Need the Dopers Devious Minds: Hiding Rocks [Archive]

Sunshine

06-11-2002, 06:21 PM

My brother has this habit of sneaking rocks into my things sometimes when I'm at his house. I'll bring my laundry over or go shopping with him or whatever, and when I get home and am going thru my things, lo and behold, snuck in the middle of the clean laundry basket or dropped in the Target bag or sometimes, even, inside my purse...there'll be a rock.

Just a rock...minding it's own business, sitting there. I have no idea WHY he does this although, it cracks me up every time I discover one. Then I call him and go, "Where did this rock come from!" and he laughs gleefully. It doesn't happen every time I'm over there, so I always forget to expect a rock and then there'll be one! It's a fun game and it has been going on for some time (read: years).

The problem is, I now have this collection of rocks that obviously I must sneak back to him. I am trying to think up devious ways to do this. So far, I have snuck them into Christmas and Birthday presents and one time baked a cake for him and snuck a (washed) rock into the corner. But that's only a few and I have about 8 more to go unless he sneaks some more in.

This reminds me of those two men that kept giving each other the indestructible pants. Hee. Anyway...what are some other ways I can sneak these rocks back to him without him knowing at the time? He has to find them later, after I'm gone.

World Eater

06-11-2002, 06:24 PM

Next time you visit him, fill up his pillow with some, right before you leave. Hopefully he had a long day and when he sets his tired ol head down...........BANG!

::::Neuman!!!!!!!!::::

ianzin

06-11-2002, 06:58 PM

Bottom of the cereal packet.

(Small rock) balanced on top of any opened door he doesn't close or move very often.

Bottom of apparently unopened milk carton (carefully re-sealed after rock insertion).

Length of strong fishing line. Rock tied or glued to one end. Other end tied, stuck or looped around end of TV remote control. Arrange so rock out of sight, and TV remote control looks normal. Picks up TV remote control. Surprise rock!

Athena

06-11-2002, 07:06 PM

Paint his name and address on one, glue stamps to it, and drop it in one of those public mailboxes. As long as it has sufficient postage (weigh it and check it on the USPS Web page) they'll deliver it.

Kat

06-11-2002, 07:08 PM

Use the bathroom right before you leave and stick one in the medicine cabinet. Or if you can arrange to be alone in the kitchen right before leaving, hide one in the freezer--if it's been well-cleaned, stick it in a carton of Rocky Road ice cream.

seawitch

06-11-2002, 07:09 PM

Bake them into a cake.

Hide one at the bottom of a bowl of pudding.

Bring him some shampoo and conditioner - opaque bottles - that have a rock inside each one.

Gut a teddy bear and replace the abdomen stuffing with rocks.

How big are these rocks, anyway? Knowing size would help with more devious ideas.

Horseflesh

06-11-2002, 09:16 PM

You already did the cake thing, that was my first thought.

Put it in a pitcher of whatever he's got to drink in the fridge.

The microwave or stove.

Between box springs and mattress. Similarly, under the cushions of easy chair or couch.

Since it's summer, put it in the hood of one of his winter coats. He shouldn't find that for months.

If you're brave, his underwear/sock drawer.

If you're trying to send the message that you're tired of this prank, try these out:

Balance it on a blade of his ceiling fan.

Pack them into snowballs and throw at him.

Superglue one to his windshield.

The blender or garbage disposal. 'Nuff said.

Sunshine

06-12-2002, 09:37 AM

Hee hee! These are great! Will the USPS really deliver him a rock, Athena? That's awesome!

As for size, these are your everyday garden variety rocks, just a couple inches. The kind you find in suburban landscaping.

I also thought about putting them in coat pockets if I could get into the coat closet without being suspicious. And if I can rig up one to the remote, that would be great!

Super ideas! Keep em coming!

Athena

06-12-2002, 10:44 AM

>>These are great! Will the USPS really deliver him a rock, Athena?

I don't see why not. I've sent bagels that way. Sufficient postage is the key.

My understanding of the USPS is that once it gets in the system, they do their best to deliver it. They can, however, refuse it when you try to send it - ie, if you go to the post office and try to hand it to a postal clerk, he or she can say "No". That's why it's important to just drop it in a public mail box.

