Loading summary
Advertiser
You just realized your business needed to hire someone yesterday. How can you find amazing candidates fast? Easy. Just use Indeed. Stop struggling to get your job posts seen on other job sites with Indeed sponsored jobs. Your post jumps to the top of the page for your relevant candidates so you can reach the people you want faster. According to Indeed data, sponsored jobs posted directly on indeed have 45% more applications than non sponsored jobs. Don't wait any longer. Speed up your hiring right now with Indeed and listeners of this show will get a $75 sponsored job credit. To get your jobs more visibility@ Indeed.com kidsandfamily. Just go to Indeed.com kidsandfamily right now and support our show by saying you heard about Indeed on this podcast. Terms and conditions apply. Hiring Indeed is all you need.
Shane
Hello and welcome to Smosh Reads Reddit Stories. I'm Shane, and today the theme is pranks, and I'm join by two pranksters, Angela and Courtney. Courtney, you just pranked Angela a second ago by screaming at her unprompted.
Courtney
What is a prank, really?
Angela
Is that a prank?
Courtney
Is it a prank?
Shane
Damien posed the question a long time ago, and I've been thinking about it ever since of like, what is a prank? And I, at this stage, I'm like, does it even exist?
Courtney
Like, what's the definition of a prank? Is it just like a joke? Because for me, it's like a prank is leading someone to believe that one thing is happening, but it's actually another thing. Yeah, but I have my own personal beliefs on what is the goal of a prank.
Angela
I think what the original intention, I believe that pranks were just to minorly inconvenience you in a funny way.
Courtney
Right.
Angela
And then it went out of control, I guess.
Shane
Okay, I. I see what you're both saying. Like, a prank is to almost make you feel one emotion, realize, oh, that's silly, that. That you made me feel that. That other emotion, peekaboo thing. It's not the situation. And okay, yeah, but I think the. For me, the takeaway of a prank is if the person you're pranking isn't laughing, then the prank failed.
Courtney
Right.
Shane
That's my takeaway. A lot of people do pranks where the person that you're pranking, you're just kind of them up.
Angela
I don't know. Me and my brother have pranked my mom a couple times. She didn't laugh, but, boy, was it fun.
Shane
So you're just doing it for each other. You're not doing it for her at all?
Courtney
Yeah, I like that.
Angela
Yeah, we're not doing it. To put a smile on her face and more of each other's faces.
Courtney
And you guys weren't even filming.
Angela
Now, could you imagine?
Courtney
Oh, my God.
Angela
Now I can't do a prank unless we're rolling.
Courtney
Truly.
Angela
So I'm like, this is a waste.
Shane
Does your prank have a big reveal for your mom? Of, like, oh, I'll tell it to.
Angela
You if we have time. It's kind of crazy. I'll blow through it.
Shane
Okay.
Angela
We took. I might have said it on something else in content before. It was right when the autocorrect feature was customizable on the iPhone. And I was like, okay, make it. Every time she says the change, it's a dick. And my brother was like, no, that's the quick game. Let's play the long game. And I was like, you're a genius. And every time she wrote the word okay, we made it add. Okay, can you bring me a bottle of water?
Courtney
I tell you when, I tell you.
Angela
It started, and we were both in.
Shane
College, and so you're bringing her bottles.
Angela
Of water all the time. So we weren't home, and we were getting group texts about, like, Easter service, and it was like, okay, can you give me a bottle of water?
Courtney
Damn it. Whoops. Ignore me.
Angela
My phone's broken. And then we saw that, like, weeks later, and we were like, wow. And then we come home from college, and we both tell my dad, and he's like, what? Oh, no. He goes, you have no.
Courtney
He goes.
Angela
Every time. Cause my mom's office is downstairs. She'd go, damn it.
Shane
Damn it.
Courtney
I did it again, Ray.
Angela
And she's screaming at him. And I guess to her boss, she was like, yes, okay. Okay. Can you bring me a bottle of water? I'm so sorry. Ignore that. And it was, like, over and over.
Courtney
Over and over again.
Angela
Wow.
Shane
It was so funny. That's extremely funny.
Courtney
That's really good.
Shane
All right, well, let's see if these pranks live up to those that you just talked about. All right, this first story comes from. Am I overreacting? Am I overreacting? Fiance told me he had a surprise for me and drove me to a house and said it was ours. Let me believe it. And then said it was a prank. Uh, okay. We were out looking at Christmas lights tonight when my fiance said he had a surprise for me. He usually isn't great with surprises, so I was intrigued. We drove a few miles and pulled up to this house. Mind you, it's nighttime. It's a gorgeous house. With a sign in the yard. He asked, what do you think of this house? I've been dying to move out of my cramped one bedroom apartment so I'd literally move into a medium sized shack if I had the chance. I told him it was very pretty. He said, what do you see in the yard? And I told him I saw a for sale sign. He told me to look again and pulled back. The sign said under contract. It started to click in my head and I had started to get really excited. He let me sit in my excitement for a while before I asked, is this our house? And he started laughing and said, nope, and drove away. Am I overreacting? I haven't stopped crying. That was one of the cruelest things I think I've ever had done to me by someone I love. And trust me.
Angela
Seems like he hit a sensitive subject.
Courtney
I don't understand.
Shane
I mean, I feel like anyone would feel a sensitive subject for most people for lies. The verdict was not overreacting. Because what kind of prank is that?
Courtney
What's the purpose?
Shane
Yeah, I don't understand what the goal. I think that's my issue with a lot of pranks is like, pranks where it's like, hey, this really cool thing's happening. Actually, it's not happening.
Courtney
Yeah. Cause I've seen really awesome tiktoks where like, this girl's like, hey, let's go. We're gonna go to my friend's party that's near you guys. And then they show up. And he's like, surprise. It's my house. Or this one girl, she has her whole family show up. She's like, we're gonna go check this thing out. And then it's like, surprise. I bought this house for all of us.
Shane
Yeah.
Courtney
Where it's like, ha, ha. It wasn't this other thing you thought. It's actually this amazing.
Shane
A joyful prank. I understand. A joyful prank where it's like you're tricking someone into thinking, like, oh, something's gone wrong. It's like, psych. Actually, things are better than we all thought it was. That's cool. So you could do a thing where it's like, I don't know how you do it. Where it's like, oh, no, something's gone wrong. Oh, psych. We got a house. Even though. Would you be pissed if your partner bought a house and didn't talk to you at all about it?
Angela
Yeah, that's.
Shane
Cause that's also.
Angela
That pissed me off even more.
Courtney
Like, it's almost like pranking. It's like an art of, like, writing.
Angela
Yeah, no, for sure. You have to, like, get the bank out of your buck. Cause, like, you're lying to someone for fun and for sport. So it better be funny.
Courtney
Right?
Shane
This prank is just weird. Cause he drove several miles to a specific house, which makes me think he knew about this specific house. It had, like, the right signage in the front yard. It was nighttime. And he did all of this just to tell her, no, we're not buying. I'm not. I didn't buy a house.
Angela
I said that thing about being a sensitive subject. Because if this was just like, it sounds like she's in a really, like, drastic place where she, like, doesn't really like where she lives. So joking about that specifically when you're in the heat of, like, not being happy with your living situation. That's where I'm like, it's really touchy to do a prank about that.
Courtney
Yeah. It's also, like, sad. It's kind of. It's weird when you're like. It's almost like luring an animal into a trap where he's like, what is the. What do you think of this house? What's that in front of the house? No, no, look closer. Like, and then it's like, psych.
Shane
Ha ha.
Angela
I know.
Courtney
Like, part of me almost wish that he, like, did buy the house. And when he's leading her through it, he's like, actually, wouldn't it be funny if I said no? But I actually did. And so, like, what if there's an update?
Shane
And he did. Maybe. I mean. Cause the thing right now is. Yeah, it's like, what did you want out of this? Yeah, like, what was the goal here? Just to make her sad. That seems like that's all you wanted to see.
Courtney
Yeah. Like, jokes on you. I'm actually incapable of purchasing a home. Ha ha, ha.
Angela
Jokes on us. This would be so hard because you're stuck in your apartment that you hate. Like, it just sucks.
Shane
Comments. We do not marry people who are mean to us. Please tell this person you were only kidding when you said yes to the proposal. Oh, someone said, that's cruel behavior. I wouldn't have been able to cope in this economy. You might want to rethink that engagement. Tell him you were joking when you said yes. Bad people are using the prank craze to indulge their previously banned cruelty. It was fun for him to upset you. That legitimately gave him joy. Let that sink in. The person that you're tying yourself to for the rest of your Life got joy from seeing you hurt. You are underreacting. The trust it takes to make marriage succeed is immense and your fiance is not trustworthy at all. Lastly, someone said, not overreacting. If this was a one off and it just really fell flat, then I think I could let it go. But if this is a pattern where he often pulls pranks that are cruel, not funny, then I couldn't be with someone like that. OP responded saying, first cruel prank, other than an occasional jump scare here and there. And we both tried to spook each other. I can't even fathom how incredibly unkind it was, I feel like. Cause the last prank episode we did of this show, it was a lot of really cruel pranks.
Courtney
Cruel, yeah.
Shane
And it was like, it's like, what is your goal here? What do you want to see out of this person? And pranks almost seem to be like a weird litmus test for people where it's like, oh, do you find joy out of people being sad or upset? Like, is that what you enjoy out of the prank? Cause pranks have a lot of elements to it. But I feel like the ultimate joy is what you're seeking is for everyone to be laughing at the end.
Courtney
Yeah.
Shane
But some people, it doesn't seem like that's the case.
Courtney
I don't know. Yeah. Cause he just didn't think it through. Like, he said, nope. And then they kept driving. They had a whole car ride after that. Like, did you think she's gonna go, oh, you fucked me over. You did.
Angela
It's so funny.
Shane
Oh my God. You totally got.
Courtney
Oh my God.
Shane
Oh, that's right. Everything sucks. I thought things were gonna suck for a second. That's right. Everything's just fucking awful.
Courtney
If I was in her position, I'd be like, oh, yeah, that's right. Because you can't buy a home because.
Angela
Your credit is bad.
Shane
Steven, Steven.
Courtney
Think it through, Steven Tits. That stands for Think it through, Steven, Steven Tits.
Shane
Mini update. Okay. I posted this back around Christmas time and you guys had a lot to say. I just wanted to come back and say that as of yesterday. Thank you. The wedding is off. He started to show some very negative tendencies that lean towards abuse. Thank you guys for your support. This is not easy. Whoa, whoa.
Courtney
What happened?
Angela
I think this is similar. When some people, you notice a pattern that they find it funny when someone falls or like, and sometimes it's really funny, but. Right, but then like, but if you notice that happening over and over again where it's like, oh, it's fun. Humor to you lies in someone else being less than or getting hurt or getting fucked over. That's just a red flag for other shit. So I'm not surprised.
