More April Fool's pranks: the ol' electrified quarter glued to the ground
An updated take on an old classic gag.
April Fool's Day is almost upon us. And I, for one, would never pass up an opportunity to mess with someone’s head, even if it is completely expected on this particular day. This year, I decided to put a new spin on a time-tested, oldie-but-goodie: the “coin glued to the ground” gag. I’ve booby-trapped the coin with a piezo igniter so that the “sucker” gets a 30KV shock.
For those of you not in the know, the original setup is just a coin glued to the ground. Unsuspecting dupes come along and see money on the ground and go, “Hey, free money!” Then they proceed to try and pick it up for the next however many minutes. Truth be told, this was me when I was about eight years old, and it was only a nickel. So now, to get my ultimate revenge on the universe, I’m going to add insult to injury with the aforementioned piezo BBQ igniter.
So check out the video. As a very small disclaimer, there are other means I could have used to shock somebody that would have been much more attention-getting -- an ignition coil out of a car, for example. Or heck, just wire the quarter to 120VAC (one lead wired to a plate where the victim would stand, of course). Clearly, I’m not out to kill anyone today.
But what about you? Are you working up a good prank this season? Post it in the comments for some #opensourcepranks! (No, it’s not really a thing. But it should be.)
