Really trivial stuff that amuses you...

[DonM435]

I think I'd just remove his "Front" label and replace it upside-down.

I guess the most subtle change would be the nastiest.

Several years ago, one woman in our office took a three-week vacation, something that gave the pranksters nearby a lot of time.

What they did was to introduce very subtle changes to her desk and surroundings. Swap some books on the shelves. Reproduce her desk blotter down to the last doodle or scrawl carefully, but with small differences. Rewrite the various sticky notes. Type up new copies of lists she'd tacked up, but not quite the same. They even replaced the photograph of her dog with one of a similar mutt.

It was a really brilliant gag (they did store the original stuff safely), but I never did learn how itr played out when she got back.

[Noclevername]

Really trivial-- night before last I was up late and went on to BAUT, just as I hit "refresh" the clock ticked from 11:59 to 12:00, and all the "today" last-posting times turned into "yesterday" all at once.

[Siguy]

The Feynman point. It's a mind-boggling yet trivial coincidence, but the idea of Feynman using it to convince people that pi is rational is just endlessly amusing. And the fact that that the digits which follow make up the infinitesimally small difference between pi and a rational number.

It's also true that all decimal places of pi, after the first couple dozen or so, are themselves quite trivial, as the number of digits stored within your calculator are probably enough for any engineer on Earth.

[Lurking Nerd]

Killing the crosswalk button. Some of the buttons you press at a crosswalk to get the walk light make a beep to let you know it has been pressed. I've found that if I press them quickly, several times, the beep gets quieter and then complete ends with a little squel. Don't know why but making it beep several times and die just amuses me.

[Trebuchet]

If I was designing the crosswalk system, I'd probably be tempted to set it up so every push after the first extends the interval before the light changes.

[Swift]

I'm afraid I'd have been sorely tempted to print out another "Front" label and stick it on the back.

At a place I worked at we had a large set of metal shelves we stored our samples on. They were all put in these small white boxes, and the ends of the boxes were labeled with the sample number(s).

Our boss, Bob, always seemed to have a terrible time finding any sample he was looking for, even though you just had to look for the number, and they were pretty much in order. One day, on a lark, a co-worker, Ed, and I picked one of the sample boxes and put a post-it note on it saying "Bob, this is the one you want".

A couple of weeks later, Bob was looking for a sample and asked us to help him find it. Sure enough, it was the box we had put the note on. We were almost hysterical with laughter.

Ed also one day purchased this huge bag of plastic toy ants, just about the size of real ants. He would secretly put little piles of these ants all over the place (desk draws, on top of equipment, behind things, etc., etc.). For years after Ed left the company we would still occasionally find his little piles of ants.

[Swift]

I guess the most subtle change would be the nastiest.

Several years ago, one woman in our office took a three-week vacation, something that gave the pranksters nearby a lot of time.

What they did was to introduce very subtle changes to her desk and surroundings. Swap some books on the shelves. Reproduce her desk blotter down to the last doodle or scrawl carefully, but with small differences. Rewrite the various sticky notes. Type up new copies of lists she'd tacked up, but not quite the same. They even replaced the photograph of her dog with one of a similar mutt.

It was a really brilliant gag (they did store the original stuff safely), but I never did learn how itr played out when she got back.

I found this website devoted to photos of office and cubicle pranks, including wrapping everything (aluminum foil, wrapping paper, etc.) and filling cubicles with things (styrofoam packing, balloons, etc.).

[Gillianren]

If I was designing the crosswalk system, I'd probably be tempted to set it up so every push after the first extends the interval before the light changes.

When I was a kid, the crosswalks in my neighbourhood only triggered walk lights if you pressed the button at very specific times. I got in the habit of pushing the button too many times in the hopes of getting it just right, and it's taken years to break myself of it.

[HenrikOlsen]

I guess the most subtle change would be the nastiest.

Several years ago, one woman in our office took a three-week vacation, something that gave the pranksters nearby a lot of time.

What they did was to introduce very subtle changes to her desk and surroundings. Swap some books on the shelves. Reproduce her desk blotter down to the last doodle or scrawl carefully, but with small differences. Rewrite the various sticky notes. Type up new copies of lists she'd tacked up, but not quite the same. They even replaced the photograph of her dog with one of a similar mutt.

It was a really brilliant gag (they did store the original stuff safely), but I never did learn how itr played out when she got back.

Just hope she wasn't borderline psychotic, as that sounds like a perfect trigger.

[swampyankee]

I found this website devoted to photos of office and cubicle pranks, including wrapping everything (aluminum foil, wrapping paper, etc.) and filling cubicles with things (styrofoam packing, balloons, etc.).

One of the people I worked with wrapped his cubicle every Christmas. Were I to try that, I'd start using the wrapping paper to take notes.

[Solfe]

I worked in an office that would upgrade computers every five or so years. If no one was sitting in a workstation, they would not update that computer. Often they would leave the old computer in place or remove it for recycling; it struck me that they tossed a coin to choose which to do.

My friend received a brand new computer with a tiny case about two week before the rest of us received an upgrade and he would rub it in every chance he got. To get even, I found a very old PC that was going to be recycled and took the case. I put my friends new computer inside the old case and ran the wires out the back. Then we waited to see his reaction.

After three days one of my coworkers commented on the old case and his lack of reaction. He shrugged and told us he liked it better this way, then he showed us how he taped the front plate like a hinge so he could press the power button on the computer inside.

[Jim]

If I was designing the crosswalk system, I'd probably be tempted to set it up so every push after the first extends the interval before the light changes.

