Pranks are meant to be harmless fun, but sometimes they take on a life of their own, turning into unforgettable stories that get shared for years. Whether they go exactly as planned or completely backfire, the best pranks always leave people either in stitches or in shock. Here are ten pranks that went down in history as legendary tales.

1. The Disappearing Tap on the Shoulder

A classic prank turned into a personal disaster. A guy saw his friend walking ahead and decided to pull the old tap-on-the-shoulder-but-run-past-on-the-other-side trick. Unfortunately, in his excitement, he failed to see the park bench directly in his path.

He slammed into it at full speed, collapsing behind it while his friend stood there, turning left and right, looking utterly confused. Through the gaps in the seat, he could see his friend growing increasingly paranoid, completely unaware of what had happened. The only thing keeping him from laughing? The sheer pain in his leg.

2. The Fake Proposal Setup

A guy’s housemate had been talking to a girl for weeks and was thrilled to finally bring her home for dinner. Sensing an opportunity for mischief, his friend took action.

Before they arrived, he scattered rose petals, lit candles, and placed a cheap ring in a velvet box on the bed—right in the center. As soon as they stepped inside, the poor guy’s face turned beet red. The girl, however, was laughing uncontrollably. Though the prank ended well, his housemate didn’t speak to him for two days.

3. The Whole Class Vanishing Act

A middle school class decided they’d had enough of their physics teacher. One day, instead of going to their designated classroom, they all hid in an empty one down the hall.

When the teacher walked into the supposed “empty” classroom, she was baffled. She ran to the principal’s office, claiming her students had disappeared. Meanwhile, the entire class quietly slipped back in.

By the time she returned with the principal, the class was sitting there, pretending nothing had happened. No matter how much she insisted, the students gaslit her, saying they had been there the entire time. By the end of the year, she was convinced that she had hallucinated the whole thing.

4. The “Cat Poop” Brownie Incident

A kid who loved playing with his food discovered that squished-up brownies closely resembled cat poop. He shaped them perfectly and placed them in his sister’s room.

Cue the horrified scream. But the best part? He walked in, pretended to investigate, picked one up, took a bite, and casually said, “Hmm, nutty!” His sister ran out of the room screaming, convinced her brother had lost his mind.

5. A Decade-Long Phobia for a Prank

A guy’s friend forgot his wallet at home and wouldn’t accept money for lunch. In a spontaneous act of kindness (and mischief), the prankster pretended to have an extreme phobia about eating food that someone else had touched.

Fast-forward ten years, and he was still pretending to have the same phobia because his friends believed it so much. Eventually, he confessed that the entire thing started because he wanted to make sure his friend didn’t go hungry that day. Of course, his friends then made it their mission to touch everything he ate after that.

6. The Ceiling Fan Flour Bomb

Two cousins thought it would be funny to put small piles of flour on each blade of the living room’s ceiling fan. Weeks passed, and nothing happened—until one fateful evening when their mom had guests over.

Someone turned on the fan, and suddenly, it looked like it had snowed indoors. Their mom screamed, her guests were speechless, and even the dog was running in circles in a state of confusion. It was the best prank they had ever pulled—until they were handed mops and brooms to clean up the mess.

7. The Grapes That Took Hours to Peel

During a school cooking class, a girl was in charge of making fruit salad. A classmate jokingly told her, “Aren’t you supposed to peel the grapes?”

Confused, she asked the teacher to confirm. The prankster didn’t expect her to actually believe it, but when he returned later, he found her carefully peeling an entire bowl of grapes.

The teacher’s reaction? “ANITA! WHAT ARE YOU DOING?!” The poor girl had almost finished peeling a full pound of grapes.

8. The Soap-Flavored Gum Trick

A boy played the ultimate long con on his sister. He carved pieces of soap into the shape of gum sticks, carefully rewrapped them in Juicy Fruit wrappers, and offered one to her.

As expected, she immediately spat it out in disgust. But then he played the ultimate double bluff—he apologized, handed her a real stick of gum, and watched her fall for it again. She never took gum from him again.

9. The “Disgusting Dessert” That Backfired

A guy tricked his coworker into believing that his “favorite dessert” consisted of chocolate pudding, peanut butter, corn, and mandarin oranges. His friend was disgusted but promised to try it if he brought some the next day.

The prankster and his wife actually made the revolting concoction, expecting his friend to gag at first bite. Instead, his coworker took a bite, thought for a second, and said, “Wow, this is actually good!” He proceeded to eat the entire container.

Turns out, the prank was on the prankster.

10. The Canned Soup Disaster

A guy’s housemate survived solely on canned food. To mess with him, he swapped the label of a chicken soup can with a tin of cheap cat food and waited.

Two weeks later, the moment of truth arrived. His housemate opened the can, took one look at the “soup,” and said, “Uh… guys, does this look weird to you?”

The prankster was already crying with laughter before he could even explain. Safe to say, his housemate never trusted him with canned food again.

The Power of a Well-Placed Prank

The best pranks aren’t just about fooling people—they create hilarious, unforgettable memories that live on for years. Whether they’re simple tricks or elaborate long-term schemes, these moments become legendary family stories, passed down through generations.

So, the next time you pull a prank, make sure it’s one for the history books!