# Shining a bright flashlight into people's houses? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [August 15, 2012, 8:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shining-a-bright-flashlight-into-peoples-houses/631600 "2012-08-15T20:20:15Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 5
**Author:** ![grude](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e47774/32.png) [@grude](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/grude)\ **Post date:** [August 17, 2012, 2:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shining-a-bright-flashlight-into-peoples-houses/631600/81 "2012-08-17T02:54:13Z")
In her defense not everyone is so offended by nutty friend’s actions they don’t associate with them, even if you don’t participate in them. Several of her threads don’t even make sense from the perspective it is really her, like the call police because of strange underwear one. Now let me tell you about this guy who hoarded his own urine so he could assault people with it…No seriously it wasn’t me! ---
**Author:** ![Nava](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/da6949/32.png) [@Nava](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nava)\ **Post date:** [August 17, 2012, 4:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shining-a-bright-flashlight-into-peoples-houses/631600/82 "2012-08-17T04:25:40Z")
> [@Kimballkid](#): > > I don’t understand why, as an adult, you are still friends with a person with such an arrested development. The things you say he thinks are funny aren’t in the least and are very, very childish. Being old enough to vote does not an adult make. ---
**Author:** ![not\_what\_you\_d\_expect](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/not_what_you_d_expect/32/3246_2.png) [@not\_what\_you\_d\_expect](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/not_what_you_d_expect)\ **Post date:** [August 17, 2012, 11:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shining-a-bright-flashlight-into-peoples-houses/631600/83 "2012-08-17T11:50:13Z")
> [@Cheesesteak](#): > > Open your eyes and see THERE is the humor. Good Point! Diamonds, perhaps you should go along with your friend and record these LOL moments. You guys might make a few bucks posting the video to you tube. Be sure to mug for the camera in helpless laughter. Those are always my favorite parts! ---
**Author:** ![Diamonds02](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b5a626/32.png) [@Diamonds02](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Diamonds02)\ **Post date:** [August 17, 2012, 3:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shining-a-bright-flashlight-into-peoples-houses/631600/84 "2012-08-17T15:26:52Z")
Ok then, I’m curious what is considered as an “adult” prank then. Shining a light into someones house won’t harm anyone physically or damage anyone’s property. I would consider knocking your roommate out with a sack of apples as childish and assholish (and yes, pretty funny too). ---
**Author:** ![FoieGrasIsEvil](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/foiegrasisevil/32/16638_2.png) [@FoieGrasIsEvil](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FoieGrasIsEvil)\ **Post date:** [August 17, 2012, 3:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shining-a-bright-flashlight-into-peoples-houses/631600/85 "2012-08-17T15:32:02Z")
> [@Diamonds02](#): > > Ok then, I’m curious what is considered as an “adult” prank then. Shining a light into someones house won’t harm anyone physically or damage anyone’s property. > > I would consider knocking your roommate out with a sack of apples as childish and assholish (and yes, pretty funny too). Another to consider: shooting random passersby in the ass with a powerful BB gun from a concealed location. I used to love doing that. Sometimes though, you just have to break out a lighter and some hairspray and kill some bumble bees while they are on a flower. ---
**Author:** ![DrFidelius](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/drfidelius/32/3447_2.png) [@DrFidelius](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrFidelius)\ **Post date:** [August 17, 2012, 3:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shining-a-bright-flashlight-into-peoples-houses/631600/86 "2012-08-17T15:34:24Z")
Purchase a park bench. Carry it around the park. If a police officcer confronts you. show him your receipt. Convince a passerby to hold the end of a long piece of string “for a moment.” Bring the the other end around the corner of a building. Find another passerby to hold that end. Leave. Put up a “Do Not Read This Sign” sign somewhere. When doing shots with a friend at a bar, have the bartender give you plain water instead of vodka. Write provacative drivel on an internet discussion board. ---