Courtney
Yeah. Like, let alone the love of your life, you want to see them in pain. Like, sounds like she dodged a bullet.
Shane
Yeah, totally.
Courtney
Imagine having to sign a deed with that fucko.
Angela
Fucko.
Courtney
Sorry, I've been saying fucko lately.
Angela
I love it.
Courtney
I didn't even know what I was.
Angela
Fucko.
Shane
Pop. The editor is just like, all the.
Angela
Fucko.
Courtney
Pop.
Shane
The editor's like, I love that word, too. That's a great word.
Courtney
Guys. Sorry.
Shane
Okay, our next story. So first off, that first one was not really a prank.
Courtney
No. And it kind of.
Shane
That didn't classify.
Courtney
It's because we've experienced. We've had all kinds of pranks at Smosh, where it's like, where you literally have a fear, and it's like, we're just gonna actually put you through your fear as a prank. And it's like, okay, so what was the. Is this because it's funny to who? And yeah, we've had all kinds of ones, and I think those are my. Less. Not so much favorites, you know?
Shane
Yeah, yeah. YouTube has had a lot of, like, prank phases. And there was the really famous one. This was, like, 10 years ago, where, like, it culminated in one of the prank YouTubers just, like, staging like, that. He was about to murder someone, and his friend was like, oh, my God, you're about to murder me. And it was like, ha, ha. Prank.
Courtney
It was the Sam Pepper typing.
Shane
It's like, oh, okay. Like, cool prank, man. You just thought you made someone convince they were about to die.
Courtney
This was Sam Pepper pranks. These two YouTubers, what is their name? Or, like, Sam Colby.
Shane
I don't know.
Courtney
I think it was Sam and Colby. And, like, they got kidnapped, put in a car. What they were. Then they had the pillowcase taken off. One of the guys, Sam or Colby, is like, what's going on? And they pretend to kill with a gun. Colby or one of them in front of him.
Shane
Yeah.
Courtney
And it was hysterical.
Angela
Okay.
Courtney
Like, crying hysterical. Not funny hysterical.
Angela
Cause that's, like, bad. That's why I'm, like, weirdly defending pranks. Cause I'm like, good pranks are funny and not mean.
Courtney
Right.
Shane
A good prank is also done with, like, understanding the person you're pranking and understanding the boundaries before him.
Courtney
Right.
Shane
What we're seeing a lot on TikTok, and what we've seen on YouTube, too, is pranks, where it's like, oh, you're pranking this stranger by doing this insane thing to them in public. Oftentimes when things crash back on the prankster, they're like, it's just a prank, bro. But here's the thing. Whatever you're doing to them, you can't like call it a prank in court. So if you tackle someone as a prank or if you touch someone as a prank, you're doing it for real, right? There's no prank element to that. But I think people seem to think just because there's a prank at the end of this means I can do whatever I want.
Advertiser
You just realized your business needed to hire someone yesterday? How can you find amazing candidates fast? Easy. Just use Indeed. Stop struggling to get your job posts seen on other job sites. With Indeed sponsored Jobs, your post jumps to the top of the page for your relevant candidates so you can reach the people you want faster. According to Indeed data, sponsored jobs posted directly on indeed have 45% more applications than non sponsored jobs. Don't wait any longer. Speed up your hiring right now with Indeed and listeners of this show will get a $75 sponsored job credit. To get your jobs more visibility@ Indeed.com kidsandfamily just go to Indeed.com kidsandfamily right now and support our show by saying you heard about Indeed on this podcast. Terms and conditions apply. Hiring Indeed is all you need.
Shane
Oh. Which brings us to our next story. This comes from. Am I the asshole? Am I the asshole for taking my brother in law to small claims court for a prank? Hell yeah, dude. This is awesome. Get Judge Judy on this.
Angela
Yeah.
Shane
I recently took my brother in law to small claims court over a prank he pulled on me and now my wife and her family are furious. I need to know if I'm in the wrong here. A few months ago, we were at a family barbecue. I had a few too many beers and fell asleep in a hammock with my shirt off. My brother in law, who was completely sober, thought it would be hilarious to fill my belly button with super glue.
Angela
What?
Courtney
Oh my God. My literal what?
Shane
At some point I must have touched it because when I woke up, I had glue partially dried in my belly button and on my finger. We tried to remove it, but it was stuck. The glue adhered to my skin and when we attempted to peel it off, it caused some tearing around the edges. Unfortunately, my job's Insurance has a $1,000 ER copay, but I had no choice. I had to go to the er. They used a solvent and an ointment to remove the glue. And after everything, I was left with a medical bill of $2,253. I asked my brother in law to cover the cost since he caused the situation. He refused. After trying to resolve it privately, I took him to small claims court and I won. However, he still hasn't paid. This has caused a major rift in my family. My wife is upset and her family thinks I overreacted. So am I the asshole for taking him to court over this? Bro, once again. So the prank is that you just tortured someone.
Courtney
Oh, that's like literally, like, what's the result?
Shane
Like, you gotta like, if you're gonna do a prank, you have to think forward on what the end result of the prank is. Like, that's kind of like the whole thing with a prank, right? Is it's a plan. But these people don't seem to have any sort of plan. They're just doing things in the moment.
Courtney
Who has super glue lying around like that?
Shane
That's not easy. Oh, God, that's not easy to do. Right?
Courtney
Like Cloudy with a chance of meatballs his bum buck. Like, you know how he has those shoes that never come off? Like, what was. What was.
Angela
Well, that's really harmful to your body and your skin and your stomach.
Courtney
Oof.
Shane
Yeah. It's not even fun to think about. And this guy, you know, hey, I'm picturing a guy asleep on a hammock with no shirt on. It's gotta be some hair involved there too. Some not fun.
Angela
Important point.
Shane
An added aspect to this.
Angela
God, this is. It's so fucked up to like, affect your body physically.
Shane
Also, like, superglue is. That's not like some chill little thing you just get out. Like whenever I've had situations where it's like, oh, this thing broke. It's like, oh, super glue it. I'm like, oh, that's so much work though.
Angela
Yeah.
Shane
Like to just do it for fun.
Courtney
Oh, okay. There's a couple things that are just like such red flags to me is like when you see someone like, and vulnerable and you see it as an opportunity. You're a weird person.
Shane
I know.
Angela
You're a little bit of a not good person.
Courtney
Not a good person. And like, I just, I feel like maybe it was just the high school I went to where, like, there was so much education around, like, drinking and party culture that like, never do something to somebody when they're passed out drunk. Especially when it's like, you know, you never know what could happen. And like, imagine if their family, like, you Know you don't want, you just don't want to mess with somebody. And like, turns out they died. Now they have glue. Belly button. Sorry. That's probably a little bit triggering.
Angela
No, but I just think just don't touch someone's body. Yeah, just don't touch someone's body unless you're invited to. My God. It's really not that hard.
Courtney
But it's also like sadistic that he went straight to Supergirl.
Shane
This also has me questioning like, I don't. It's very clear to me. I mean, maybe it's not clear. This is a brother in law, right? So it's just like I'm like, what is the relationship here? Like how actually close are you guys? And trust me, probably not that much. Like he was willing to take him to small claims court. So I don't know if they're necessarily super tight even before this.
Angela
I think op bringing this to small claims court was, was a, like a bold way to try to wake up this person and be like, look how I'm not joking. This hurt me. I'm. I'm taking action into doing like it, it hurt.
Shane
But it's also $2,000, right? Like if someone, like someone takes $2,000 from you or they break a laptop or they like what happens if like your brother in law hits your car with their car, right? It's like, okay, pranked. Oh, sorry.
Courtney
I would rather them hit my car.
Shane
Literally touch my car. This is willful. This is willful. But it's just like, hey man, like you cost me $2,000 next time I.
Angela
Have a fender bender. I'm like, it was a prank.
Shane
It was just a prank. Dude, that is.
Angela
You and I, we've been friends since we got off the exit at the 405.
Shane
We're joking. That is some people's logic with the shit they pull.
Angela
That's just stupid.
Shane
The verdict was not the asshole comments. Not the asshole. I can't believe your wife isn't with you on this. Pranks shouldn't involve the er. Someone else said, the easiest way to phrase it to your wife and her family is this. He acted like an asshole and got taxed for it. Maybe he will think twice about acting this way again. Also for the record, any grown adult who does these kinds of pranks is too immature to be around adults. Put his ass at the kids table from now on. Someone else said, not the asshole. I would definitely follow up with the court on non payment of a judgment. I don't know what they might do, but it's worth a try. What's troublesome is that your wife doesn't have your back on this. While the injury was minor, it doesn't make it okay. Someone else said not the asshole. As a former dumbass with dumbass friends, we've done dumb and mean and not not actually funny things to each other countless times. But even then, you ever actually fucked something up or hit someone's pockets, you knew it was your ass to pay up whatever was fair. I'd call you and ass if you just ran to a lawyer and didn't try to work it out. But you did. He refused. So he's either a piece of shit or flat broke or both. Now really, you have only one legal option left to get paid and you took it. Tell the family they can pay. If they care about each other's financial well being so much, they should care about yours too. Lastly, someone said not the asshole. Drizzling sunscreen in the shape of a dick is a prank. Super gluing your belly button is assault.
Angela
Yep.
Courtney
Yeah. I mean yeah. Being taken to small claims court for the ER bill is one thing. This brother in law is lucky they weren't charged with something like, you know.
Shane
Pranks that hurt definitely don't make sense to me. No, like causing physical pain to someone is just not funny.
Angela
Like haha. I slapped you. Pranked.
Courtney
Yeah, truly like ugh.
Shane
Update.
Courtney
Whoa. Let's go.
Angela
He paid.
Shane
The reason my wife was upset is because her brother was going through a divorce and between jobs. Everyone knew he did it. He even admitted it. He blames his adhd. I don't want to garnish his pay. The reason I didn't try more to clean the glue off of me was because I have scarce in my navel from gall bladder surgery about three years ago. My mother in law has offered to pay the bill but she is on a fixed income and I would feel like an ass for taking her money. Of course I'm the villain and only my sister in law is on speaking terms with me. My wife is only barely on my side. It was her that took me to the er. Not thinking it would cost that much. I figure blood is thicker than water. I didn't expect this thread to blow up. Oof.
Courtney
See it's a wild like him blaming his ADHD on not being able to.
Shane
Pay when like I think he's blaming his ADHD on why he put the glue in his right.
Courtney
Exactly.
Shane
It's like that doesn't. That doesn't make sense to me at all. There's so many people with adhd they're not going around doing that stuff.
Courtney
Yeah, you're right.
