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Original poster

Anyone else absolutely hate pranks?

53 replies

MamaAndTheSofa · 27/03/2024 20:13

I know I'm not alone in this, but with April Fools' Day coming up I thought I'd ask... who else finds pranks and tricks completely insufferable? And do you really dislike people who constantly play pranks?

Recent examples:

SIL announced her pregnancy and said it was twins. Then after a couple of minutes she went "Oh no, only joking, it's just the one!".

Had a weekend away with the ILs; BIL changed the clock in the children's room so that they would think they had missed breakfast. Cue tears from autistic DS, both when he thought he'd missed breakfast and again when he heard it was a trick.

A colleague was telling us about her plans to cover real eggs in chocolate to give to her kids on Easter morning instead of chocolate eggs, and how she "can't wait to see their faces when they bite into them!".

I just don't get it. It's not that I've no sense of humour; I enjoy jokes and general fun stuff. I just don't understand why anyone wants to see everyone look shocked and then reveal the prank to them. Maybe because my kids are both autistic, I can't imagine playing tricks on them either.

My ILs are particularly fond of pranks, and talk about them for years (SIL will be telling everyone for a few years about how she pretended she was having twins and everyone was so shocked).

Who else hates pranksters?

OP posts:
NaughtyBoyGeorgeMichaelJacksonBrown · 27/03/2024 21:13

I hate them too - same with people tripping or falling over in public etc. I immediately put myself in the 'victims' shoes and feel the embarrassment and hurt too.

My x's favourite prank was to wait until I was doing something like sorting out the washing, comfy with a book, sewing etc. Then get up and leave the room and turn the light off as he went. If I dared to be unhappy about this I'd get called a psycho with no sense of humour who needed to learn to take a joke. I used to just not react in the end. How do you reason with someone who finds humiliating and inconveniencing their loved one funny?

People who find these sort of things funny are lacking basic empathy. Unfortunately though, it's a looooot of people. So much on SM - like a dad who let his kid have a load of friends over for a sleepover and let them watch scary movies then came into the room at 3am with a mask on and a running chainsaw. Just bants of course.

Stichintime · 27/03/2024 21:20

Hate pranks, so unfair mostly. My sister used to hide behind doors to make me jump, and got me everytime. I've ending up being extremely jumpy, ie a sudden noise etc, I jump a good few inches everytime. Amusing for others, but really uncomfortable for me.

Original poster
MamaAndTheSofa · 27/03/2024 21:22

I'm so glad I'm not alone!

Some awful pranks described above, though - the window cleaner one has particularly annoyed me!

OP posts:
BridgetRandomfuck · 27/03/2024 21:24

Yep, can’t stand pranks or teasing - I can’t even watch Candid Camera or Ali G interviews, I just hate it when someone isn’t in on the joke. I am ND so I think on some level it really upsets my sense of rules/fairness, as I have quite an extreme reaction. My DH use to tease my nephews when they were younger - nothing too awful, just things like he’d heard they didn’t like cake and not giving them any at first when serving pudding but I read him the riot act about it and he doesnt any more!

LolaSmiles · 27/03/2024 21:25

I don't particularly like pranks because most of them involve everyone else having a laugh at one person's expense.

In a relationship that's respectful, I think you know whether your spouse would find something funny or not and the same with your children. If it's something everyone is likely to find funny, the joke is fine. It's not ok to scare or humiliate someone though.

Original poster
MamaAndTheSofa · 27/03/2024 21:28

GwendolineMaryLaceyIsHere · 27/03/2024 20:34

Totally with you OP. Pranks are horrible.

What I DO like are surprises, as in the nice kind. Instead of pranking the children by changing the clock to upset them, your BIL could have spent a few minutes thinking up something they would actually enjoy at breakfast (don’t ask me what, I don’t know them and wasn’t there!). Or when you do something small and unexpected for someone and they’re really pleased. So much more fun IMO.

Yes, I love nice surprises! I just don't understand anyone who enjoys seeing someone's shocked face more than seeing their pleased face!

OP posts:
thefirstmrsrochester · 27/03/2024 21:48

My father in law thought it was a hoot to tell his mum (very elderly and blind) that she was wrong about her own date of birth by a day. Had pulled out her birth certificate and pointed out to his own blind mother that her date of birth was a day out from what she knew it to be. She could not see her hand in front of her face ffs. She was 93 years of age when he told her it had all been a big old fun family joke. I thought he was an abusive cunt for this, my husband thought his dad was hilarious. I am divorcing my husband for being an all round arsehole. What a pair of abusive pricks. Jokes stop being jokes when the ‘butt’ of the joke is being humiliated, manipulated, bullied and/or being left sad.

ABwithAnItch · 27/03/2024 21:55

I never find pranks funny. They are usually tedious and humiliating.

YourWinter · 27/03/2024 21:56

I hate pranks and jokes and surprises.

Alicewinn · 27/03/2024 21:57

Yes not at all funny, appeals to a really weird & dim sort of sense of humour

YorkBound · 27/03/2024 22:15

Never read found anything funny about pranks either. Or 'you've been framed' type programmes.

