Prankster | The Student Pocket Guide
by Nathan Wadlow
Illustrations by www.stephenong.co.uk

University is sure to open your eyes to a whole new world of mischievous antics and bizarre banter, expecially when it comes to pranking your mates. Even if you fancied yourself as a bit of a Jonny Knoxville before, you may well be in for a treat when you arrive in halls and find yourself in the deep end of pranking perfection. As we were all students like you (once upon a time), we had a little sit down, reminisced about the great times we had and rummaged through as many examples of student pranks we could find. Having a little titter along the way, we concluded that this selection of classic examples were worthy of being published. Enjoy!

Creamy Classic

The classic whipped cream prank! This was one we particularly enjoyed and involves a sleeping student getting it! So… the sleeping student, dreaming away, half-consciously notices what can be nothing else but an irritating fly landing on their face. But no, it is their mates tickling their nose with a feather, having just planted a lovely pile of whipped cream on the sleeping victim’s hand. The hand moves in to swipe it away, but OOPS! Face is covered in whipped cream, and mates are crying with laughter having seen their brilliant plan prevail. Classic!

Talcum Tornado


This one is for the girls. Imagine the scene, an excited student heads to the shower, buzzing at the prospect of going out and maybe finding that guy she’s been plucking up the courage to talk to! Whilst singing away to her favourite Jessie J tune, her sneaky flatmates fill her hairdryer with some talcum powder, carefully removing any dusty evidence. Excited student returns to her bedroom, goes to dry her hair, then BOOM! We have a case of ghost face. Harsh, but very funny. (Very, very funny).

Newspaper Nightmare

We found many fine examples of bedroom banter, however this one wins hands down purely on the basis of commitment! It involves one student attending a day of lectures, their bedroom door left open, mates in the know and a serious amount of newspaper. Mates armed with newspaper enter the vacant room and quite literally wrap everything in sight. Walls, bed, chair, laptop, books, wardrobe, pencils, shoes, guitar, iPod. Everything. Student returns after a hard day of study, and WOW! They cannot believe their eyes.

Toilet Tragedy

A big toilet nightmare. Hilarious for those carrying out the prank, less so for those it happens to. Unsuspecting student goes to the toilet, ready to relieve some bladder pressure, but oh dear, it all ends in disaster. The aim was there, but what went wrong? Then they realise. The toilet now has a second lid, with the new addition being of the tightly sealed and wrinkle free cling film variety. NICE! (Mates probably giggling outside to shouts of swearing).

Buckaroo

Going to sleep for some students can often be quite a dangerous move, especially if they have mates who are constantly on the prowl for pranking opportunities. This student thinks they’ve got away with it, having snuck off quietly to their room in hope of a few hours kip they missed out on the night before. But oh no, they could not be more wrong. Predatory mates are certainly in the know, and wait until the optimum depth of sleep! Once in agreement, the predators enter and buckaroo begins. Each takes it in turn to place an item on the sleeping student, until they finally come around and the pile collapses!

Creapy Crawly Cereal

Breakfast is usually the meal normal people have in the mornings, however for students, midday is probably more realistic. This prank is for the person who religiously eats cereal for breakfast, but this time it will be with a little surprise! So, here’s the scenario. Sleepy student drags their body into the kitchen. They grab a bowl, a spoon, the milk out of the fridge and the box of their beloved cereal. In the cereal goes, the student begins to drool at the sight of those crisp, golden flakes, delicately gliding into the bowl, and then ARGH! Out pops a giant fake spider. The student screams. A lot.

Malicious Mouthwash

Now, brushing our teeth is obviously an essential part of maintaining oral hygiene, and if we really want our dentists to be proud of us, we use good old mouthwash! (To those hardcore mouth hygiene fans, maybe even floss!) Anyway, not getting carried away  or anything, this prank involves one flatmate royally stitching up another by adding extra hot chilli powder to their mouthwash. You can guess what happens when the mouthwash is used… Poor student’s mouth turns into a hilarious prank-volcano.

Topsy Turvy

Here we have another fine example of bedroom banter! The unsuspecting student leaves their bedroom, safe in the knowledge that they are going to have a hassle-free day. Whilst out and about, fellow house-mates notice the door on the latch and ‘modify’ the victim’s quarters. Victim returns all jolly and upbeat, only to have their good mood dashed within seconds of entering their room. What they have is still a bedroom, but the wrong way up. (Even their shoes).

Ever been pranked or been the prankster!? Share your stories with us so we can tell the world!