Ferret Herder

06-12-2002, 10:57 AM

Note that "packages" weighing 16 oz or more must be shipped from a post office, however, so don't try this with a heavy rock.

Slip one into an umbrella so it falls out when opened. Place them in the toes of shoes, especially odd ones like rain boots or snow boots that won't be used often.

welby1

06-12-2002, 11:19 AM

In the pocket of a bath robe, if he's got one.

Silverware drawer, or in a bowl where the plates are kept.

Fish tank, if he's got one.

Take a smaller rock and put it under his keyboard computer.

MachV

06-12-2002, 12:21 PM

In the folds of his bath towel.

Drop one in an ice cube tray prior to freezing

Remove the staples from his stapler (if he has one) Replace with a tiny pebble

In his shoe! (this one's a given)

Gatopescado

06-12-2002, 12:28 PM

under the visor of the car, flips in down, ROCK!
in the battery compartment of tv remotes, opens up to change batterys since it aint workin', ROCK!
inside gas filler door on car, goes to fill up, ROCK!
stuffed inside the liner of his motorcycle helmet, puts it on, feels odd bump, ROCK!
shoes, coat pockets, hats, socks, gloves, ROCK!
stuffed in the morning paper, opens it up, ROCK!

____________
I scream, you scream, we all denounce Christ for Ice Cream!

seawitch

06-12-2002, 01:08 PM

Make him a nice candle. Fill it with pebbles so he finds the rocks as the candle burns.

Gut a teddy bear and replace the abdomen stuffing with rocks.

Buy him a box of chocolates, open it, eat them, and fill the little paper cups with pebbles. If you use saran wrap and a blowdryer carefully, you can pretty well simulate the original shrink wrap. Give him the box for his birthday.

MachV

06-12-2002, 01:33 PM

Burn a CD with the song "I Wanna Rock" on it. Put it in his car CD player with the volume set on high.

Sunshine

06-12-2002, 01:40 PM

Oh, these are great! I'm going over there tonight and put one in his work shoe and another in his winter coat pocket.

I like the candle idea but, being a bachelor...I don't think he would ever actually light a candle.

He is such a trickster and is always so clever...it's difficult to pull one over on him. He's the kind of guy who will hide around the corner and jump out at you. One time for my birthday, he gave me this HUGE present...I opened it up and inside was a smaller box...opened it up and (repeat about 10 times until very small box)...open the last tiny box and inside was...a gumball. He secretly had a real present for me but got a heck of a chuckle watching me open the million boxes.

He's about 8 years older than me, so when I was still a kid enjoying Easter, my mother made both my brothers (the other one is 9 yrs older than me) still do the egg hunt, even though they were late teens. The Easter Bunny would hide our empty baskets, and then also each individual thing that went in the basket and everything would be labeled with our names. My brother would always find his immediately. Anyway, while mine was hidden someplace easy, like behind the couch, eventually, my brother's would be hidden in harder and harder places, like inside the dishwasher, or one year, about 3 feet up the chimney. The chimney year took him the longest but he never got stumped.

I wish I was more creative and could think of tricks to pull on him but it is SO hard to get one over on him.

Tranquilis

06-12-2002, 02:40 PM

gatopescado, MachV, you both just made me laugh out loud. :D

Put one in the egg carton in the fridge. Hide one in the sugar bowl. Sneak one into his coffee beans. For that matter, place one in the coffee filter, too. Stick one into the center of one of his spare rolls of toilet paper, or paper towels.

Ich Bin's

06-12-2002, 03:32 PM

A friend and I did something just like this for years. Actually, we're still doing it. We keep giving each other a mysterious black hat we found in the parking lot. Back and forth, back and forth...

The problem becomes, after a bit, that you're watching for it. So, we had to come up with new ways to get the hat into the person's house / car. The absolutely tops method was perpetrated on me, unfortunately, but it was very well done.....

We have a local drum shop that I love. This guy went down there, got a box with a prominent manufacturer's name on the side, and fabricated a very convincing return-address label , and addressed it to me. I come home one night, and my wife is sitting there with her arms folded, saying "so, what did you order?". My guard was completely down, and I thought maybe they just were doing something nice for me..........tear it open. Black hat. Ackkkkkkk!

Try something like this. This takes it beyond the "cleaning my house" approach. At least for me, sheer greed took over my sense of better judgement for about five minutes.