Angela
You don't have to have.
Shane
No, there's like a scar.
Angela
In order for that area to be off limits to someone else's ability to destroy it. It's your body.
Courtney
Just hope that nobody does that to you.
Shane
Oh yeah, there is an unfortunate, like, I don't know how old this brother in law is but like people like dudes in my generation we grew up with jackass and like, yeah. But it's like, hey man, those jackass guys are getting paid millions of dollars to do this to each other. They're on a full understanding with each other.
Angela
There is like a lot going on.
Shane
There's a lot going on. That's a show that they're doing. This is real life. These are people you don't know that well. Even your brother in law, you clearly don't know him that well. Don't do that to people. Don't mess with people's bodies.
Angela
Yeah, like Ashton Kutch. I didn't do that.
Courtney
Yeah. And even still, I would rather have a scorpion pinch my little booty than have super glue in my belly button. You know what I mean?
Shane
Yeah.
Courtney
Jackass reference.
Shane
So we have two not pranks so far.
Angela
Yeah.
Shane
No, no, I think zero pranks have happened.
Courtney
One not prank and one crime.
Shane
Yes. Okay, our next story. Let's see if a prank happens here. This comes from. Am I the asshole? Am I the asshole for calling the police on my co worker over a prank? I, a 25 year old woman, just started this new job as a front desk clerk at a hotel. I work the overnight shift. I usually have a co worker, a 30 year old man with me, but he never really talks to me. A few nights ago was my first night alone. At around 2am I noticed a person in the parking lot. You can see the parking lot from the front desk. The lighting in the lot is terrible so you don't really see faces until they get close to the lobby door. The person was just standing there, not moving for about five to 10 minutes. I thought this was strange and of course it creeped me out. After about 10 minutes of them standing there, they moved. I guessed to call the front desk because he moved his hand to his ear and the phone rang. I picked up and on the other end I just heard five buried, none found in a low voice. And then they hung up. At this point I was terrified so I ran to the back room and called 911.
Angela
Oh my God.
Shane
I explained to the operator about what had been going on. And they sent a couple cops to the hotel. When they arrived, one cop was talking to the person outside and the other one was at the front desk talking to me, telling me that the person outside was claiming that he also worked here. I was confused, but I also admitted I hadn't seen the person's face, just the silhouette. At this point, the other officer and the person from the lot come in and it turns out to be my co worker. And he was upset, saying he would have never pranked me if he knew I was going to call the police and try to get him arrested. I didn't go through with pressing charges, but I did tell my manager what happened the next morning. It's been a few days now, and I guess he had told other coworkers what happened. And now no one is really speaking to me and giving me a bit of an attitude. I feel like I took it a bit too far with calling the police. Am I the asshole? Whoa. What?
Courtney
That's insane.
Shane
This person who you've not talked to, you're gonna call them and say some weird cryptid freaky ass shit while they're.
Angela
On the job doing what they should do. Does that make sense? Like, it's actually wild to make this person feel like they did the wrong thing by calling the cops. And I think if you're doing overnights in a hotel, you should report sketchy behavior.
Courtney
Yes, yes. Because there's an entire premises of innocent people and a phone call just came in alluding to serial murder.
Angela
Like, it would be bad if you didn't make that call. And now you're like, I shouldn't have made that call. Cause it was a joke.
Courtney
What did he think would happen? She'd go like this. Yeah. And just like run around and like.
Angela
Her shirt falls off. And it's a fun movie.
Courtney
That's a shirt falls off.
Shane
Five buried, none found. Is like an extremely weird thing to say. Like, that's. That goes beyond. I'm kind of shocked that once the coworker came in, she's like, oh, it's just my co worker. Once he came in, I'd be like, yeah, he's the killer.
Courtney
Like, oh my God, I wouldn't be chill yet. Yeah. Ted Bundy style. Yeah.
Angela
It's giving like another non prank. It's like, I think pranks are similar to what you said about jokes where like, it's like non funny people say mean things when they're trying to be funny. Cause it's easier to be mean. Than to be funny.
Courtney
Right?
Shane
True.
Angela
And this is, it's showing this where it's like with roasts, you could tell when someone's like really good at them. Cause it's like a well written joke versus just a roast. That's mean. And like this prank is not well thought out because it's just mean. Like what you're creating to happen is just panic and fear and that none of those are funny.
Shane
Verdict. Not the asshole comments. Not the asshole. Your co worker was trying to scare you on purpose and now he's angry that you did what any reasonable person would have done under the circumstances. OP responded saying, yeah, my boyfriend thinks that my coworker was trying to scare me so I would quit my job. And because it backfired, everyone is annoyed with me. Haha. What someone else said, not the asshole. If I were you, I'd follow up with HR and make a formal complaint. It's hardly appropriate for a grown man to harass a younger woman who is alone at night, no less, and terrifier for his own enjoyment. Pranks are supposed to be funny. Yeah, Yeah.
Courtney
I was gonna say additionally to then go tell the rest of the staff that she was the asshole in the situation and now has impacted her work relationships with everyone there. Like that's. I think that's also. It's like retaliatory. So I think she absolutely should go to hr.
Shane
I wonder what story he spun. Because if someone was like, yeah, so I went out to the parking lot so that I looked really creepy. And then I called her and I said, five buried, none found. And I'd be like, I'd be like, hey, man, I gotta be honest with you. I don't know if I'm with you on this one. I'm like, how does no one do this? Us at the bar, just being like, oh, dude. And she didn't think that was hilarious. Women, I don't understand them.
Angela
So yeah, I took a couple laughs around the parking lot. Made her look super scared.
Shane
Yeah, I stood out there under the lamp light so that she could only see my silhouette.
Angela
Oh my God, I was laughing so hard. She would have been.
Shane
It was really great.
Angela
I was like farting like a loser.
Shane
And I'm walking around farting like a loser. Okay, so hold on, hold on. She says, a few nights ago was my first night alone. At around 2am I noticed a person in the parking lot. That means he was off work.
Courtney
He called off work.
Angela
Could you.
Shane
He went to work when he was off work just to scare her. Can you Imagine, wait, two in the morning. Could you imagine, like, there's no prank in the world where I would show up to work on my day off.
Angela
And scare a woman in the middle of the night. Oh, a woman in a vulnerable position trying to guard the whole hotel of sleeping people. Yeah, yeah, real so funny. That dude needs a fucking personality.
Courtney
He was like, dude, it was Pete comedy what I did, dude.
Angela
I really hope she understands the fact that I have a crush on her. No, it's giving that. I'm like, enjoy your night off. Go play video games.
Shane
Last comment. Agree with everyone here. So far, not the asshole. First of all, it's his night off and this is his activity of choice.
Angela
Yes.
Shane
Take up knitting or something, bro. Not menacing women in the middle of the night, then being pissed about the consequences. What if a guest at the hotel had seen this? It doesn't matter if you did or didn't see his face. You did what you should have done in this situation. Especially with the phone call. That's menacing, mean, and messed up. I've stayed at many hotels alone on work travels, and one time, late at night, I was on my balcony, which faced a parking garage, and I noticed these two guys taking photos of me. I asked them to stop. They didn't. So I called the front desk, and the gentleman working that night took care of it by calling the cops and also standing outside facing the garage. In the meantime, I was so appreciative, even though I felt bad about the cops coming, which I shouldn't have and neither should you. My point is, as the front desk clerk, you're responsible for guest safety, but you can't take care of your guests if your own safety is in jeopardy. And regardless of whether or not you have in house security, you did the right thing. He's an idiot and an asshole, and so is anyone you work with who thinks you were in the wrong. Again, as a guest, I'd hope that the people I call for help would do exactly what you did. If there's no harm, then there's no foul, but better to be safe than sorry. I fear what your co workers would have done in the situation I was in.
Courtney
Yeah, yeah, that's true.
Shane
You were saying, like, when people don't know how to be funny, they just go for mean. It's also, like she said, like, he never really talks to me. This is a guy who clearly does not know how to interact with women. So this is. This is his only instinct. He's like, I don't know how to say hi to her. So I'm just gonna freak her the fuck out.
Angela
I actually fear he's into her. That's what I'm saying. Some weird.
Shane
Like, you're in elementary school and all you know is how to scare someone.
Angela
Like, whoa, bud, wrong door to enter in. I don't know what you think you're doing, especially what really irks me now. Ever since we went back to it, being her first night alone really makes me mad because, like, that's so scary.
Courtney
Yeah. It's, like, real. I've. I've seen stories of women who are like, I have to work the middle of the night shift at the gas station I'm at. My boyfriend is literally so nice to, like, hang out in the parking lot while I do my shift. Because you gotta just be aware of the world right now. And, like, that's a situation that he.
Angela
Should be more aware of.
Shane
Right. Ugh.
Courtney
Icky.
Shane
All right, Another. Not prank.
Courtney
Yeah, crime.
Angela
Yeah, another prank. Another someone's rights being violated, but with a silly prank hat on.
Shane
Yeah. I actually think I'm glad she called the cops. Cause I'm nervous about this guy.
Angela
Yeah.
Shane
I'm like, no, who knows what he was doing? He did show up to work on your night alone when he wasn't supposed to be at work. That is odd behavior. I'm scared of this guy. If I were her friend, I'd be like, you should quit that job. Because I don't trust this guy.
Angela
Yeah. I don't trust him. It's like how going to small claims court felt dramatic to the person, but it isn't. It's just using that person's actions and holding them accountable to their actions, where it's like, oh, you messed up with. You hurt me. I'm gonna do this about it. Oh, you scared me. I'm gonna call the cops.
Shane
Yeah. No, it goes back to what we were saying of, like, he did technically harass her. It's not a prank. You can't just say it's a prank. And, oh, and that didn't happen. It's like, no, you were in the parking lot being creepy, calling her, saying some weird shit about bodies. That is all just factual. You were doing that. It doesn't really matter what the intent was because you did it.
Angela
Yeah. Yeah.
Courtney
And my paranoid ass can't go. I can't help but think if he's willing to say some weird shit like that, who knows what he said to the rest of the staff.
Shane
Yeah.
Courtney
He actually was trying to begin his serial killer era. And then she just, like, Ruined it.
Angela
What do you mean? Five buried, none, found bodies. I know, I get it. But like, none.
Shane
It's just weird.
Angela
Like, the bodies disappeared.
Shane
He's saying, no, like, I buried five and none of them were found.
Angela
And none were found.
Shane
I don't know. I'm not gonna try to figure this guy out.
Angela
Yeah, honestly, we could do some punch ups.
Shane
Yeah. Okay, our next story. Am I the asshole for being furious with my pregnant wife over a prank?
Courtney
Whoa.
Shane
It was a balloon.
