| i
like pranks. not the kind that hurt anybody but the kind that cause
a buzz and get people to rationalize what it is they are seeing.
so for years i've been publishing bogus "office memos"
and fake signs. the reactions, or lack thereof, have been fun to
watch. |
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| in my mind,
the best pranks are subtle enough that people will just gloss over
them and keep about their daily lives - plus or minus whatever information
it is that you are messing them over with. |
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a
good example of this can be seen in one of my early office
pranks (see left). this sign has been causing a stir here
@ 2650 for over 2 years.
people
think that we are soooo special because we have "purified
artisian well water" coming out of the tap in our company
break rooms. duhhh. |
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it was this
stunt that brought me to the conclusion that if you make it look
"official" enough, people won't even stop to question
the validity of what it is that you are trying to pull. (note:
"official" entails using color, spray mount and foam
core board) |
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| so with that
in mind, lets get to the story behind my most recent office prank. |
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the
company i work for is located at the intersection of beautiful
& crime free perkins and american way in the thousand
oaks bidnuss center. it is a beautiful office complex in
what is a... uhhh... lets just say "strange" area
of town.
anyway,
to the building management's credit, they are in the middle
of making some huge changes to the appearance of the facility. |
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| over the past
few months pretty much everything inside and out is being remodeled,
and while it has been a mess, progress is being made and the end
result will be beautiful i'm sure. |
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however,
every time i start to feel really good about all the changes
the facility managers are making around here, i think
back to some of their other wonderful "plans"
for this place and begin to doubt just a little...
remember
the dead
goose decoy? well the last goose census anybody took
around here would have put the population well over 3
million.
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| either
way, the past week or two since the destruction of the
atrium in our building has given way to the construction
of the new design, i have noticed a veritable plethora of warning
signs and caution tape. everywhere you look its "dont touch"
or "stand back" or "this way only". i even
saw one that said "very wet paint"? very... what is
that? |
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saws,
jackhammers and bulldozers can be heard throughout the building
during all unionized working hours (9 to 4:30 M-F with 4
breaks a day & 2 lunches) so people have been paying
attention to all warnings issued.
after
all, if you see a sign that says "keep clear"
while some guy in a hard hat and goggles is wielding a jackhammer...
your going to KEEP CLEAR. |
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feeling
the need to capitalize on this lemming like blind trust
people have in warning signs, i decided to make a few
of my own and see what sort of response i would get.
so
i heisted the thousand oaks logo off the www and got some
official looking paper and went to work in pagemaker.
below are the 3 signs the staff @ richardvining.com has
come up with:
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posting
1 |
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| In
the interest of safety, please turn off all cell phones and
two-way radios. Underground blasting in progress |
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| we placed
the 3 of these signs in the areas where the heaviest construction
was going on. places with plywood over the windows, 2 story
scaffolding towers assembled and bobcat bulldozers at the
ready. |
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posting
2 |
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| In
the interest of safety, please keep all non-essential conversation
to
a minimum. Heavy Drilling in progress. |
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| these
notices were placed in the areas where people tend to congregate
on breaks - lunch table areas, smoking porches, etc. |
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posting
3 |
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| In
the interest of safety, Please keep in mind that the closest
exit may be behind you. Cross Check. |
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| finally,
these were placed in the elevator lobby of the 2nd, 3rd and
4th floors. |
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| these
notices are official looking enough to give them a level of
credibility that reaches far beyond their absurd requests.
in fact, their only flaw may be that they are sooo good
looking that may appear suspicious. many of the notices (ie.
the very wet paint sign) are just hand written pieces
of junk. |
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| either
way, i'd rather fail for being too good that too sloppy so
this is a calculated risk. |
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| the
next morning |
| when i came
in this morning @ around 8:15 (yes... 8:15... see "new baby"
@ www.avavining.com for an explanation) there was a group of 4 construction
workers standing around the most obvious of the 9 signs posted (front
door). i don't know what they were discussing but they were clearly
addressing the content of this new sign. |
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| by 10:00 am
there was a buzz in the break room right next to my office. several
people were talking about the signs but nobody seemed to get the
joke. instead they were trying to figure out why the property managers
would make such strange requests that would obviously have no effect
on the construction process. |
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| later on i
did hear a comment by someone explaining how they saw on tv that
"they" make smart mines that only blow up a certain area
without disturbing other areas. i assume this was in response to
posting #1's reference to "blasting in progress". |
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| by the time
i had returned from lunch some of the signs had been taken down,
but the majority were still in place and keeping people safe. |
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| the true test
of this caper will be time... so i'll try and keep everyone posted
as to how everything is going. until then just be sure to come back
soon... these ideas tend come in bunches |
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| feedback |
| since this
story was first posted i have received numerous suggestions for
future "in the interest of safety" signs. below is a selection
of what has been submitted. |
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In
the interest of safety, Please refrain from walking above 4 mph.
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Industrial
grade lubricants in use. |
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In the interest
of safety, Please do not wear rubber soled shoes on |
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the 3rd or
5th floors of this building (excluding weekends). |
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In the interest
of safety, Diving from the mezzanine level is strictly prohibited. |
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In the interest
of safety, Do not feed the construction workers. |
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In the interest
of safety, Free Construction Safety Films will be showing at |
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the old Mall
of Memphis theater. Show Times will be 1:00, 3:00, 5:00, 7:00,
and 9:10PM. Show your business card and get discounted refreshments.
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