I guess we have all played practical jokes in our time. As children we would play knock a door run or something similar that would amuse us as kids but annoy the hell out of the adults on the receiving end. But today many adults love to play practical jokes and in a way rightly so. But have we gone too far with our jokes? Spurned on by the television programmes back in the 80’s right up through to the new century with shows such as Jackass, the culture appears to be that the practical jokes are getting more personal and on many occasions much more daring and upsetting.

Old Man glued to toilet seat

For instance back in August 2009 news hit the headlines in Cairns, Australia after an elderly man was horrified to find he had been super glued to a public convenience. Pranksters had earlier applied super glue to toilet seats in a local shopping mall. One man had earlier quickly realised he had sat on glue and saved himself the misfortune of being stuck.However later on that same day an elderly gentleman had fell foul of the joke after he became stuck tight to the toilet seat.Ambulance crews were called to the scene to discover the man in a situation we all would feel embarrassed and indeed humiliated about. The Ambulance staff had to carry the man from the shopping precinct still attached to the whole toilet unit. This all on display to hundreds of onlookers shopping. In hospital the staff applied industrial strength solvents to free the man. The old man was of course distressed by the incident and shocked such a prank was carried out.The Cairns Police District’s Superintendent Brent Carter had issued an appeal to the public for clues to the identity of the prankster. Carter went on to explain how he felt for the man and the humiliation he must have felt whilst being carried out the shopping mall in full view with a toilet seat attached to him.A similar instance was reported in the UK in 2008 after a man in the West Midlands was also victim to such a prank.

Word of advice for the pranksters

So that is just one instance of hundreds that happen everyday all around the world. Whilst people may read such a story and perhaps smile in the back of their heads, the fact such actions of pranksters also causes emotional humiliation and at times physical harm and danger to others.So when you go to play a practical joke think of the repercussions for the victim of such acts. We all love game play, but such games can also have a detrimental effect to those you play them on. Oh and don’t forget, you could end up in a lot of trouble with the law…