Advertiser
You just realized your business needed to hire someone yesterday? How can you find amazing candidates fast? Easy. Just use Indeed. Stop struggling to get your job post seen on other job sites with Indeed sponsored jobs. Your post jumps to the top of the page for your relevant candidates so you can reach the people you want faster. According to Indeed data, sponsored jobs posted directly on indeed have 45% more applications than non sponsored jobs. Don't wait any longer. Speed up your hiring right now with Indeed and listeners of this show will get a $75 sponsored job credit. To get your jobs more visibility@ Indeed.com kidsandfamily. Just go to Indeed.com kidsandfamily right now and support our show by saying you heard about Indeed on this podcast. Terms and conditions apply. Hiring Indeed is all you need.
Shane
Just kidding. Psych prank, guys. Okay. I'm a 31 year old man. I've been with my wife Lisa since college and she's currently seven months pregnant with our first baby. My wife Lisa is witty and likes to play jokes on me. For example, she likes to pass off fake facts and stories as real and see if I'll believe them. Lisa. Lisa was a theater kid and so she's great at acting and selling these stories. I used to fall for her pranks all the time since I'm gullible and she's so convincing. However, now that I've been with her for so many years, I can typically tell when she's messing with me. She's upped the antics over the years so she can occasionally get me to believe one of her jokes. Today, when I got home from work, Lisa had tears in her eyes and told me she needed to talk to me about something. I was seriously worried and sat down with her immediately. I asked what was wrong several times and she kept saying it was hard to talk about and and she was terrified I'd leave her. I kept pressing and she told me she had an affair with her boss several months ago and wasn't sure if the baby was mine.
Angela
Oh no.
Shane
I asked if she was serious and she said she was 100% serious and started crying even harder. What? I got up, started pacing, and tried to gather my thoughts. After a few minutes, Lisa bursted into laughter and said she was just joking. I was furious. I said it wasn't funny in the slightest to make jokes about cheating and the child not being mine. Lisa then said she was a bit offended that I believed that specific prank and not several others. She said she couldn't believe I actually thought she'd cheat on me. She then got teary and asked why I didn't trust her.
Courtney
Okay, so the tears are real now.
Shane
I asked why I would trust her after she pulled that prank on me, managed to cry telling me about it, and continued with the prank even though I was visibly upset. Lisa said it was harmless and I was blowing things way out of proportion. She continued to ask why I didn't trust her, and I told her I needed some space. I ended up going to a speakeasy. A bar.
Courtney
Let's go.
Shane
I ended up going to a speakeasy and have been away from the house ever since. Even though Lisa has called several times. I know it was a prank, but I think this joke went way too far, especially with the tears. I also was clearly upset, as anyone would be, and she should have stopped it as soon as she realized I was actually falling for it. Usually Lisa's jokes are funny, but this one really got to me for some reason. Am I the asshole and am I overreacting? I feel bad because she's very pregnant with my child, and I don't want to stress her out, but I need space right now.
Courtney
Oh, poor guy.
Shane
Dude. What?
Courtney
I can't believe. I cannot believe she called it harmless when she literally watched the harm happen.
Shane
And then. You can't.
Courtney
In front of her, you can't twist.
Shane
It around and be like, I'm so mad. You'd believe me, right?
Courtney
And he knows she's a prankster. He says, are you serious? And she says, with tears in her eyes, I'm 100% serious. What isn't too far?
Angela
Okay, I have a crazy idea. What if she's not lying? I thought that, too.
Shane
I'd kind of be in that headspace.
Angela
This, to me, is insane. This is to me, like, I'm like, how unfunny can people think they are? Like, that's. No. No part of that is funny. That's why I'm like, there must be a reason why she did this.
Shane
That's so intense.
Angela
It would make more sense to me if she fucked her boss and did this.
Shane
If she actually cheated, then if she.
Angela
Thought this would make him lol.
Shane
Like, she did it. Saw the like and then kind of got cold. Like, was like, oh, I can fix this immediately.
Angela
And she had an out of body, like, fear tactic and just pivoted.
Courtney
Yeah. And I know hormones can be like all over the place when you're pregnant and stuff, but this felt like such a. Like a like, premeditated situation. And the fact that she was crying even harder during the prank. And then when he's clearly upset, then she switches it up. And then when he's upset, she's now crying in real life. Like, how can you trust anybody like that?
Shane
I don't love. I don't love the setup of a prank of just like, I told you a lie.
Courtney
Right.
Angela
Well, here's the thing. Here's the thing.
Shane
What the hell is that?
Angela
Here comes Mrs. Prank. Defending the pranks. Not this prank. I'm not defending. Okay. What I'm gonna say is, in defense of good pranksters, sometimes it can be really funny. I thought when you and Spencer made Amanda believe. You know what I mean? Like when you sometimes make the five.
Courtney
Nights at Freddy's meeting.
Angela
I don't wanna do a lie and make all lies. Okay? But like, when this story started, I thought it was similar to what me and my was. Every time we used to travel as kids, we would like, my brother would be like, oh, yeah, that's Constantinople and it's like some other statue. And. But what it turned into is my mom looking at us and us trying to do it without laughing and it being like a moment. Right. But it's like what the context of the lie is about. If it's about your partner, if it's about anything serious.
Courtney
Right.
Angela
Like, me and my brother, me and my mom believe that, like, all the Fanta Girls actually represented the flavors in, like, they were like, you know, just like funny stuff. Like making Amanda believe that five nights at Freddy's is based off of something real was funny.
Shane
I guess it's. Once again, it's thinking about the long term of it. Yeah. And talk about harmless. Like, okay, we knew that Amanda didn't know what five nights at Freddy's was, which is such a gift. And so it's like, if we can convince her this is a true crime, like, real story, that'll be fun. It's also on camera, like, this is us doing it.
Courtney
And you're often silly and it's low stakes.
Shane
It's low stakes. But I'm also like, this is our job we're technically at work, where our job is to be silly.
Courtney
No.
Angela
For sure.
Shane
So I'm like, when it's real life.
Angela
And when you cry.
Shane
So it's.
Courtney
And you guys. It's not like you guys have had this long history of you lying to Amanda. Like, it began there. Well, the stakes are so trust.
Shane
That's what I'm saying is like, what we're saying on a podcast. The stakes are so low. Cause it's just like, oh, yeah, well, this is. None of this really matters. Whereas in real life, in the relationship.
Angela
That's right. It's just not that black and white being like, there are ways that you could do this with, like, care and humor and just rooted in friendship.
Courtney
Yeah. Like, for a second, I was like, oh, is she gonna, like, say their baby has an extra ear or something?
Angela
Me too. But she's gonna be like, this whole time, it was gas.
Shane
Yeah.
Courtney
Like, oh, yeah. Like, something like that. I thought. Because I don't know.
Shane
Also, it's just like, with this prank, and she was so desperate to make him feel this, it's like, hey, I want you to experience trauma.
Courtney
Really?
Shane
Like, hey, that's what I want. It's funny. Cause I see what you're saying, and I agree. It's funny. If it's just like, I'm gonna make you believe this stupid.
Angela
Something really silly.
Shane
Like, it's silly, and it's just, like, a fun reveal.
Angela
This isn't.
Shane
This is intense.
Angela
This is something that could so happen. This person obviously isn't on Reddit enough. This happens all the fucking time.
Shane
Also. Yeah. There's no way to actually prove definitively that you weren't lying. It's funny. If it's like, oh, Five Nights at Freddy's is a true crime story. No, here it's not. It's a video game, and we're gonna play it now.
Angela
So you see, that's not Constantinople. That's Statue of Liberty.
Shane
It says it right there on the statue.
Angela
Yeah.
Shane
Whereas this, it's like, just cheating allegations for fun. It's like, okay, man.
Courtney
On yourself.
Shane
How do you prove that 100%.
Courtney
Yeah.
Shane
Cause I'm with you. Where I'd now be like.
Courtney
Like, she started seeing his reaction and was like, oh, shoot, I shouldn't tell him, actually, and thought maybe she could get away with it by calling it a prank.
Angela
Like, what a funny joke to just be a sketchy partner.
Courtney
Oh, my God. Oh, my God.
Shane
Verdict is not the asshole comments. Not the asshole. The worst part about this, to me isn't even the prank. It's that after the prank, she sees you are upset, and instead of apologizing, she blames you for believing her and begins to question you. Also, just remember, she can make herself cry, so don't let tears fool you anymore. Someone else said, not the asshole. The reason cheating ends relationships is for the same reason lying does. It breaks the trust in the relationship. She may not have a pattern of cheating, but she does have a long pattern of lying. And that's why you didn't trust her enough to immediately reject the idea she cheated on you. She's the one who has deliberately eroded the trust in your relationship for laughs over the years. Of course you don't trust her. She's made an effort to convince you not to trust her. How do you even know which part she's lying about this time? Maybe it was just a prank, or maybe she really did cheat, but then she pretended it was a prank when she started to doubt that you would forgive her. I think at this point, you might want to consider couples counseling to see if it's possible to rebuild the trust between you. You can't have a stable relationship without trust, and it's clear that you justifiably don't trust her enough for a stable relationship. Lastly, someone said, not the asshole. Sorry, but jokes are meant to be funny. And this, if a joke was just cruel. Messing around with your unborn child's paternity, then gaslighting you for believing she wouldn't stoop that low to joke about it is a serious red flag. Whether you admit it to yourself or not, you will always have a doubt in the back of your mind about the baby's paternity.
Angela
Yeah.
Shane
So I would demand a DNA test to alleviate your doubts. And if your wife is upset, remind her she created the situation by trying to be funny. She crossed so many boundaries and really needs to grow up and stop with her hysterically funny pranks.
Courtney
Yeah, it's a scary. It's a scary joke. You know, Like, I would feel bad even trying to say those words to you. Like, that's just so wrong. So, like the fact that she was so comfortable to commit, so hard to supposedly. If this is a prank, it's like, I don't know, there's some. You need to be more empathetic to your partner.
Shane
It's kind of like the other pranks that we've read today where I'm like, what's the. Oh, you wanted to make them feel horrible.
Courtney
Yeah. Also, I'm bringing the baby into it and being Like, I don't know if the baby's yours.
Shane
I know.
Courtney
That is like the legacy length version of the prank where it's like, oh, this doesn't just impact our relationship. It actually changes the dynamic of your child potentially.
Shane
Like, whoa, heavy. I think we all know with this lady as well, with all the other pranks here is if he did something of this caliber to her, I don't think she'd forgive him. You know, she would not be able to handle it. In fact, he should be like, I'm divorcing you. And they should get all the way to the process and then be like, pranked. He should show her the papers and it just says pranked on it.
Courtney
That's good.
Shane
And you know, she'd be pissed.
Angela
He draws like a little happy face and a penis on the signed line. Prank.
