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01/17/2005: The Gags & Pranks Extravaganza!

Gotta admit, I didn’t think I’d finish this on time. On the boardwalk of Atlantic City, and the same shop where I found that finagled Pokemon Pasta down below, I found….this. It’s a beautiful buffet of old gags, pranks and novelties — everything from fake puke to squirting pens…all the stuff we used to order from Johnson Smith and Brad’s Fun Shop. I can’t tell you how tickled I was to come across this stuff. Article features a look at a sixteen different, including such classics as the “bug in an ice cube,” and of course, “snap snots.” Yum. Enjoy.

Posted by Matt. E-mail me!

Discussion Thread: 81 comments

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I read reviews of the death of WCW, and thought about picking it up. Now that I know Matt gets a shout-out it is as good as sold. Outta curiosity is it a thank you shout-out, or is it actually in the context of the book?

Ghosted by Ed @ 01/18/2005 11:10 PM EST

Hmm…Cyanyde, where I’m from, we called those who used fake bullet holes on their cars something other than "Gangstaz". The generally accepted term was "white trash", but there are other ways of stating it.

Ghosted by Mara @ 01/19/2005 1:58 AM EST

Some of those windows seem to pop-under instead of pop-up. I hope that’s a prank.

Ghosted by dfgdfggd @ 01/19/2005 8:58 AM EST

i cant even find myself in those AC stores. 5 dollars for a hot dog; guess the pranks are a better deal.

Ghosted by msa @ 01/19/2005 11:04 AM EST

The item number on the cookie roach makes me want to believe that there’s atleast 17237 more of these things. I want one of those fake bullet holes. I’d put in on my forehead. That would show everybody! Show everybody!

Ghosted by iivuli @ 01/19/2005 11:51 AM EST

It’s just a Thank You but it’s cool that RD acknowledges Matt…I know I will if I ever write a book about my life…this site gets me through many a boring day at work!

Ghosted by Monkey Boy @ 01/19/2005 11:53 AM EST

Hi! I’m all new to this kind of pages on the net. I sertanly think it’s an extraordinerily page! Man. I’m your new daily guest.

Ghosted by Kråke @ 01/19/2005 1:09 PM EST

Didn’t Homer try to trick Dr. Hibbert with one of those fake insect ice cubes when Marge threw a dinner party? For once, Hibbert wasn’t laughing . . . he warned that it would be safer for the jokee if the joker made his own bug in a cube.

This article and the format reminds me of one of the first articles I ever read on this site and still one of my all time faves. The amzing incredible bag o crap.

http://www.x-entertainment.com/articles/0856/

Ghosted by Pedro @ 01/19/2005 1:44 PM EST

ED & Muppet Baby: There’s a show on the Discovery Channel called Mythbusters where they did the vaccuum cleaner hovercraft and actually got it to work with a little rejiggering. Pretty cool show.

Bugs in ice cubes? You’re more likely to fool someone with those plastic lightup ice cubes.

Ghosted by JLAJRC @ 01/19/2005 4:56 PM EST

Man those things really brought me back! In addition to the snapping gum, my friends and I used to love the gum that turned a person’s mouth blue. It was mint flavoured, so the unsuspecting chewer would keep in their mouth for awhile before realizing their entire mouth was blue. Ahh, the memories!

Ghosted by jolie @ 01/19/2005 4:58 PM EST

my favorite pranks growing up had to have been the things you put in cigarettes that exploded. I use to get my grandparents and dad all the time and got the greatest reactions! I remember those ads for the hovercrafts, in the back of Boy’s Life magazine.. man there was some cool stuff in that. Anyone ever had the "smoke from fingertips" stuff? it was sticky and gooey and when you put it on your fingertips and rubbed them together strings of the gooey stuff, "smoke", wafted out.

Ghosted by Will @ 01/20/2005 12:25 PM EST

Oh man, the description of the fake beer was DEAD ON! Urine topped with fried cheese. Hilarious!

I remember buying one of the "spicy hot" gums once. The package said they were blistering hot, but when my friend’s dad took one he thought it was pretty good and our prank was deflated.

A great alternative use for the classic whoopie cushion would be carrying it around like under your armpit and letting it rip when your around other people. That is, if you’re the type of person who is amused by seeing other people react when they think you just laid one in their face.

