23 Comments

The similar pranks we played in the Army from finding a box of grid squares to collecting exhaust samples, to tapping to find soft spots in the armor on a tank.... it goes on and on and on. Oh, and yes, the pranks in the Resturaunts are legion too.

Expand full comment

I had forgotten about the grid squares one. Classic!

Expand full comment

Nice, exhaust samples is a good one!

Expand full comment

Once, I worked in an open-concept cubical world we were on a kick for while where we’d plant fake spiders or rodents (think cat toys) around someone’s work area. Like under the handset of their phone, in a crowded junk drawer, in a plant, etc, Thanks to the open concept design, and depending on the persons jitteriness, it was usually pretty obvious throughout the area when it was discovered. The stoic victims, who made not a peep, were the stealthiest in their paybacks. Ah, cheap laughs!

Expand full comment

Oh yes, I can imagine being a victim and not saying a word, not wanting to give my enemies the satisfaction... but plotting.

Expand full comment

oh. my :)

Expand full comment

100% in the voice of George Takai

Expand full comment

When I was younger we'd have parties on the beach and would build big bonfires. Usually there were bottles of cheap wine being passed around, the kind with the screw tops, and I learned one of the best pranks from a guy a couple of years older than me. He finished off a bottle, screwed the cap back on tight, then winked at me and said, "Watch this!" as he tossed the bottle into the fire. He said, "Wait!" and we waited; eventually the liquid in the bottle must have boiled off and the glass got soft enough so the bottle split open; the escaping hot gas blew sparks and cinders out all over one side of the fire scaring the be-Jesus out of everyone! It was awesome! From then on whenever I finished off a bottle of cheap wine I never let that bottle go to waste!😂

Expand full comment

Ha! Sounds terrifying... and very much like something I might have done. Are we talking Boone's Farm? Maneshevitz? "Cheap wine" is a very big category!

Expand full comment

Boone's Farm mostly; some other Gallo brand would have been in that category too…

Expand full comment

Euphoria at night, vomit in the morning. There's nothing like being that age!

Expand full comment

This turned out well. Ice cubes in the fryer is a classic, nice one.

Expand full comment

Sometimes I realize how lucky I am to be alive.

Expand full comment

Very lucky for sure.

Expand full comment

I thought "Kitchen Lokis" were some mythical creatures that allegedly lived in people's homes and made random cooking tools disappear (a la Domovoy).

I guess I wasn't too far off. Except humans were the domovoys all along.

Well played.

Expand full comment

I just learned what a Domovoy is!

Expand full comment

You're welcome. Enjoy your nightmares!

Expand full comment

Can't wait to try these with the kid.

Expand full comment

I doubt I'd be able to resist the temptation. Not all of us should have kids.

Expand full comment

Amusing stories! Also, I love the title. It takes imagination to work references to Norse mythology into a tale of modern kitchen tricksters.

Expand full comment

These were both fun for me to read (Brian's) and fun for me to remember (mine).

Expand full comment

When I read on Medium regularly, there were a couple of authors I liked who respectively were a chef and a restaurant proprietor, and the stories they told about their work had stuff like this involved.

Expand full comment

You might really like Brian's stuff! I get little waves of nostalgia any time I read his stuff.

Expand full comment