Shane
Pranked.
Courtney
But it's also like, he literally is like, I don't want to stress her out cause she's pregnant. Like, he can't prank her back. That'd be messed up. You can't prank a pregnant person.
Angela
You kidding me?
Shane
Yeah.
Angela
Weird. There's so many other funnier things to do.
Courtney
So many. Like literally third ear. You can have that one. My baby has 11,000 toes. So funny.
Shane
The doctors at the delivery room are like, there's no baby. I'm just kidding. Here he is.
Courtney
Imagine.
Shane
Oh, a banana.
Courtney
11,000 toes on a baby. Whole foot is just toes.
Angela
11,000 toes.
Shane
In the middle of her giving birth, they do the clown thing where it's just a bunch of like rope and stuff. They're like, whoa.
Angela
It's like, here comes one. Here's another, uh, oh, another 50 babies.
Shane
Just kidding.
Angela
Howie Mandela.
Courtney
There you go.
Shane
This one comes from the relationship subreddit. This is a 24 year old man. He writes, My girlfriend, who's 24, went way too far pranking her male friend who's also 24. And now I'm wondering if the pranks are flirtation after all.
Courtney
Oh, no.
Shane
My girlfriend of two years has had this male friend for a while. His name is Declan, and I'm not his biggest fan, but I didn't want to impede on the friendship. She told me last week that Declan pranked her by calling her up and pretending to be Jack Nicholson with one of those soundboards. So she wants to get him back. So as a joke, the next time we were over at his place, she used his landline to call a sex hotline that charged by the minute and then just left the phone there. Declan got charged like $200 for it. Ooh. So Declan strikes back at her again. At this point, they're still just being goofy, and I don't really mind. He comes over to her place for a party she was throwing, then hides this creepy decapitated doll in her closet. She finds it, freaks out, but then laughs it off. Now she wants to prank Declan even harder. She knows he's scared of clowns, so she made a giant paper mache clown statue that is hollow on the inside. She wanted to put it in his house. Apparently, his roommate will let her in or something, then hide in it all night and pop out of it as soon as he noticed. I tell her this seems a little extreme, but she does it anyway. But fast forward to that night. I got a call from my girlfriend because apparently Declan punched her in the face as soon as he saw her pop out of the clown. Totally as a knee jerk reaction because he didn't know it was her. Her nose wound up getting broken, and she had to go to the hospital. Now she's fine, although she is still wearing a splint. But she wants to continue pranking Declan at this point. Should I put my foot down? She is actually getting injured, and it makes me wonder if she just likes being around him so much that she is using the pranks as an excus. We've read other pranks that have fallen under that same category, where it's a partner being uncomfortable with their partner and their friend pranking each other, but it gets to the point where they're going into each other's apartments and leaving things and stuff.
Courtney
Okay, this is really intense hearing a paper mache clown. I'm like, I'm buying her dinner, and she got in it big enough to get inside, so she's going to perfectly make this to get inside. This roommate's gonna perfectly let her in, and she's gonna perfectly get into the closet and wait overnight to jump out. I do wonder if this story's real, but, like, that's a lot.
Shane
It's a lot of effort. These are also, you know, this is very specific stuff.
Courtney
She may as well just paint it and dress like a clown.
Angela
Like, it's giving, like, oh, you can't really. There's a lot of energy here and nowhere to put it right.
Courtney
It shouldn't be his turn to prank back because she got him.
Shane
Yeah. Or no, he left the decapitated doll, but then she did the clown, so he punched her.
Courtney
But, like, the punch wasn't the prank, so it's the call. The prank falls in his prank court.
Shane
Yeah, but she's just down. She's just down for the prank battle.
Courtney
To keep going after getting her nose broken.
Angela
I think she just wants to keep hanging out with him. And they both don't feel. They feel like it's a fun, like, way to do it. That doesn't make you feel vulnerable.
Shane
Yeah. Yeah. This is this girl's boyfriend writing this.
Courtney
Story, and he's already, like, not a huge fan of this guy. Friend.
Shane
Yeah.
Angela
Oh, to me, that's a little.
Shane
And I'm not as big as. His name is Declan. I'm not his biggest fan, but I didn't want to impede on the friendship. So it just. There's red flags around here.
Courtney
Yeah, I would feel weird. It's like. Yeah, the going to his home.
Shane
No, I would feel streamed.
Courtney
She came during a party. She came to his home when no one was home. Like, we're getting real comfortable.
Shane
Yeah.
Angela
And I think pranks are just. They're like a. It's like heavy joking and it's heavy, like, between them. Like, I don't know.
Shane
It's a lot of, like, this clown one's intense, too. It's like, hey, I'm go over to this guy's house. I'm going to hide in his room overnight. Yeah. Okay.
Courtney
So you had a sleepover.
Shane
Oh, my God. Okay, so I just thought of the funniest prank. What if I. What if I fuck him?
Courtney
Yeah, what if we fuck?
Shane
That'd be so silly.
Angela
It's crazy. Like, I don't have a crush on him, but it would be a funny prank.
Shane
Like, if we go. And I'm like, hey, let's have sex. And he's like, all right, let's have sex, and we have consensual sex and we both love it. And then what if we, like, also date? All right, comments? Well, your girlfriend is an adult, so, no, don't put your foot down. But you can say, hey, you got hurt. Maybe it's time to call it a truce. It does sound kind of flirty to me. Did she pay him for the sex line calls, by the way? Because she totally should have. OP said no. He told her it was fine and hilarious and he didn't ask her to pay him back. He also paid for her hospital bills after he punched her in the face.
Courtney
Chivalry.
Angela
Then it's just getting.
Shane
Can I also say the sex line thing is also interesting because these pranks are also, like, treading a line of sexual. It does feel like there's a lot of repressed Feelings that they can't just.
Courtney
Say to each other. Yeah. Choosing a sex line was. I was like, huh?
Shane
Yeah.
Courtney
So quickly.
Shane
As someone.
Angela
He was like, don't worry. I paid the bill. They gave me a great coupon back, and I actually love them.
Shane
Someone said. As someone who loves pranks, I have definitely started prank wars with guys I like as an excuse to flirt with them. I have also pranked male friends of mine with absolutely no desire to bang them. So I don't think anything in the post is evidence enough to prove that she wants to cheat. This sub is really suspicious of friendships outside of relationships, but I don't think that suspicion is always warranted. You can't put your foot down in that. You can't tell her what to do, but you can at least ask for some insurance. She sounds competitive and like, she doesn't want to get beat, so that may be why she wants to continue the pranks even after she got hurt continuing shows. She's tough and not scared in her mind. That prideful mindset can be hard to get over. But explain that you're worried about her and worried about how this is escalating. You can ask her what the hell she's getting out of this. That's worth getting her nose broken. Maybe that will at least make her pause and think about her motivations. Lastly, someone said her friendship with this guy seems inappropriately close, but I have to admit, that clown costume sounds impressive. If you do break up with her, ask her to teach you some paper mache skills first.
Angela
Please teach me paper mache. Please put Arasha in a paper mache Clouds class.
Shane
Class update number one.
Angela
Oh, there's multiple. They're gonna break up.
Courtney
They're going to a speakeasy.
Angela
They're at the speakeasy.
Courtney
Update.
Angela
We're both in paper mache.
Courtney
Paper mache.
Shane
Didn't think I'd have to do an update so soon after posting my original post, but here goes. I talked to my girlfriend about Declan, and I told her that the pranks are getting dangerous, and she is unreasonably close to a guy she's only known for such a short amount of time. She refers to him as her brother and her bff, but it's literally been five months.
Angela
Brother and bff?
Shane
Yeah, they've all been.
Angela
I remember, honestly, in youth group when I had a crush on a boy. We TPed his house. Whoa.
Shane
Five months is a very short amount. Being relatable, I think I was under the assumption that maybe I must have missed it. I was under the Assumption that I.
Courtney
Thought they were like childhood friends or something.
Shane
Childhood friends? Cause she just says a male friend for. Has had this male friend for a while. So she so op and this girl have been together for two years. She's only known this friend for five months, and she's already going into his house doing stuff that changes things. That's important. Context.
Angela
Cause I'm like, it's like, you haven't touched your meatloaf. You just keep looking at the paper mache that you're making.
Courtney
Yeah, no. Cause, like, you might have experienced this type of guy where it's like, when you're in a relationship, it's this other guy that even though you're in a relationship, sometimes that doesn't mean anything to them. And they're like, well, maybe she'll leave him for me. And like, five months is compared to a two year relationship. This friend, like, that's a concern. That's weird.
Shane
Oh, God. Okay, so it's literally been five months. I thought she would react in a mature way, but instead she said almost word for word, this is why I am always pranking Declan. At least Declan has a good sense of humor. I wouldn't even need to hang out with Declan if you weren't so uptight. So at least now I have confirmation that she hangs out with Declan specifically because she thinks I am not good enough.
Angela
I hate his name.
Shane
We wound up having a screaming match, and in the midst of our fight, the doorbell rang, so she went to get it. It's a guy in a giant gorilla costume.
Angela
Shut the fuck up.
Shane
Who barges in and starts humping all our furniture. Immediately. Immediately. I assume it's fucking Declan. So I keep in mind I was already extremely angry. Punch him in the face.
Angela
Whoa.
Shane
He takes off the mask and it's Declan's roommate, Chad. Apparently, Declan paid Chad $100 to scare us in the gorilla suit as a diversion because he was right behind Chad. While Chad was humping our furniture, Declan snuck into our bedroom and put ham underneath the mattress cover.
Courtney
No, this is not real.
Angela
What in the fucking Disney Channel 2005 shit is it?
Shane
So I tell both of these dudes to get the fuck and stop pranking us. I thought I was finally standing up to Declan when finally my girlfriend told me that the prank was hilarious and she's going to give me time to cool off. She leaves with Chad and Declan. Keep in mind, Chad's nose is still bleeding and he's wearing the gorilla suit. I haven't heard from her yet today, but I saw her Post a picture of a bagel on Instagram this morning so I know she's awake. I still don't know where she slept last night or what happened with Declan. I want to break up because I'm so angry. But weirdly enough, I still really love her. I can't help it. And I don't wanna waste two years. I gotta be real honest. Like, maybe I'll sound like a total dude with this, but, like, if your girlfriend just, like, gets upset with you and leaves the house with two other guys, you're broken up.
Courtney
Yeah.
Shane
That's the end of the relationship.
Angela
I'm gonna let you cool down and I'm gonna go have sex with these guys.
Shane
I'm. No, if their names are Chad and Declan, it's fully done, 100%. Wait.
Angela
Also, can you fucking imagine being in a tense fucking argument? And you're like, it's been two years. Like, you can't take a joke. And he's like, well, he can't take jokes. And you guys are, like, really trying to communicate, and a gorilla comes in and starts humping your couch. And you're like, look at this.
