Prank – United States of America

“A prank often played on my school trips is to put toothpaste on the penis of the first guy to fall asleep. This prank is common practice by all seniors and is something of a school tradition. It is more of a game than a prank; everyone knows that the first guy to fall asleep will be screwed. There is no guilt since everyone is aware of what they are in store for. The guy to lose will be in great pain, the toothpaste burns!”

Bada mentioned this prank to me when I was talking to him about my own school trip experiences. He feels that pranks are a fun activity, and loves participating in them. Most pranks he knows are traditionally passed down by leaving seniors. However, there are some who feel pranks are insensitive and are usually an excuse to pick on or bully an innocent individual. There have been some isolated cases where pranks have in fact resulted in harm to the individual that they were played on. While Bada hasn’t been a victim of a prank he feels that it is all in good spirit and usually no hard feelings are held; and as long as they aren’t malicious they should always remain a school tradition.

It is also important to notice that these pranks usually occur on senior school trips, at the end of the senior year, just before graduation. It must be acknowledged that the seniors are now in a liminal period, not quite done with school but nearly in college. It is when individuals are in a liminal period that they partake in pranks.

Senior trip pranks aren’t attributed to just American high schools, it is a universal practice and even I have partaken in senior pranks, although senior pranks in Sri Lanka aren’t as painful (the toothpaste is usually substituted by shaving cream) and do not involve male genitalia! There are many cases where pranks don’t necessarily target individuals but are rather some form of vandalism or disturbance of the peace. While I do enjoy the thrill it is sometimes insensitive to others so we always try to refrain from any permanent damage.