**Author:** ![Kimballkid](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/b5a626/32.png) [@Kimballkid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kimballkid)\ **Post date:** [August 17, 2012, 3:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shining-a-bright-flashlight-into-peoples-houses/631600/87 "2012-08-17T15:41:26Z")
> [@Diamonds02](#): > > Ok then, I’m curious what is considered as an “adult” prank then. Why do you **have** to pull pranks at all? Can’t you have fun without pulling stupid pranks? ---
**Author:** ![FoieGrasIsEvil](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/foiegrasisevil/32/16638_2.png) [@FoieGrasIsEvil](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FoieGrasIsEvil)\ **Post date:** [August 17, 2012, 3:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shining-a-bright-flashlight-into-peoples-houses/631600/88 "2012-08-17T15:46:45Z")
> [@Kimballkid](#): > > Why do you **have** to pull pranks at all? Can’t you have fun without pulling stupid pranks? Clearly you’ve never experienced the joy of flicking small bits of butter off of a spoon at random restaurant patrons before. ---
**Author:** ![Diamonds02](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b5a626/32.png) [@Diamonds02](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Diamonds02)\ **Post date:** [August 17, 2012, 3:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shining-a-bright-flashlight-into-peoples-houses/631600/89 "2012-08-17T15:58:20Z")
> [@Kimballkid](#): > > Why do you **have** to pull pranks at all? Can’t you have fun without pulling stupid pranks? Cuz their funny, lol! [http://www.break.com/index/bag-of-apples-to-the-face-prank-1938804](http://www.break.com/index/bag-of-apples-to-the-face-prank-1938804) Now, tell me that you didn’t laugh. 🙂 😉 😃 Edited to add: I seldomly pull pranks anymore, because I don’t want to deal with the shit that could go wrong. BUT I’m still entertained by other people’s pranks. ---
**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:** [August 17, 2012, 4:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shining-a-bright-flashlight-into-peoples-houses/631600/90 "2012-08-17T16:02:07Z")
> [@Diamonds02](#): > > Ok then, I’m curious what is considered as an “adult” prank then. Shining a light into someones house won’t harm anyone physically or damage anyone’s property. > > I would consider knocking your roommate out with a sack of apples as childish and assholish (and yes, pretty funny too). > [@Kimballkid](#): > > Why do you **have** to pull pranks at all? Can’t you have fun without pulling stupid pranks? Maybe, MAYBE in a public place a prank aimed at no one in particular would be OK. Possibly a prank on someone you know pretty well would be acceptable. But a prank on a random stranger? Blatant violation of Wil Wheaton’s law. Especially when it’s during normal sleeping hours and said stranger is in said stranger’s own home. ---
**Author:** ![cochrane](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cochrane/32/10441_2.png) [@cochrane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cochrane)\ **Post date:** [August 17, 2012, 4:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shining-a-bright-flashlight-into-peoples-houses/631600/91 "2012-08-17T16:05:08Z")
> [@Diamonds02](#): > > Cuz their funny, lol! > > [http://www.break.com/index/bag-of-apples-to-the-face-prank-1938804](http://www.break.com/index/bag-of-apples-to-the-face-prank-1938804) > > Now, tell me that you didn’t laugh. 🙂 😉 😃 > > Edited to add: I seldomly pull pranks anymore, because I don’t want to deal with the shit that could go wrong. BUT I’m still entertained by other people’s pranks. No, I didn’t laugh. I thought the guy hitting his roommate was a prick. If anyone hit me in the head with a bag of apples I’d go all medieval on his ass. And anybody who would laugh has a sick sense of humor. ---
**Author:** ![DrFidelius](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/drfidelius/32/3447_2.png) [@DrFidelius](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrFidelius)\ **Post date:** [August 17, 2012, 4:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shining-a-bright-flashlight-into-peoples-houses/631600/92 "2012-08-17T16:07:06Z")
Violent “pranks” are inherently a juvenile source of humour. ---
**Author:** ![kayaker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kayaker/32/441_2.png) [@kayaker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kayaker)\ **Post date:** [August 17, 2012, 4:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shining-a-bright-flashlight-into-peoples-houses/631600/93 "2012-08-17T16:10:11Z")
> [@DrFidelius](#): > > When doing shots with a friend at a bar, have the bartender give you plain water instead of vodka. I used to keep a vodka bottle filled with water among my other bottles of liquor. on several occasions I would guide the chitchat in the direction of “how much liquor could you chug?”. At some point I’d pick up the bottle, unscrew the cap, and start drinking. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![FoieGrasIsEvil](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/foiegrasisevil/32/16638_2.png) [@FoieGrasIsEvil](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FoieGrasIsEvil)\ **Post date:** [August 17, 2012, 4:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shining-a-bright-flashlight-into-peoples-houses/631600/94 "2012-08-17T16:12:50Z")