Courtney
I can't live like this.
Angela
That's the funniest shit I've ever heard. If, like, a fucking guy's like. And you're, like, trying to have a real argument.
Shane
Oh, my God, I can't believe. That's the first prank that we've read today where I'm like, that one was actually a little funny.
Angela
That was funny.
Shane
That one's actually a little funny.
Angela
I read that. They're like, oh, my God, this relationship's hard. Ding dong, man. And a girl. Doorbell. First of all, yeah, hilarious. Like a gorilla.
Courtney
He's like, can you believe it's Chad? And then Chad running in with Ham to get under the mat.
Shane
Declan somehow sneaks past.
Courtney
Where is the beat?
Shane
It's.
Angela
Babe, there's Ham under our bed.
Courtney
How did he know that? That's what he said.
Shane
Why does every prank involve, like, beds and sex and stuff? Like, the gorillas humping, like, no, this is very much. It's very clear what's going on here.
Angela
Okay, so you go to the front and you start humping the shit out of their fireplace. I have the honey baked. I'll go through the back and stick it up.
Courtney
Like, what? Why did you need to do a 1, 2.
Shane
You know what would made this all really funny is if the gorilla's in there and it's like, oh, I know it's Declan. But then all sudden, Chad and Declan show up at the door and they're like, wait, wait. Who is it?
Angela
The gorilla costume.
Shane
And it's just a real gorilla. It's her parents.
Angela
He paid $100 for Chad. These two just need a date. I'm sorry, Declan and Op. Just go out on a date and stop spending money on stupid shit like your friend in a fucking costume humping a bed.
Courtney
It's crazy.
Shane
All right, update number two.
Courtney
Yeah. Okay, here we go. Oh, God.
Angela
She ate that bagel.
Shane
The night of my previous post, I broke up with my girlfriend. Good. I told her that I thought her behavior with Declan was already an emotional affair, if not a physical one, 100%. Not surprisingly, she flipped out at me and told me I was being emotionally abusive and controlling. She told me that every ex boyfriend she's had has been emotionally abusive, and I fall right into that category.
Angela
And then a leprechaun came through the door and started licking our walls.
Shane
Because she's only kind of living with me and technically not on the lease. She's just slowly been staying here more often and has a key. It was pretty easy to kick her out. I wasn't sure if she was going to return to her old roommate who has most of her stuff, her female friend, or if she'd start living with Declan and Chad. When I asked her if she was going to move in with Declan, she told me it was no longer my business. Anyway, that night, I tried to relax. I was upset but pretty confident in my decision to dump her. I felt like I could start anew, meet someone else, etc. Then I got a bunch of random calls on my phone from a restricted number, but when I picked up, nobody was there. So I turned my phone on silent, figuring this was one of her immature schemes. To be honest, I still don't know who did it. I'm just assuming her or Declan. And in the Morning, I had 60 missed calls from restricted numbers. With new McValue and McDonald's, you get.
Angela
More than you expect.
Shane
So after a long day, buy a double cheeseburger and add a McChicken for a dollar. Because saving with deals is always on the menu. With new MCvalue, prices and participation may vary value for item of equal or lesser value.
Advertiser
You just realized your business needed to hire someone yesterday. How can you find amazing candidates fast? Easy. Just use Indeed. Stop struggling to get your job post seen on other job sites with Indeed sponsored jobs. Your post jumps to the top of the page for your relevant candidates so you can reach the people you want faster. According to Indeed data, Sponsored jobs posted directly on indeed have 45% more applications than non sponsored jobs. Don't wait any longer. Speed up your hiring right now with Indeed and listeners of this show will get a $75 sponsored job credit. To get your jobs more visibility at indeed.comkidsandfamily just go to indeed.comkidsandfamily right now and support our show by saying you heard about Indeed on this podcast. Terms and conditions apply. Hiring Indeed is all you need in.
Shane
The morning I actually got a text from Declan asking to come over to pick up my girlfriend's stuff. So yes, she moved in with him. I tried to be civil because I really just wanted to get her stuff out of my apartment, but I also wanted closure. When he got here, I told him that his relationship with her directly influenced the breakup and that I know they're together now. Now this is where things get weird. Declan looks at me surprised and tells me that he doesn't think my girlfriend is into him and that he definitely isn't into her. I told him to cut the crap, that it doesn't matter anymore. He seemed to be getting anxious and panicky, so I told him to calm down. I wasn't going to hurt him. I just wanted to know the deal. Then he tells me he knows he directly contributed to our breakup, but not in the way I think. Apparently it was Chad, not Declan, who wanted to bang my girlfriend. Chad was too shy and asked Declan to befriend my girlfriend and act as a wingman. Declan has tons of female friends, so Chad thought he would effectively gain her trust and be a good in. Declan insisted the reason he kept pranking her and being goofy was because he was hoping it would paint their relationship as clearly non romantic. Apparently Chad paid him back for all the times he had to lose money in a prank. And Chad was actually the one who paid for my girlfriend's broken nose. I told him, well, that was a stupid plan because my girlfriend moved in with you specifically to be with you. So that sucks for all three of you. Declan got extremely upset and seemed to be practically shaking at the idea that my girlfriend had feelings for him. He was acting like he murdered someone. So now my girlfriend, well, X is living with the guy she has a crush on who has no feelings for her and a guy who has a crush on her but was too creepy and weird to say it. I hope they all have fun together.
Courtney
What?
Angela
So Chad was the man in the hotel parking lot?
Shane
So it was the gorilla all along.
Courtney
It was the gorilla all along.
Angela
I thought Declan was fucking Chad.
Shane
I was. You know, I had a moment where I really thought Declan was gonna be like, oh, no, I'm gay.
Angela
Yeah. We're together. This is. What an update.
Courtney
Yeah.
Shane
Wow.
Courtney
Oh, my goodness. What a mess.
Shane
Yeah.
Angela
I do feel like this happens a lot in, like, maybe, like, younger friend groups where, like, someone shy hides behind the big personality friend, and then that person ends up doing all the connecting. Cause they're the ones putting themselves out there.
Courtney
I have been that friend in, like, middle school where it was like, yeah, I'm trying to. I'm trying to pull the weight. And then they go, what about you?
Shane
Yeah.
Angela
100%. Were you wing woman too hard? And you, like, end up being stuck in conversations with the guy rather than, like, manifesting it between your friend?
Courtney
Yeah. Yeah.
Shane
So. So. Wow.
Courtney
So she had a roommate that she, like, a girlfriend who she was already living with, but she was, like, kind of mostly staying at his op's place, but then decides to go move in with Declan, and Declan comes to pick up her stuff for her.
Angela
Weird.
Courtney
Like, within five months, this is who she has to, like, help her and that she's moving in with and stuff.
Shane
It sounds wild, but I know people like this do exist.
Courtney
Yeah. I think she's just really emotionally immature.
Shane
Oh, yeah. All of them are.
Angela
Yeah.
Shane
Like, none of them are thinking.
Angela
It's a lot of people hiding behind. It's another prank story where people are hiding behind how they really feel.
Shane
Right.
Courtney
I also. It's just the fact that she, like, accused op of being emotionally abusive and.
Angela
Saying, every one of my exes did this to me.
Courtney
It's like, I think you've been struggling to emotionally keep up with some of this stuff because you're focusing on pranks and being immature. Like.
Shane
Yeah.
Angela
Or like, when someone's always like, every single person I've dated, this is a problem.
Courtney
Yeah. It's like, all my exes are crazy.
Angela
I think you're the common denominator.
Courtney
Right.
Shane
Yeah.
Angela
Not true for everybody.
Shane
Okay, so so far, we have one prank we like, and that's the gorilla.
Angela
I mean, it's hilarious. And that's the boy who had to crush you.
Shane
Don't like the gorilla.
Courtney
I don't like the gorilla. I'm sorry. I don't mean to yuck your guys yelling.
Angela
No, it's totally fine. But I mean, if I don't like.
Shane
The ham part of it.
Courtney
But the gorilla, Chad went in humping furniture for his crush with a mask on.
Shane
The added context that he's in love with her, and so he just jumps in there and is humping stuff. Actually, it makes it funnier for me, too.
Angela
And it makes it really funny that the guy who's, like, hiding is the one under the mask.
Courtney
Right. Real. No, it's poetic.
Angela
Meanwhile, Declan's just putting a ham in somebody else's mattress. Like, go do.
Courtney
Yeah. He's like, I'll do something platonic, like, put the ham on her mattress.
Angela
Super brother. Like, okay, I'll put him where she has sex.
Courtney
His. Yeah. I mean, also, I just. I don't like pranks. I don't like planks. I don't like pranks that, like, would not look good in a work environment. You know what I'm saying? Where it's like, this is inappropriate. Don't hump things in front of me.
Shane
I do agree. I do agree. So I think just that the idea of someone in a gorilla costume makes me laugh.
Courtney
Me too. I have to get into drag because clearly he feels really confident in a mask.
Angela
Yeah.
Courtney
So, like, imagine what he's capable of when he can really, like, dive into a new Persona.
Angela
And imagine what Declan could do for someone he likes. This is just him being a good friend to Chad.
Shane
I know.
Courtney
Declan should write.
Shane
Yeah.
Courtney
Ham. A baby doll in a closet.
Angela
Come hang out for Bit City.
Shane
Here's our last story, Prank.
Courtney
We have five more stories.
Shane
Yeah.
Angela
No, Psych.
Shane
I'm just kidding.
Courtney
Prank. It is the last story.
Shane
Okay, Our last story. Am I the asshole for leaving my husband in the grocery store because he started acting like a toddler? We all go through phases and pick up annoying habits. And sometimes we just need our loved ones to gently tell us if we've picked up a particularly egregious habit. Sometime in the last year, my husband has picked up a habit where he talks like a baby. At first it was funny, but passed into embarrassing, cringeworthy behavior quickly. Doggo Pupper. Woofer. Subwoofer. Pibble. Hooty boy. Peepo Burb. Meow meow. Sammy sandwiches. Sammy whammy. Chicken nuggies.
Angela
This is who you're married to.
Shane
Chicky nuggies. Chicky tendies. Adding a toddler esque lisp to words. And the ones that really get gross are childish euphemism for genitalia or sex.
Courtney
No, no, no, no, no, no, no.
Shane
I cannot emphasize this enough. It is not endearing or sexy to have my husband talk about my boobies and his wiener and weenie and wee wee hoo ha's and bajinjos.
Courtney
What is that? Bajinjos.
Shane
Ba jinjos.
Courtney
Bajinjos.
Angela
Bajinjos or bajinjos?
Courtney
No, bajinjo is vagina.