Ghosted by Al @ 01/20/2005 12:37 PM EST

I work at a video store 2 doors away from a shitty dollar store, and my boss has had to tell the owner many times to get rid of those damn stink bombs. The little punk kids (little bastards!!!!!!) were throwing them down the outside video drop box like its a perfectly acceptable practice to do so. Well, imagine their suprise the one day when my co-worker, Chris, who is so timid, walked out of the store and threw it at them. Needless to say, this rag tag bunch forgot to DETONATE the friggin stink bomb. Dumb kids. They haven’t done it since–maybe my boss finally got to the manager, or perhaps she threatened to have her employees throw them in his store. In that case, I would have lined up at the opportunity to do so.

Sigh.

Anyways, Matt, great article as always. Always fun to read about your exploits to AC. I was there several weeks ago, January 8th, and I won $146.50 on the Fox and the Hound slots at the Borgata. I thought that was great…till my bf Steve won over $300. Oh well.

Sigh (again).

Ghosted by Allison @ 01/20/2005 9:36 AM EST

BTW, Chris (co-worker mentioned above) isn’t timid anymore.

That fake beer looks like it fermented too long. Yuck. Fake snot?! Someone with a cold could produce equally nasty stuff for free (not that that’s fascinating and such). Bug ice cube is so outdated–it’s been done.

We did gag bags in 4th grade, and I put the fishy candy in the gag bag. I heard the girl who got it had to spit it out in seconds. I didn’t like her anyway. Yea!!!!!!!

Ghosted by Allison @ 01/20/2005 9:41 AM EST

Hmmm…no whoopie cushion. Im shocked…

Ghosted by Alex @ 01/20/2005 2:14 PM EST

Who’s my little Cookie Roach?
Who’s my little Cookie Roach?
You’re my little Cookie Roach!
Yes, you are!

Ghosted by kingklash @ 01/20/2005 5:52 PM EST

HIGH-larious!
Like everyone else, I was fascinated by stupid crap like this, back when I was a member of the target demographic. The most ambitious prank I ever attempted, however, was homemade: One April Fool’s Day, I devised a fool-proof (no pun intended, ha-ha) plan to put one over on Mom & Dad–I would grease all of the doorknobs in the house, effectively trapping them inside! Of course, being 8 or so and not having access to any disposable income to speak of, I had to make do with what common household lubricating element could be found to do the job. Apparently, the best thing my 8-year-old brain could devise at the time was to use a stick of margarine from the fridge. Imagine my chagrin when, having thouroughly buttered the "nooks and crannies" of the Thomas’ English Muffin that was my home, and subsequently taken refuge in the family room (at least 3 impassable portals away from my parents’ bedroom), good ol’ Mom & Dad came a’ stompin’ down the stairs, and into my newly-aquired private fortress with no discernable difficulty whatsoever–and they were none too happy to boot. Their Houdini-esque foiling of my plot, while actually more Copperfield-esque in retrospect, did much to solidify their status as omnipotent uber-beings in my eyes, as well as put me off of the ol’ practical jokes from that day forward.

Anyway, sorry for the Neverending Post-y, (ah-o-ah, ah-o-ah, ah-o-uh), but I thought other readers might relate to the experience of well-conceived, poorly executed gags from their youth.

Oh, and Matt, not to split hairs, but aren’t snowflakes already the snowflakes of the material world?

Ghosted by seegeepee @ 01/20/2005 8:47 PM EST

OK, one last thing…is it just me, or is the "Snap Snots" just a little bit…phallic? In a Dirk-Diggler-kinda-way? If you squint just right? Anyone? Hello? I guess it is just me. Damn!

Ghosted by seegeepee @ 01/20/2005 9:02 PM EST

I seem to remember the bug in the ice cube not being able to float in liquid; obviously a technology that needs improving. And yes, that is a really snuggly and warm site background of christmas lights.