I saw a photo where someone obviously had an opinion about crosswalk buttons. Over the button was a neatly lettered sign that read, "REBOOT UNIVERSE."

[iquestor]

We have a newscaster here named Richard Belcher. Every time they introduce him I flash back to the Eighth Grade; as my ScienceTeacher is calling role.
"Belcher?"
and he belches out " HHHHHHHHEEEEEEEeeeeerrrrrrrrreeee!!!"

I giggle every time.

[Trebuchet]

When I was a kid, the crosswalks in my neighbourhood only triggered walk lights if you pressed the button at very specific times. I got in the habit of pushing the button too many times in the hopes of getting it just right, and it's taken years to break myself of it.

When I was on strike, a dozen or so years ago, my picket location was at a busy intersection which was the main entrance into the office part of the plant. Either there wasn't a button, or it didn't work. One of the guys brought in a large steel plate he'd toss on the traffic sensor coil to trigger the light when people wanted to cross, or just if he felt like stopping the traffic for a couple of minutes.

[KaiYeves]

We have a newscaster here named Richard Belcher. Every time they introduce him I flash back to the Eighth Grade; as my ScienceTeacher is calling role.
"Belcher?"
and he belches out " HHHHHHHHEEEEEEEeeeeerrrrrrrrreeee!!!"

I giggle every time.

On my way to work, I walk past the office of a Congressman named Jerry Lewis, with that name on a plaque out front. It always makes me giggle.

[Paul Beardsley]

I can't believe nobody has mentioned this source of amusement. (Surely someone has somewhere?)

When looking up people's names in Wikipedia, Amazon or Google, I like to see how few letters I have to type before their name is suggested. This is especially amusing if it's someone I'm a fan of but who I don't think is well known outside a niche.

In Wikipedia I only have to type "H.P" to get H.P. Lovecraft, "Gary" to get Gary Numan.

[Torsten]

Yes, that is a source of amusement. To help explain a phenomenon at work, I suggested that a friend might find both understanding and comic relief by googling "Dunning-Kruger". She said that the suggestion list showed it after typing the first four letters.

[Gillianren]

It's especially fun to me if I'm looking up a person on Rotten Tomatoes. At first, when you start typing, it splits your choices between people and movies; it interests me to see how long it takes before it knows you want just a movie or just a person.

[Paul Beardsley]

Footnotes that generate further footnotes sometimes amuse me, sometimes bug me, depending what's demanded of me at the time and what mood I'm in.

[KaiYeves]

I can't believe nobody has mentioned this source of amusement. (Surely someone has somewhere?)

When looking up people's names in Wikipedia, Amazon or Google, I like to see how few letters I have to type before their name is suggested. This is especially amusing if it's someone I'm a fan of but who I don't think is well known outside a niche.

In Wikipedia I only have to type "H.P" to get H.P. Lovecraft, "Gary" to get Gary Numan.

I like doing this, although sometimes Google alters it based on my previous searches so that what I'm looking for comes up sooner, which rather ruins the fun.

[Gemini]

I did this one Friday night: Stand on the center of a bridge that goes over a railroad while a train goes by, it looks really surreal.

[Solfe]

My children's reaction to water polo players with beards. They giggle like mad.

[Jim]

Dogs drinking water. I find that endlessly amusing.

Hunting dogs usually have what are called "soft mouths" or "loose lips." This allows them to retrieve prey without damaging it. It also means they "leak" when they drink. Our Lab leaves a trail of water across the floor.

I also watch the dogs at the dog park. I bring a cooler filled with water and set it out for them. Some dogs are dainty drinkers. Others plunge their snouts into the water, mouths wide open, attacking it. Some put a paw into the cooler, I guess so it can't get away while they drink. Some put both paws in and "dig" in the water. I watched one shepherd with a tennis ball in his mouth, that he did not want to give up. He stood looking perplexed for a moment, then dropped the tennis ball into the cooler where it floated. He took his drink, then retrieved his ball, like dunking for apples.

[Torsten]

I bring a cooler filled with water and set it out for them.

I both admire and am amused by this.

[LookingSkyward]

My kid's lab mix actually jumps in to the stock tank to drink. If the water is low enough, she lays down in it. I find it amusing... Our big lab, who has a nose the size of a coffee can (almost), will load his lips with about 4 gallons of water and slobber-dump on the cat (if she's not already on top of the bookshelf).

[swampyankee]

That the forum software doesn't quote quotes when quoting posts.

[Paul Beardsley]

My kid's lab mix actually jumps in to the stock tank to drink. If the water is low enough, she lays down in it. I find it amusing... Our big lab, who has a nose the size of a coffee can (almost), will load his lips with about 4 gallons of water and slobber-dump on the cat (if she's not already on top of the bookshelf).

Wow, I had trouble parsing this!

I took "lab mix" to be "laboratory mix", even though that made no sense so I had to work out if "mix" was a typo for "minx" meaning cat... and once I'd worked that out, "Our big lab, who has a nose the size of a coffee can..." I thought, how big is a coffee? And what can he do?

Not making this up. But it all makes sense now.

[Swift]

Wow, I had trouble parsing this!

I took "lab mix" to be "laboratory mix", even though that made no sense so I had to work out if "mix" was a typo for "minx" meaning cat... and once I'd worked that out, "Our big lab, who has a nose the size of a coffee can..." I thought, how big is a coffee? And what can he do?

Not making this up. But it all makes sense now.

I found the description of your confusion amusing. <smile>

[LookingSkyward]

LOL :>

[SeanF]

I was breaking down a cardboard box this weekend for recycling, and noticed that the company had printed on the box, in big letters, "Congratulations, you are our 5000th customer, roughly"