Shane
Bajinjo. Nostalgia for scrubs be damned. We have not had sex for six months because he cannot stop talking about my boobies. And it makes me sick. Just before the pandemic hit, we were out at a restaurant with some friends. He actually ordered a Chicky Sammy. Like said that exact phrase, Chicky Sammy. Look, it's totally fine that he ordered the chicken sandwich. That's not the issue. Our friends noticed the baby talk because he insisted on continuing the joke and even started talking with this God awful toddler accent. After that, I just couldn't stomach the idea of going out with him to adult places. I'd go out to the brewery with friends, but God forbid he join me and say me want another beer or something. I don't know where it came from. I don't know why he's doing this. I finally hit my limit when we were grocery shopping and everything seemed normal and fine until he gasped like a kid, ran to the ice cream section and jumped up and down yelling, ice queem. Ice queem. I want chocolate.
Courtney
Wait, wait, wait, wait, wait, wait. I'm really worried. Wait, I'm worried.
Angela
I think something's going on.
Shane
Oh my God.
Angela
Wait, I'm really scared for the vacation.
Shane
She turns around and he's just like this. He's like. He's like.
Courtney
Please, Abby, Abby, please stop. Shane. I'm really, really worried about this guy.
Angela
I think this guy has a gambling problem or something. There's something underneath the issue.
Shane
This claim I blew all our money in Vegas last week. Oh, we have nothing. Oh my God, we have nothing.
Angela
Melissa and I have a huge porn addiction and we're in the red.
Courtney
We have nothing left except for this chicky sandwich.
Angela
Something's going on.
Shane
I love Fanduel.
Courtney
Fuck off.
Shane
My Paul way didn't hit. We have nothing.
Angela
Hey, I use our kids college funnel. FanDuel.
Shane
I bet 50k on red.
Angela
Please, please.
Shane
Okay, okay, okay.
Courtney
We have to finish the story.
Shane
So he says, ice cream, ice cream. I want chocolate. I was mortified. People were staring at him and me. He kept going and kept saying, can we get popsicles? And I just said, either talk to me like an adult or I'm leaving. He started saying, ooh, you must be fun at potties and lighten up, will you? And shit like that. I just said, fuck it and left the store, leaving him to walk home like a mile. It was fine.
Courtney
A mile was fine.
Shane
Because I couldn't even look at. Since then Things have been very tense. He keeps telling me that he wants an apology for embarrassing him by leaving him in the store. I told him that people don't get to demand apologies.
Angela
Embarrassing him.
Shane
That's what he said. If someone wants to apologize, it's up to them. I am absolutely not going to apologize for saving myself the embarrassment of a 35 year old man with a mortgage and retirement account asking for chocolate ice cream and popsicles. He got his fucking mom.
Angela
I'm so scared.
Shane
Say it again. Say it again. Say it again.
Courtney
Say it again.
Shane
He got his fucking mom involved. No joke. She keeps telling me it's just a phase and that he's probably bored and I should be happy this is his midlife crisis rather than him fucking 19 year olds at a local bar.
Angela
Whoa.
Shane
That's a crazy. That's a crazy statement.
Angela
Out of pocket much? I think something's going on.
Courtney
I think something's really bad. It's to be going.
Angela
I think this guy murdered someone. I don't think something happened.
Shane
He's having a mental break. I'm going crazy. Am I the asshole? Do I really just need to let my husband continuously embarrass me like this?
Courtney
Po.
Angela
Edit.
Shane
Edit. Edit. Sorry, there was only so much space. I have talked to him multiple times, especially about the sexual comments. I made it extremely, abundantly clear that him using terms like boobies and wee wee are absolutely repulsive to me. Among other things, he says, does he have a job? Yes. And he acts completely normal. As far as I know, he worked from home for a while during lockdown and I never heard him talk like this to anyone he worked with.
Courtney
Oh my God. Imagine he's like, I want my pee.
Angela
Pee wee Wee time.
Courtney
Hey, what's up, George? Yeah, I got the meeting at 4pm no problem. All right, see you later.
Angela
The deal's done.
Courtney
Popsicle.
Angela
Tons of grapes.
Shane
But imagine in the middle of like a presentation at work, he's like, this Mojo is gonna be really great.
Angela
I love Mojo.
Shane
Does he do it with friends? Sometimes. And it's generally meant to annoy them or gross them out. But he stops. He has friends where they think it's cute to embarrass each other. Is this a kink fetish? If so, I'm absolutely done. Has he seen a doctor? No, but I asked him if he needed to talk to someone because he was acting strange and he accused me of being stuck up and judgmental. Given that he doesn't act like this with his co workers or his family and only jokes around with his Friends, I'm willing to bet that this is an indication that he's trying to force this fetish on me. Non consensual. Or trying to get me to leave. Does he have childhood trauma? As far as I know, and I'm relatively close to his family and would likely know, the most traumatic thing he had happen was a minor car accident when he was around 13 years old. No injuries, no death, et cetera. He hasn't been in a car accident in the past two years or anything like that, and I haven't. And as far as I know, no one else in his family has been, et cetera. I don't know if she under. That feels like a different type of trauma she's bringing up.
Courtney
Like she felt like his brain got hurt.
Shane
Yeah, yeah. No, I.
Angela
Some weird reverse boss baby.
Courtney
But, you know, I feel like if someone asked the word trauma, she would.
Shane
Have brought up something if she was aware of it. Yeah, yeah.
Courtney
I have so much to say about this. Cause, like, you know, there's like this thing to be said about when you start saying a word ironically. Your brain registers it as, I feel good when I say this. So then it will eventually become unironic and it will just become a part of your vocabulary. I feel like that could be part of it. But also knowing this dynamic with his friends and how they like to embarrass each other. We know these people that, like, they can tell when something makes you uncomfortable. It makes them want to do it so much more. Like, it is such an interesting type of person. But it so is so common.
Shane
Cause it's like, why do you want that reaction out of your partner? Like, why do you want to annoy your partner?
Courtney
And interesting that he'll say stop with his friends because he, like, respects them more, but he's like, doesn't. Like, doesn't respect his partner's boundaries as much.
Angela
Yeah, well, it's another red flag in the prank area, where it is like someone gets a lot of humor out of someone's pain or discomfort.
Shane
Totally.
Courtney
Yeah.
Angela
That's the weakest thing.
Shane
There's really not a. There's not a great resolution to this because either way, he's just not respecting her. She's saying, hey, this makes me really uncomfortable. And he just keeps. He keeps doing it kind of because of that.
Courtney
Yeah.
Angela
Or he's Benjamin Butt.
Shane
Or maybe he's becoming a baby.
Courtney
Maybe he's smokey becoming baby.
Angela
Maybe this is some weird grounded substance boss baby thing.
Courtney
Substance boss baby collab.
Shane
When some comments here, man. By the Title. I assumed he just threw a temper tantrum or something. This is so much worse. And I have no idea how you put up with it for as long as you have not the asshole. And your husband needs some professional interference asap. Someone else said, not the asshole. I have two kids. They have never talked like that. Because if you talk to children with big words, they will too. What the hell is he going on about? Tell him if he insists on acting like a child, you will find him a nanny to take care of him. Someone else said, not the asshole. What the actual fuck? My boyfriend and I are in our 30s and will admit that our speech can be fairly young. There are doggos, things with crunch, and our pet name for each other is a similar cutesy derivative. But that's, you know, at home. And we're both down for it. What boggles my mind is when people say, I can't believe you're making a big deal out of X when the issue is actually, I have told you repeatedly that X action bothers me a lot, but you keep doing it. Why aren't you respecting my boundaries? Legit, though. I feel like he needs some individual counseling.
Courtney
Yeah. I had an ex like this where it's like. Or you're like, are you trying to make me want to break up with you? Like, I don't understand where they will just do something for so long as if it's a bit. But it's like, no, you're committed to this more than you're committed to me. You know what I mean? Like, whoa.
Shane
Yeah. Update.
Courtney
Please send refuge. Oh, my God. Oh, my God. It's from the POV of the baby boy. Man. Guy, please.
Shane
Well, here I am with the update. I talked to my husband after doing some soul searching. There was no kink, no childhood trauma. I asked him first if he understands why I'm upset and to please clarify if he was doing this on purpose or if we needed to seek medical intervention. He didn't want to tell me at first, and I got worried. He eventually caved when I suggested we look for a doctor because of how worried I am. It was a bet with one of his friends that started as them trying to embarrass each other in public. He bet my husband that he couldn't keep it up for the whole year. The only off limits part was at work. Because he couldn't jeopardize his career. No, no. He decided to jeopardize his marriage instead. For what prize? What was he going to win? A signed baseball. A baseball I thought he was still joking. No, he was dead serious. How is the friend verifying? My husband would share little videos he took here and there of him upsetting me with the baby talk, including times he tried to initiate sex by whispering this baby talk in my ear. I wasn't in any state of undress. And by seeing us in public, like at the brewery. He got cross with me in the grocery store because I interrupted the recording and almost blew the whole operation.
Angela
Put a sign. Baseball.
Shane
He wasn't remorseful or apologetic. He thought we were both in on this little joke and that I'd find it hysterical. I asked him, did he understand we haven't had sex in months? No, no, it didn't matter. It was all worth it to him. He kept saying, you just don't get it. It's not just a baseball. I told him the joke was over. It was time to stop for good, but that I was willing to move on with him. I could forgive him. No, he wanted to keep going. There are only two months left on the bet, so he's so close. He said, we can have sex if you want. We'll just pretend. Xyz. And I was just like, why does thinking about your friend even factor into this? What's wrong with you? You never had to do this and ruin our intimate moments. But he said, I just didn't get it, and he had to be in character all the time. After a lot of arguing and tears, I left him. I'm heading up to Colorado to be with my family through Christmas, and then I'm going to move in with my sister for a little while to figure out next steps. I hope it was worth it because of the baby talk.
Courtney
And that is what we call in the business, standing on business. Don't, don't, don't, don't.
Shane
Wow.
Angela
Wow.
Courtney
Like I said, committing to a prank, harder than committing to your relationship.
Angela
You were right on.
Shane
I think the funny, the funniest thing out of all these stories we read today is her being like, we haven't had sex in six months. And he's just like, yeah, it's for assigned baseball.
Angela
This guy must be so fucking confident in himself to bring that into the bedroom and be like, I'll fix it later. Let me talk to you like this for my bro.
Courtney
Like, are you kidding?
Shane
When he's like. He's like, okay, this will alleviate things. I've been recording you in secret.
Angela
Yeah, you're just a pawn in my whole game with my boys.
Courtney
Not that you could have doubled up on the prank watch this double stuff prank, Tell your wife. She's in on it, making the process that much easier for you.