> [@DrFidelius](#): > > Violent “pranks” are inherently a juvenile source of humour. Well then color me 14 and throw M-80’s at seagulls yo, because that shit was FUNNY! A bag of apples…LOL. It would have been even funnier had they been rotten apples. ---
**Author:** ![Ravenman](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ravenman/32/2929_2.png) [@Ravenman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ravenman)\ **Post date:** [August 17, 2012, 4:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shining-a-bright-flashlight-into-peoples-houses/631600/95 "2012-08-17T16:15:37Z")
It’s one think to pull a prank on a friend. I still relish the time I gave a buddy an honest-to-god hotfoot. I’ve had pranks pulled on me, and it’s in good sport. _You do not pull pranks on strangers._ Hitting a stranger with a bag of apples isn’t fun, it’s cause to be put in jail. Trying to wake people up while they are sleeping in their homes isn’t a prank, it is abusive and antisocial behavior. No, I didn’t laugh at the apples to the head thing – and I enjoyed the Jackass movies and TV shows. It wasn’t funny at all; the fact that you find it funny is disturbing. ---
**Author:** ![DrFidelius](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/drfidelius/32/3447_2.png) [@DrFidelius](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrFidelius)\ **Post date:** [August 17, 2012, 4:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shining-a-bright-flashlight-into-peoples-houses/631600/96 "2012-08-17T16:18:25Z")
> [@FoieGrasIsEvil](#): > > Well then color me 14 and throw M-80’s at seagulls yo, because that shit was FUNNY! > > A bag of apples…LOL. It would have been even funnier had they been rotten apples. Yeah. paint my ass green and call me Mickey, but I am a fun-hating old fart. ---
**Author:** ![FoieGrasIsEvil](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/foiegrasisevil/32/16638_2.png) [@FoieGrasIsEvil](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FoieGrasIsEvil)\ **Post date:** [August 17, 2012, 4:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shining-a-bright-flashlight-into-peoples-houses/631600/97 "2012-08-17T16:20:23Z")
Pranks are far funnier when pulled on unsuspecting strangers. The wide variance of possible responses drives the adrenalin through the roof! ---
**Author:** ![enipla](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/54ee81/32.png) [@enipla](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/enipla)\ **Post date:** [August 17, 2012, 4:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shining-a-bright-flashlight-into-peoples-houses/631600/98 "2012-08-17T16:26:18Z")
> [@cochrane](#): > > No, I didn’t laugh. I thought the guy hitting his roommate was a prick. If anyone hit me in the head with a bag of apples I’d go all medieval on his ass. And anybody who would laugh has a sick sense of humor. No shit. Assuming that was not a set up for the camera, that was assault and was not funny in the least. WTF? That guy probably got some bad bruises from that. ---
**Author:** ![FoieGrasIsEvil](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/foiegrasisevil/32/16638_2.png) [@FoieGrasIsEvil](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FoieGrasIsEvil)\ **Post date:** [August 17, 2012, 4:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shining-a-bright-flashlight-into-peoples-houses/631600/99 "2012-08-17T16:31:35Z")
> [@enipla](#): > > No shit. Assuming that was not a set up for the camera, that was assault and was not funny in the least. WTF? That guy probably got some bad bruises from that. Its OK. If you read the comments his head pulped the apples into applesauce, which the prankster added cinnamon to and they shared it together later. ---
**Author:** ![Kimballkid](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/b5a626/32.png) [@Kimballkid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kimballkid)\ **Post date:** [August 17, 2012, 4:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shining-a-bright-flashlight-into-peoples-houses/631600/100 "2012-08-17T16:40:51Z")
> [@Diamonds02](#): > > Cuz their funny, lol! > > [http://www.break.com/index/bag-of-apples-to-the-face-prank-1938804](http://www.break.com/index/bag-of-apples-to-the-face-prank-1938804) > > Now, tell me that you didn’t laugh. 🙂 😉 😃 > > Edited to add: I seldomly pull pranks anymore, because I don’t want to deal with the shit that could go wrong. BUT I’m still entertained by other people’s pranks. Didn’t find it funny in the least, but I don’t generally think assault is funny. I am sincerely glad I’m not as fucked in the head twisted as you. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shining-a-bright-flashlight-into-peoples-houses/631600.md?page=4) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shining-a-bright-flashlight-into-peoples-houses/631600.md?page=6)