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## JMorin95 (Jan 8, 2013)

Tigger said:


> If you live your life thinking "gosh this could be the last thing someone thinks about before taking their own life," life would get pretty tough.



Words to live by!


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## Milla3P (Jan 8, 2013)

I do enjoy screaming and slamming on the brakes when my partners sleeping.


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## TheLocalMedic (Jan 16, 2013)

Milla3P said:


> I do enjoy screaming and slamming on the brakes when my partners sleeping.



Also faking falling asleep at the wheel is good for a laugh.  

Recently one of my coworkers put a "we reserve the right to refuse service to anyone" placard up in the ambulance.  If only...


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## Bullets (Jan 16, 2013)

At our rescue squad, we had a "drill" with one guy who sleeps like the dead. Our second rescue was being sold so we just had a pile of all the equipment laying in the bay. While he was asleep, we used the airbags and cribbing and lifted his bed so it was up against the ceiling. 

Talcum powder in the air vents

We had a new EMT who was a huge fire wacker in the same town. While sleeping we ran in yelling "structure fire" and he flipped himself on the floor


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## mrg86 (Jan 16, 2013)

I came home from a fire conference to find my dorm room filled with bean bag pellets. My coworkers had bought 100 gallons worth and used a leaf blower to distribute them. They opened up every drawer in my dresser, bed and computer desk. Two years later, when I moved out of the station, I was still finding the pellets.


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## hoeyxd (Jan 23, 2013)

if you leave the rig unlocked at my company, you'll either find your gurney fully risen in the back or all the equipment in the unsealed cabinets stuffed in the fron compartment of the ambulance


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## NREMTPPrjDir (Feb 8, 2013)

On a late night LD and your partner has went to sleep pull up behind a Semi. Make sure it is in park and Scream OF #$^& as loud as you can.

Put someones car up for sale cheap.

Place personal ad in local swingers mag give victims cell phone number.


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## mycrofft (Feb 9, 2013)

Our nursing station at the jail had glass windows; I put a "Neighborhood Watch" sticker in one.

We had many unnecessary walk-ins (inmates claiming an emergency trying to get a free "sick call" to get off work etc); I put an "American Express" sticker in the window by the door.  That caused a conniption, they said I was trying to discourage walk-ins. So I took it down and posted the price we'd charge them if they did a walk-in (same as sick call). That didn't fly either.
Sheesh..<_<.


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## joeylee096 (Mar 27, 2013)

*Fake fire*

So we have these huge red lights that our FF use for training. It was like 330 on a 24 hr shift. So we set these lights up and hook up our smoke machine and let it flow for like 5-7 minutes. It is 3 of us working this and one guy sleeping. Anyway, we put on the FF suits and helmets and all. We went all out. Go into the bunk room and start screaming at this guy to wake up. The smoke detectors in the house were going off and we tell him to get the hell up and go- go-go. We threw a towell over his head and told him to follow us. At this point in time, he is almost wetting his pants. We were going to take him outside and leave him in his boxers out in the snow, but he moved the towel and saw it was all fake. Anyway....best prank EVER!
:rofl:


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## Household6 (Mar 27, 2013)

Achilles said:


> Any chem majors in here?:mellow:
> 
> Methylene blue:blink:



That stuff tastes awful... I tried it once just to see if it works, but it's so bitter that it's nearly impossible to choke down.


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## TheLocalMedic (Apr 4, 2013)

Get fancy dog biscuits and leave them sitting out on a plate in a common area.  You'd be surprised how many people will eat more than one!


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## CritterNurse (Apr 4, 2013)

TheLocalMedic said:


> Get fancy dog biscuits and leave them sitting out on a plate in a common area.  You'd be surprised how many people will eat more than one!



Sometimes you don't even need to put them on a plate. I bought a bag of some strawberry and peanut butter dog 'cookies' and left them on the coffee-table to use as training treats for the rats. My dad picks up the bag and starts munching on them. I then point out the word 'pet' on the bag, the picture of a dog on the bag, and the paw prints decorating it. He then shrugs, says they taste good anyway, and then shares them with the fur-kids.


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## TheLocalMedic (Apr 4, 2013)

CritterNurse said:


> Sometimes you don't even need to put them on a plate. I bought a bag of some strawberry and peanut butter dog 'cookies' and left them on the coffee-table to use as training treats for the rats. My dad picks up the bag and starts munching on them. I then point out the word 'pet' on the bag, the picture of a dog on the bag, and the paw prints decorating it. He then shrugs, says they taste good anyway, and then shares them with the fur-kids.



Hahahahaha! Brilliant!


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## Sublime (Apr 5, 2013)

Our truck has a GPS that is used. We changed the language to chinese and put it on as loud as it goes. 

Others i've heard of but never done: Lidocaine on the tooth brush. 
Lidocaine on a piece of gum.
Changing the parked ambulance at the ERs radio station to rap and cranking it all the way up while the crew is inside.
Turning the A/C on cold in the winter /
Turning the heater on in summer while the crews inside.

Im all for pranks as long as they don't compromise response times or patient care. I don't really like the idea of "word" games with patients, seems unprofessional.


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## Handsome Robb (Apr 5, 2013)

It's always entertaining to turn the mod power switch off then turn all the overheads, the siren and anything else on you can that the mod power switch will kill when someone's dropping a patient off in the ER. They come out, sit in the passenger seat and try to turn the map light on to chart, realize the mod power is off, they turnit on and welcome to the disco!

Make sure you're in your ambulance with the windows up if you value your hearing though.


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## DesertMedic66 (Apr 5, 2013)

Robb said:


> It's always entertaining to turn the mod power switch off then turn all the overheads, the siren and anything else on you can that the mod power switch will kill when someone's dropping a patient off in the ER. They come out, sit in the passenger seat and try to turn the map light on to chart, realize the mod power is off, they turnit on and welcome to the disco!
> 
> Make sure you're in your ambulance with the windows up if you value your hearing though.



I've had a crew do this to me. I noticed what they did as soon as I shut my door. The crew decided to stand in front of the ambulance to laugh when I turned the mod power on. So naturally I changed the siren tone to a louder tone and then flipped the mod on. My partner and I laughed, the other crew not so much :rofl:


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