Angela
Do a bunch of fake videos in bulk. Yes.
Courtney
Get it all done.
Angela
Yes. I honestly think the worst part about pranks is the exclusion. And sometimes that's necessary for the prank, but I think you have to really be careful. And if you're excluding someone so badly, it's never gonna be funny.
Shane
Yeah.
Courtney
Until there for that long. A year. A year.
Shane
A year is not fun.
Angela
Yeah. I'm glad she went to that measure, because I think that there's just something under the hood. Like, there's smoke where there's fire.
Shane
Oh, yeah. Yeah.
Angela
Like, there's something that's just one thing. It feels like in a pile of other stuff, because that feels like someone who's just, like, not willing to fight for your relationship.
Shane
That's almost always the case with Reddit stories. Right. It's like, oh, here's a thing that's happening. It's like. But it was a pattern that's been going on for a long time. Someone who's willing to do that probably has done a bunch of other bullshit before. Well, damn.
Angela
The only funny prank was the gorilla.
Shane
So you think the gorilla was the only funny prank, and you stand that? There was no funny pranks.
Courtney
The ham. The ham.
Shane
You think the ham was funny?
Angela
Listen, maybe we need a gorilla humping a stack of pancakes.
Courtney
Maybe.
Shane
Oh, okay. To be complete, this is different. At Smosh, the rules are a little different because we could be in the middle of filming any video, and if a gorilla ran in and started humping the furniture, I'd be laughing.
Angela
Yeah, 100%.
Courtney
Yeah.
Shane
If I'm here reading Reddit stories and a gorilla runs in and starts humping this chair, I'd start laughing.
Courtney
So there will be a day 10 years from now where Andrew willing be in a gorilla suit and I'll be holding a ham. I'll be old, and I'll be old.
Angela
Let's in 10 years, put it on your calendar. 10 years from.
Shane
Okay.
Angela
Wow.
Courtney
Wow. I can't believe you just did that.
Angela
That was a really good batch of stories.
Shane
That was awesome. That was awesome. Damn. Well, thank you both for being here.
Courtney
Thanks for being here. I was gonna say I was gonna try and tie in, like, I'm glad that we got to do this episode because we've done a prank.
Shane
We have done a prank. Well, we actually did prank anyone.
Courtney
What do you mean?
Angela
Are you admitting it's a prank?
Courtney
It wasn't a prank, but it was on April Fool's Day.
Shane
I mean, but we just told people the truth on April Fool's Day.
Courtney
You're right.
Angela
Yeah. And I was there.
Shane
Okay. The prank. The prank was. We did set up that the. That Smoshmouth was going to be like.
Angela
That was the prank.
Courtney
Crazy.
Shane
But also, it's like, did we take.
Angela
Almost one year anniversary of our prank?
Shane
Yeah. No. That was epic, though.
Angela
Like, that was the greatest.
Shane
It was epic because it wasn't a prank.
Courtney
It was just silly.
Shane
It was just.
Courtney
And it was exciting.
Shane
Yeah, that was fun.
Courtney
I love pranking people, but I like to do it in a way that's so fun. Like with your graduation at the end of the day.
Shane
The graduation was the only prank in my life where I was like, okay, that was awesome. Or like, because it was like, oh.
Courtney
This is.
Angela
Me cry.
Shane
Because it's just like, oh, here's a sweet thing. Like the.
Angela
If the.
Shane
If the prank. If a prank ends with everyone laughing, then it was great. That's a hit. But if someone's upset at the end, then you failed.
Angela
If someone's in small claims court. You fucked it, my guy. You fucked it.
Courtney
Yeah.
Shane
Yeah. I view pranks the same way I view, like, whenever we've done roasting, where I'm like, if you roast someone and the person you're roasting doesn't laugh, then you just insulted them. That's all that was. It's like, you gotta think about these things. It takes some thought. So, yeah. Anyways, me on Amazon looking up gorilla costumes.
Angela
Oh, my God, man, that's so fun.
Courtney
Wait, you know the big gorilla chair that's been going viral? It's a giant armchair. That's a gorilla.
Shane
And next week on Reddit stories, it's gonna be right there.
Courtney
And then a gorilla comes in and humps the gorilla chair, and the gorilla baby comes out.
Advertiser
Blackout.
Courtney
Subscribe for more.
Shane
Thank you both for watching. Thank you, you guys for watching. Let us know what other subredits and themes you'd like to see on the show, and we'll see you next Saturday. Bye.
Angela
Have a great Saturday.
Shane
Don't prank anyone. Don't prank this.
Angela
These pancakes are actually butthole.
Courtney
Ew. I hated that.
Advertiser
You just realized your business needed to hire someone yesterday. How can you find amazing candidates fast? Easy. Just use Indeed. Stop struggling to get your job post seen on other job sites with Indeed sponsored jobs. Your post jumps to the top of the page for your relevant candidates so you can reach the people you want faster. According to Indeed data, sponsored jobs posted directly on indeed have 45% more applications than non sponsored jobs. Don't wait any longer. Speed up your hiring right now with Indeed and listeners of this show will get a $75 sponsored job credit. To get your jobs more visibility@ Indeed.com kids and family, just go to Indeed.com kidsandfamily right now and support our show by saying you heard about Indeed on this podcast. Terms and conditions apply. Hiring Indeed is all you need.
Shane
Hello, it is Ryan and I was on a flight the other day playing one of my favorite social spin slot games on jumbaccasino.com I looked over the person sitting next to me and you know what they were doing? They were also playing Chumba Casino. Everybody's loving having fun with it. Chumba Casino is home to hundreds of casino style games that you can play for free anytime, anywhere. So sign up now@chumbacasino.com to claim your free welcome bonus. That's chumbacasino.com and live the Chumba Life Sponsored by Chumba Casino. No purchase necessary. VGW Group Void we're prohibited by law 21 + terms and conditions apply.
Podcast Summary: Smosh Reads Reddit Stories – Episode: "Get PRANKED | Reading Reddit Stories"
Podcast Information:
The episode kicks off with Shayne Topp welcoming listeners to "Smosh Reads Reddit Stories," introducing the theme of pranks. He’s joined by prank enthusiasts Angela and Courtney, who immediately engage in a playful prank by startling Angela.
Shayne [00:54]: "Hello and welcome to Smosh Reads Reddit Stories. I'm Shayne, and today the theme is pranks..."
Courtney [01:20]: "What is a prank, really?"
The trio delves into defining what constitutes a prank, debating whether it’s merely a joke or something more nuanced. Angela suggests that pranks were initially meant to “minore inconvenience in a funny way” before spiraling out of control.
Angela [01:46]: "I think what the original intention, I believe that pranks were just to minorly inconvenience you in a funny way."
Shayne concludes that the success of a prank hinges on the prankee finding it amusing, stating, “if the person you're pranking isn't laughing, then the prank failed.”
Story Overview: A Reddit user narrates how his fiancé tricked him into believing they were purchasing a new home. After weeks of excitement and anticipation, the fiancé revealed it was all a prank, leaving the user devastated.
Key Moments:
Emotional Impact: The user questions whether he's overreacting, expressing deep hurt: “Am I overreacting? I haven't stopped crying.”
Host Reactions:
Community Feedback: The consensus is that the prank was excessively cruel, with multiple commentators labeling the fiancé as untrustworthy and the prank as invasive.
Notable Quotes:
Discussion Points:
Story Overview: Another Reddit user shares his experience of being pranked by his brother-in-law, who injected super glue into his belly button while he was asleep in a hammock. The prank resulted in an ER visit and a $2,253 medical bill, leading the user to take legal action.
Key Moments:
Physical Harm: The prank caused physical injury, highlighting the dangers of pranks that affect one's body.
Host Reactions:
Community Feedback: The prank is condemned as crossing ethical boundaries, with many agreeing that it constitutes assault rather than a harmless joke.
Notable Quotes:
Discussion Points:
Story Overview: A front desk clerk experiences a terrifying prank where her coworker poses as a potential serial killer, prompting her to call the police. The prank disrupts her work environment and leads to tension with her coworkers.
Key Moments:
Fear and Safety: The prank exploited fears related to personal safety, especially in a vulnerable work shift.
Host Reactions:
Community Feedback: The prank is heavily criticized for causing unnecessary panic and damaging workplace relationships.
Notable Quotes:
Discussion Points:
Story Overview: A man recounts how his pregnant wife pranked him by faking a confession of infidelity, causing him significant emotional distress and leading to thoughts of separation.
Key Moments:
Emotional Manipulation: The prank targeted deep-seated insecurities about trust and paternity.
Host Reactions:
Community Feedback: The prank is viewed as highly inappropriate, breaching emotional boundaries and jeopardizing the relationship's foundation.
Notable Quotes:
Discussion Points:
Story Overview: A couple engages in an escalating prank war involving elaborate setups, including a gorilla costume and hidden hamming under a mattress. The pranks lead to physical altercations and ultimately the breakup of the relationship.
Key Moments:
Escalation and Violence: The pranks intensified to the point of physical violence, showcasing the dangers of unchecked prank competitions.
Host Reactions:
Community Feedback: The prank war is deemed destructive, with multiple hosts and commentators agreeing that it was harmful rather than humorous.
Notable Quotes:
Discussion Points:
Story Overview: A wife becomes increasingly frustrated with her husband's adoption of toddler-like speech and behaviors, leading her to leave him in a grocery store. The behavior is later revealed as part of a bet, exacerbating the relationship's issues.
Key Moments:
Behavioral Concerns: The husband's sudden shift to childlike behavior raises concerns about underlying issues beyond a simple prank.
Host Reactions:
Community Feedback: The prank is criticized for its depth, impacting the marital relationship and indicating potential mental health concerns.
Notable Quotes:
Discussion Points:
As the episode wraps up, the hosts reflect on the stories discussed, emphasizing the fine line between harmless fun and harmful pranks. They highlight that successful pranks should end with laughter and mutual enjoyment, warning against actions that cause pain, fear, or lasting emotional damage.
Shayne [80:56]: "If a prank ends with someone being upset, then it failed."
Angela [80:50]: "If you're excluding someone so badly, it's never gonna be funny."
Courtney [81:02]: "Why aren't you respecting my boundaries?"
Key Takeaways:
The "Get PRANKED | Reading Reddit Stories" episode of Smosh Reads Reddit Stories offers a profound exploration of the boundaries of pranks. Through a series of intense and often troubling Reddit tales, the hosts engage listeners in a critical examination of what differentiates a playful prank from a harmful one. The episode serves as a cautionary narrative on the importance of empathy, consent, and the enduring impact of our actions on those around us.
For those who haven't listened, this episode provides valuable insights into the complexities of humor, relationship dynamics, and the ethical considerations inherent in playful deceptions.