Messing with the Tech guy

[Gruesome]

I'm a mainframe programmer, so while I work in computers a PC is bit alien to me. I decided to play this up on an unsuspecting tech guy a few years ago. The company was switching out old monitors for new, just about the easiest harware change to make, right? When the guy gets to the cubicle next to mine...

Tech Guy: Hey, I'm going to be replacing your monitor next so please log off and shut down.
Naughty Gruesome: Sure. You can switch over my pictures, right?
TG: Um...what?
NG: My background and screen saver and stuff. I have a lot of pictures on the old monitor and I want to save them for the new monitor.
TG: (looking very uncomfortable, wondering how to explain to me that I am an idiot.) The....pictures live on the computer, not the monitor.
NG: (Rolling my eyes at how dense he is) No, the pictures are on the monitor. This thing. (I tapped the monitor.) Why would I have pictures on the box?
TG: No, no - the pictures (enunciating clearly) are in the computer, so whatever monitor I put on will have the sme pictures.
NG: (looking at him like he is telling me the earth is flat) Look, the pictures are obviously on the monitor. If you take my monitor, the pictures go with it. Are you sure you know what you are doing?
TG: (looking confused, not sure if I am messing with him or really that dumb.) Let me get back to you.

I hear him quietly grill my coworker about 'Is this guy for real?' and whatnot while he is switching that guy's monitor. I think my coworker ratted on me, because when TG came in for my monitor he was playing my game.

TG: OK, I can't help you with the pictures. In fact, you need to get them off there before I can take the monitor. I can't take it back with personal pictures on it.
NG: Seriously? Aw, man! OK, how do I get the pictures back out of it? I don't even remember how I got them in there in the first place.

The joke broke down at that point and we had a laugh. He said at first he thought I was serious and was amazed I was that dumb. He was a good guy - he later set up a couple of test PC's so we could play Unreal and Duke Nukem after hours.

[Akasa]

Oh I've pulled that kind of prank on people before its great when they fall for it!

[Geek King]

Or the old token ring prank.

Background: At one point, a networking technique reffered to as a "Token Ring Network" was very popular. One place I worked, everyone knew what it was called, but most had no idea how it really worked.

1) Decide who to prank.
2) Call the victim.
3) Tell victim that the token for the network has gotten stuck just past their desk, and they need to unplug their network cable and blow into it to dislodge it.
4) Enjoy the show.

Varients include having the person search around the floor for a token that fell out of an unterminated network jack.