# Best flash mobs **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [December 11, 2014, 11:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-flash-mobs/706930 "2014-12-11T11:03:13Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 15\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Giles](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/giles/32/60_2.png) [@Giles](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Giles)\ **Post date:** [December 11, 2014, 11:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-flash-mobs/706930/1 "2014-12-11T11:03:13Z")
I don’t think we’ve done this for a while, but what are you favourite flash mob videos? Of course, the best are choreographed and rehearsed, rather than spontaneous, like these two that I like: [The USAF Band at the Smithsonian](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-cKE8pyfcZc) [A Cathay Pacific flash mob at Hong Kong Airport](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A29acor9_AY) I’m very grateful to the Internet for allowing me to see scenes like these! ---
**Author:** ![Sicks\_Ate](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/258eb7/32.png) [@Sicks\_Ate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sicks_Ate)\ **Post date:** [December 11, 2014, 1:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-flash-mobs/706930/2 "2014-12-11T13:57:20Z")
Yeah, the AF Band is my favorite. ---
**Author:** ![Shodan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9f8e36/32.png) [@Shodan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shodan)\ **Post date:** [December 11, 2014, 2:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-flash-mobs/706930/3 "2014-12-11T14:15:30Z")
And mine is _The Hallelujah Chorus_ from Handel’s _Messiah_. [Merry Christmas!](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SXh7JR9oKVE) Regards, Shodan ---
**Author:** ![Myglaren](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f1d935/32.png) [@Myglaren](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Myglaren)\ **Post date:** [December 11, 2014, 4:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-flash-mobs/706930/4 "2014-12-11T16:48:40Z")
I love this one and keep going back to it. [Ode To Joy](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kbJcQYVtZMo). ---
**Author:** ![CheshireKat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cheshirekat/32/1207_2.png) [@CheshireKat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CheshireKat)\ **Post date:** [December 11, 2014, 5:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-flash-mobs/706930/5 "2014-12-11T17:10:23Z")
I watch [this one](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1EFdGinfF3U) whenever I want to smile and be amazed at the same time. It’s awesome that they pulled it off with so many people. ---
**Author:** ![polar\_bear](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/ec9cab/32.png) [@polar\_bear](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/polar_bear)\ **Post date:** [December 11, 2014, 5:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-flash-mobs/706930/6 "2014-12-11T17:56:46Z")
[do re mi](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bQLCZOG202k) still tops the list for me ---
**Author:** ![Doug\_K](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b5ac83/32.png) [@Doug\_K](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Doug_K)\ **Post date:** [December 11, 2014, 6:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-flash-mobs/706930/7 "2014-12-11T18:09:48Z")
None of these are [flash mobs](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flash_mob). > [@](#): > > A flash mob (or flashmob)[1] is a group of people who assemble suddenly in a public place, perform an unusual and seemingly pointless act for a brief time, before quickly dispersing. They are what Improv Anywhere calls experiments, or what some people call [smart mobs.](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Smart_mob) ---
**Author:** ![Giles](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/giles/32/60_2.png) [@Giles](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Giles)\ **Post date:** [December 12, 2014, 8:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-flash-mobs/706930/8 "2014-12-12T08:50:07Z")
> [@Doug\_K](#): > > None of these are [flash mobs](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flash_mob). I did say in the OP that they could be “choreographed and rehearsed”. That’s not the original meaning of “flash mob”, but it’s what the term has come to include. And thanks for those great examples. ---
**Author:** ![GrumpyBunny](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/bc8723/32.png) [@GrumpyBunny](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GrumpyBunny)\ **Post date:** [December 12, 2014, 6:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-flash-mobs/706930/9 "2014-12-12T18:36:07Z")
> [@Doug\_K](#): > > They are what Improv Anywhere calls experiments, or what some people call [smart mobs.](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Smart_mob) I’ve wanted to do Improv Anywhere’s “No Pants Subway Ride” for years, but Boston is fucking freezing in January and I know I’d catch pneumonia. ---
**Author:** ![xnylder](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/x/bbce88/32.png) [@xnylder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/xnylder)\ **Post date:** [December 12, 2014, 6:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-flash-mobs/706930/10 "2014-12-12T18:48:46Z")
Several have been organized for [Les Miserables](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qxl7SxPvRD4) (appropriately enough). ---
**Author:** ![Boyo\_Jim](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/87869e/32.png) [@Boyo\_Jim](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Boyo_Jim)\ **Post date:** [December 12, 2014, 7:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-flash-mobs/706930/11 "2014-12-12T19:27:38Z")
> [@Doug\_K](#): > > None of these are [flash mobs](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flash_mob). > They are what Improv Anywhere calls experiments, or what some people call [smart mobs.](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Smart_mob) My favorite of these is when all [a mob of people show up at a Best Buy](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KgUIbPfhSuo), all wearing bright blue Polo shirts and khaki pants. ---
**Author:** ![GrumpyBunny](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/bc8723/32.png) [@GrumpyBunny](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GrumpyBunny)\ **Post date:** [December 12, 2014, 7:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-flash-mobs/706930/12 "2014-12-12T19:35:31Z")
> [@Boyo\_Jim](#): > > My favorite of these is when all [a mob of people show up at a Best Buy](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KgUIbPfhSuo), all wearing bright blue Polo shirts and khaki pants. And the security guard calls the cops!!! ---
**Author:** ![Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/left_hand_of_dorkness/32/7156_2.png) [@Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Left_Hand_of_Dorkness)\ **Post date:** [December 12, 2014, 8:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-flash-mobs/706930/13 "2014-12-12T20:39:57Z")
Granted that it’s choreographed, my favorite is [Antwerp Station Sound of Music](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7EYAUazLI9k). Possibly because it’s the first one I ever saw. ---
**Author:** ![CheshireKat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cheshirekat/32/1207_2.png) [@CheshireKat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CheshireKat)\ **Post date:** [December 12, 2014, 9:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-flash-mobs/706930/14 "2014-12-12T21:26:54Z")
Here is a fun “[smart mob](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_ihR2XrQ8UI)” (or promotion, or whatever it’s called :D) set up by David Garrett in NYC. ---
**Author:** ![tripthicket](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tripthicket/32/297_2.png) [@tripthicket](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tripthicket)\ **Post date:** [December 13, 2014, 1:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-flash-mobs/706930/15 "2014-12-13T01:16:28Z")
All of the links that I can find now have videos of low/bad resolution, but my personal favorite flash mob is the group that invaded a clothing store and danced to MC Hammer’s “Can’t Touch This.”