I got him back in an interesting manner. I volunteer at a food cooperative that he would shop at occasionally. I knew that he shopped on a particular night. I manange to convince the person working that night to put his groceries in a bag that happened to have a black hat sitting at the bottom of it.............
Took about six weeks to come to fruition, but it was worth it.

Cervaise

06-12-2002, 03:57 PM

Does he eat ice cream? You could buy a pint of Haagen Dazs or Ben-n-Jerry's, scoop half of it out, put the rock in, and smoosh the ice cream back into the container over the rock.

Another idea: Duct-tape a rock to the inside of his dryer drum. Don't use a lot, just a strip maybe half the width of the rock. The idea is that it'll be secure for a while (and he'll never see it), but then, unexpectedly at some point in the future, the rock will come loose and CLATTER CLATTER CLATTER in the dryer. The effect will be improved if you use two or three rocks...

Telemark

06-12-2002, 04:19 PM

Reminds me of when I lead hiking trips for college freshmen. We would send 12-15 trips out each morning and there was lots of last minute running around, a perfect time to slip a brick into people's packs.

My friend Ed was an expert at this. He would wrap the bricks in tin foil and put great labels on them such as: "Shelter starter kit", "Anesthesia kit, apply to back of head", and my favorite "Emergency rations: boil until tender". It's hard to describe the feeling of finding one of those after hiking for 8 miles.

I like the hiding in plain sight idea, somehow putting them where they are visible but don't really draw attention to themselves. On shelves of knick-knacks, medicine cabinets, etc.

seawitch

06-12-2002, 04:34 PM

I just now noticed that I suggested gutting a teddy bear in two different posts. Apparently I have unresolved issues. Sorry.

Lisa Ann

06-12-2002, 04:45 PM

We forgive you, seawitch. :)

I think you should mail all of the rocks to him COD.

absimia

06-12-2002, 04:46 PM

Originally posted by Athena
>>These are great! Will the USPS really deliver him a rock, Athena?

I don't see why not. I've sent bagels that way. Sufficient postage is the key.

My understanding of the USPS is that once it gets in the system, they do their best to deliver it. They can, however, refuse it when you try to send it - ie, if you go to the post office and try to hand it to a postal clerk, he or she can say "No". That's why it's important to just drop it in a public mail box.

More on this option from one of my favorite magazines The Journal of Improbable Research.

http://www.improbable.com/airchives/paperair/volume6/v6i4/postal-6-4.html

There they discuss all the improbable things they tried to mail and the results. The conclusion I came to is that the USPS certainly puts up with a lot. Makes me proud to be an American.

Barbarian

06-12-2002, 07:46 PM

I have one suggestion if it's a small rock-- inside the toilet paper roll. Between the spring thingie and the cardboard inner...

BraheSilver

06-12-2002, 08:21 PM

Does he use a computer? Does he have an optical mouse? If not, you can see where this is going...

Take out his mouse's trackball, and replace it with a fairly (but not quite) round rock, just a little smaller than the ball so it will still work somewhat. When his mouse starts going crazy, he'll turn it over and find - the rock! Keep his mouse's ball around though, because he'll want it back.

Order a porn video. At the point where things start getting, uh, "heavy," record over it so that the rest of the tape is a shot of a rock; just sitting there. Then put it back in the box, replace the cellophane (seran wrap and a blowdryer work well), and mail it to him. He'll have had to put up with the horrors of a porno exposition, then is teased into the joke - a rock where nobody expected.

Caught@Work

06-13-2002, 08:02 AM

As long as it's big enough not to get sucked past the U-bend, in the bottom of the toilet bowl and then put the lid down.

Does he drink coffee? In his cofee cup (upside down).

Hollow out a tomato and insert rock into hollow.

Sauron

06-13-2002, 08:43 AM

Slight hijack: This makes me think of a news story I read some years ago. A man (I think in Florida) every year on Christmas would get a coconut delivered to him. Attached to the coconut was always the same message: "To the Daddy from the Thingy." He had no idea who kept sending a coconut to him, or why the person would go to such great lengths. For example, one year the coconut was delivered by helicopter. Another year it was brought to his front door by a semi-pro basketball team.

This is funny if it happens to someone else. If it happened to me, it would freak me out severely.