Whether one thinks high school is fun or not, everyone can agree that it is a very important milestone in one’s life. During these years, friendships are formed and life is explored. It is also during this time that one transitions slowly and beautifully into a young adult who is ready to face the world.
When seniors leave their high school, they want to do it with a bang. Thus, it is a time-honored tradition that graduating students do one last hurrah of a prank to commemorate the end of an era.
Here are 56 pranks that are so well-executed that if it were not for the evidence scattered on the Internet, they would have become urban legends.
In the world’s greatest show of teamwork, one senior class stole a restaurant’s Paul Bunyan statue at 4 a.m. and hauled it down the highway in a silent convoy of 100 cars. They put it on the school roof, where a crane fetched it the next day.
One class put several dozen chickens in pet carriers and hauled them to the school on Saturday night. On Monday morning, administrators found the school in chaos. Incidentally, Monday was “chicken day” in the cafeteria.
Often considered the “classic” senior prank, all you need for this one is water, cups, and a lot of patience. It’s simple but effective since no one can go anywhere without either making a mess or taking the time to move every single one.
At one graduation, several students threw glitter into the air instead of their caps. The principal was furious. It might be small, but if you’ve ever tried to clean up glitter, you know it’s impossible.
The seniors at one school paid a local company to haul an enormous boulder in front of the school doors. The administration, unable to get in, had to call the same company to haul it away.
One poster says the entire senior class took screwdrivers to school for several months and gradually removed screws from various objects. They only removed non-central screws so the objects stayed intact, then they sent all the screws to the principal’s office.
A poster of students who graduated in 1985 say their class bought 10,000 business cards with the words “Class of 1985.” They hid them in every crevice they could think of. To this day, 34 years later, students are still finding cards.
8. How to cause pandemonium with one simple change
On the night of March 31, nine high school students broke into the school and switched the top center desk of every single teacher. With more than 75 staff members, the chaos that ensued on the morning of April 1 was legendary.
One senior class listed their principal’s house on Craigslist for dirt cheap. The “house showing” was scheduled at the same time as their graduation. He came home to find 12 people eager to tour.
Gluing down coins to the floor is a classic prank. But this senior class went one further. They glued them in hallways and on countertops in eating areas, then caught all the fumbles on camera to play at graduation.
The plan was simple: every senior would bring in a minimum of two watermelons. So that’s exactly what they did. The result? The school had more watermelons than it could handle.
One senior class got hundreds of ping pong balls and wrote messages to the school on each one. Then, they sent them flying down five flights of stairs. Not every prank is mean-spirited!
These seniors made a big show of whispering, spreading rumors, and acting as though they were planning an event called “Operation Catfish.” After whipping the teachers into a frenzy, they did…nothing. It was real-life catfishing.
The seniors asked the teachers a question, “What would you wake up in the middle of the night for?” They collected the answers and bought the items that were listed …then proceeded to wake the teachers up for midnight delivery.
One senior class skipped out of school and had a tailgate party in the parking lot, complete with barbecue, snacks, and soda pong. Thankfully, the administration was good-natured about it and even took on a couple of students in the game.
Two senior classes caused pandemonium at two different schools by switching high schools for the day. Each of them took the place and class schedule of a student at the other school, resulting in a glorious show of teamwork.
There’s nothing teachers dread more than a fight among students. One senior class staged a fight and gathered around to watch. When the teachers and police officer pushed through the chaos, they found two students playing chess.
18. Sometimes, the best pranks are the simple ones
One senior class set up pillows, blankets, and brought their pajamas for the best pillow fort of all time. Naturally, it was in the middle of the school hallway, disrupting everything.
19. He’ll never be able to listen to mariachi music again
One poor principal was the butt of the joke when a senior class paid a mariachi band to follow him around all day and play constantly. Everything he said and did that day had a soundtrack.
One all-girls school that wore uniforms got their moms in on a prank. The girls stayed home while the moms dressed up in their uniforms and went to class.
Another senior class made things a little more interesting by bringing in a petting zoo and putting it in the main quad. There’s no way the school administration could be mad about cute animals to pet!
One senior class pooled their money and bought a cow, which they then led up two flights of stairs. Since cows can’t walk down steps unless they’re very shallow, the school had to hire a crane to remove the animal.
Sometimes, the simplest pranks are the best. One senior class decided to go for a classic. They changed the backdrop of a man wearing a sombrero and poncho with the caption “Señor Prank.”
The students at Pinecrest High School saw an opportunity and took it. How they got up there and removed the letters will probably never be known, but this was the glorious result.
…and they loved it. These seniors got the cops called on them after their fake car crash looked a little bit too real. The cops congratulated them on their amazing prank.
Remember how scary the scene in Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets was? Here’s the slightly goofier version, complete with a dangling Mrs. Norris.
Parking a car inside the school is a popular senior prank. It throws everyone off their rhythm and of course, forces administrators to figure out how to remove it.
Schools with fountains are always at risk of a bubble explosion. Although it’s mostly harmless, it can easily spiral out of control and cause havoc from the sheer amount of soap.
One senior class made a deal with their school’s security guard, who agreed to arrest the principal. He fed him a story about his motorcycle being reported as stolen and put him in handcuffs…to everyone’s amusement.
This graduating class rearranged the bushes of their track field. Originally it read “Bears” and now it reads …well, something else. Is it that clever? No. Is it immature? Definitely. But you still chuckled.
One senior class put up this heartfelt message of thanks, decorating the senior patio with bras. They then topped it off with a water balloon fight in the parking lot.
Every senior brought their dog to school, which is a prank where everyone wins. And be honest, what school official could get mad about a bunch of puppies?
One senior class loaded up furniture into a Les Misérables-style barricade in front of the main school entrance. No one could get in and those who tried were greeted with French flags waving and the sound of angry men.
The seniors knew the staff held its weekly meeting in the library, so they hid alarm clocks everywhere and set them to go at two-minute intervals. By the time the teachers found one alarm clock, another was ringing.
One senior released three pigs into the high school where they wrought chaos. Each pig had a number painted on it: 1, 2, and 4. The staff spent hours catching the pigs and searching for the nonexistent Pig #3.
The senior class filled the school swimming pool with Jell-O, which caused havoc. Finally, the school administrators decided to drain it completely, clean it, and fill it again.
Some would argue that Wednesday is the hardest day of the week. To celebrate their final “hump day,” one senior class brought a camel to school. Where they found a camel is a mystery.
One senior class turned the school parking lot into a beach scene, complete with sun, sand, and water. Of course, they were all in their bathing suits to make things authentic. It was the perfect way to derail the day.
Putting a car in the halls of the school is so basic. But putting an old junk car around the school flagpole and then filling it with cement so that it can’t be moved? That’s making sure they remember you.