Elderflower14 · 27/03/2024 22:47

I have permanent back problems due to a prank...
Stupid girl at school thought it would be jolly japes to pull my chair away as I went to sit down, resulting in me landing on parquet flooring. That was forty years ago and my back has never been the same since. Girl got severely bollocked.
When I was in labour with both my boys I was positioned very carefully on the bed.
I work with children now and heaven help them if I see them messing around with chairs!!!

Dogondoolally · 27/03/2024 23:26

My in-laws would say to our kids when they were little “oh is it your birthday, we didn’t get any presents for you, no nothing here” used the same line for Easter and Christmas too. Thing is they’re divorced and we’d see them separately and yet they both came out with the same shit. Why the hell they thought it was funny to see their grandchildren upset is sick.

Original poster
MamaAndTheSofa · 28/03/2024 11:02

thefirstmrsrochester · 27/03/2024 21:48

My father in law thought it was a hoot to tell his mum (very elderly and blind) that she was wrong about her own date of birth by a day. Had pulled out her birth certificate and pointed out to his own blind mother that her date of birth was a day out from what she knew it to be. She could not see her hand in front of her face ffs. She was 93 years of age when he told her it had all been a big old fun family joke. I thought he was an abusive cunt for this, my husband thought his dad was hilarious. I am divorcing my husband for being an all round arsehole. What a pair of abusive pricks. Jokes stop being jokes when the ‘butt’ of the joke is being humiliated, manipulated, bullied and/or being left sad.

That's awful. I don't even get what's meant to be funny about it? Is it just a way of saying "you're so stupid you don't even know when you were born"?

OP posts:
Original poster
MamaAndTheSofa · 28/03/2024 11:06

YourWinter · 27/03/2024 21:56

I hate pranks and jokes and surprises.

The more I think about it, the more I agree that I don't actually like surprises that much either.

Like, if it's something like a surprise present, great. But my SIL for instance, has a habit of pretending she can't make it to an event and then turning up yelling "Surprise!" and I just find it really tedious.

When we were first married, DH had a habit of arranging surprise outings, like he'd say "Get in the car, we're going out" and then it would turn out we were going to a gig or something. He couldn't understand why I hated it, but I'd just rather have the anticipation of looking forward to it, planning my evening etc.

OP posts:
SparrowFeet · 28/03/2024 11:12

I think with surprises I can be disappointed in the outcome - if I know it's going to be a surprise but don't know what it is I'll usually hope it's one thing and it turns out to be another!

With pranks I think you have to know your audience. Sometimes I jump out on my DH but we do that to each other and it IS funny. But there is a time and a place and I wouldn't do it if he seemed stressed etc.

Whoopie cushions are also funny to children if you choose the right audience. And it's nice to laugh along with them.

GwendolineMaryLaceyIsHere · 28/03/2024 11:20

Oh with surprises I mean like instant surprises, like coming home with my DS’s favourite comic, or saying after dinner, I bought ice cream as a special treat! Just little unexpected things.

Not the whole thing of “I’ve got a surprise for you” and you’re left in stress wondering what it is, I agree that’s rubbish.

myusernamewastakenbyme · 28/03/2024 11:33

I hate them too....im sure i read on a similar thread about someone gifting a relative one of those joke scratchcards....relative was in a dire financial situation so thought 'winning' a fortune on a scratchcard was like winning the lottery...all his problems solved etc....imagine his distress when he realised it was a joke.

AllProperTeaIsTheft · 28/03/2024 11:38

I agree, but thankfully I really don't know any adults who play pranks. A couple of dh's old uni friends do actually, but only when they are all away together as a group, not amongst general family and friends.

Gilead · 28/03/2024 11:57

Ex Dh jumped out at me when I was unloading the car of shopping one night. It was eight o clock on a Weekday evening and apparently I should have realised these things only happen late at night.
He was an arse.

Gowlett · 28/03/2024 12:01

Nobody has ever played a prank on me. Nor have I ever played a prank on anyone. Apart from usual Aprils Fools jokes (ones a child would say to Grandad for example).

I consider myself a fun person. But I would hate a prank…

inappropriateraspberry · 28/03/2024 12:04

WandaWonder · 27/03/2024 20:44

It depends on the intent

  • silliness like a whoopee cushion is childish but there is no harm
-saying someone is pregnant when not crosses a line for me

I put a whoopee cushion under the head's chair in assembly at primary school. Any other day it would have been laughed at - but this day our school was in the local news for having a poetry book in the library with rather rude limericks! A parent had discovered it when their child had taken it home and kicked off!
The headmistress was not amused 😬

Noseyoldcow · 28/03/2024 12:16

I'm not one for the pranks upthread. But I liked the April 1 programme (BBC? Panorama?) years ago about the spaghetti harvest.

iwafs · 28/03/2024 13:22

Pranks are immature and can be a method of bullying, if it involves someone feeling stupid after the prank.

anyone pranking a kid with ASD and upsetting them is simply a cunt.