Ghosted by Krappy Kat @ 01/21/2005 9:04 AM EST

Just thought some of you might be subconsciously curious…

While going through my stats, it was interesting to see which gags and pranks got the most clicks per day. Yesterday, for example, went in this order:

/articles/0923/fakebeer.html
/articles/0923/spidercreamer.html
/articles/0923/bloodymouth.html
/articles/0923/explodingmatches.html
/articles/0923/squirtgum.html
/articles/0923/instantworms.html
/articles/0923/bulletholes.html
/articles/0923/petpuke.html
/articles/0923/smellyfeet.html
/articles/0923/rubberchocolates.html
/articles/0923/hottoothpicks.html
/articles/0923/snapsnots.html
/articles/0923/garliccandy.html
/articles/0923/cookieroach.html
/articles/0923/squirtpen.html
/articles/0923/bugicecube.html

The numbers were mostly similar, with only a difference or a hundred or two between #1 and #16. I’m still shocked that bug-in-an-ice-cube, one of my personal faves, clocked in dead last.

Ghosted by Matt @ 01/21/2005 11:54 AM EST

Now, when I see someone pull a booger out their nose, I’m gonna think of "You’re a superstar." Thanks, seegeepee!

Ghosted by kingklash @ 01/21/2005 3:25 PM EST

Hey all, it’s been a long time since I’ve posted (and back then it was under a different name) but I just had to post this time and say the article was great. I used to love that crap, I had the fake vomit myself. Oh, and I actually fell for the snake eggs when I was younger, those things scared the shit outta me ^^;

Now that I’m older though the stuff just isn’t as fun as it once was. It all looks too fake, especially the creamer ^_~

Did anybody else ever buy sea monkees because they saw them in the back of a comic book? Man, those things sounded so cool, but sadly they sucked =(

I didn’t realize Matt has written this many articles since I’ve last been here. I need to quit Farking so much and come around here more often ^_^

Ghosted by *StAr* @ 01/23/2005 3:45 AM EST

You know something becomes more kitsch when there’s a typo. The squirt gum has a typo on the product: ‘pratical’. =)

Ghosted by marchant @ 01/23/2005 6:20 AM EST

Ah yes. The good ol’ "pratical" jokes of youth. Made under the harshest conditions in the sweatshops of Taiwan, nothing appeased you more than slipping a bug-in-an-ice-cube into a drink, then rushing the person to the local poison center. And yes, my little sea monkies. I remeber them so vividly. I bought them to live in a plastic castle for two days, then I introduce trilobytes into the mix and watched them run for their lives. Too bad the trilobytes were cannibalistic, and I ended up with "Mongo", one the size of my hand.

We’ve all had fun, but remember, DON’T DRINK URIN TOPPED OFF WITH FRIED CHEESE AND DRIVE-
a message from Crashy the Tortoise

Ghosted by Mega McMahn @ 01/24/2005 9:17 PM EST

I remember having one of those oh so clever "squirting chocolates" when I was a kid…I also remember filling it with ink from the art supply cabinet.

On a related note I remember throwing the offending novelty in my best friends backpack when our 4th grade classes dim bulb got sent to the nurses office when he puked salsbury steak and ink all over his desk.

Ah the carefree joys of childhood.

Ghosted by dantewyrmfoe @ 01/25/2005 5:04 AM EST

My window still has a fake bullethole on it, 18 years after I stuck it up there when I was 5!

On a related note, my Grandfather was the king of these pranks and is the sole reason why I grew up to be the paranoid wreck I am today.

Ghosted by Lasher @ 01/27/2005 12:16 PM EST

My little brother has something like that squirt gum except on the inside of the package of gum thereb is a mouse trap thingy and when you pull the piece of gum out. IT HURTS LIKE HELL

Ghosted by Pigleg @ 01/30/2005 12:08 PM EST

One of my favourite pranks is the fake dog crap. You can put it on a table, but the best spot to put it is around the toilet.

Ghosted by Pigleg @ 02/01/2005 7:27 AM EST

LMFAO… The ‘Milk’ article was my favorite. That one actually made me snicker.

Ghosted by Cunt @ 04/14/2007 11:46 PM EDT

I had the bug in the ice cube gag as a kid. It does work if you freeze in the ice tray with some water. It will float and freak out your mom, trust me.

Ghosted by Mark @ 05/12/2007 7:27 AM EDT

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This entry was posted on Monday, January 17th, 2005 at 5:56 pm and is filed under General. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed.