A key element from some of the best episodes of the U.S. version of The Office is the inclusion of a good prank and, by “good,” we mean a merely funny trick or even a gag that did not go so well in the end. This does not just include Jim Halpert’s epic pranks on Dwight Schrute, but also gags that involved the entire staff at Dunder Mifflin’s Scranton branch. Become part of the inside joke and have a laugh with these memories of some of the memorable times NBC’s The Office cast made it feel like April Fool’s Day every day.
Jim Puts Dwight’s Stapler In Gelatin
The one that started it all. In the pilot episode of NBC’s The Office, a frustrated Dwight (Rainn Wilson) finds his stapler encompassed in a gelatin mold (again) and immediately suspects Jim (John Krasinski), who practically gives himself away by eating a cup of the very dessert in front of him. Admittedly, this bit was borrowed from the original U.K. version of the comedy, but pranks did not become an enduring staple of that series as they did on the American update.
The Staff Convinces Michael The Work Day Is Over
When Michael Scott (Steve Carell) single-handedly finishes an entire family-sized chicken pot pie and falls asleep soon after, Jim and the others (even including Dwight) take this as an opportunity to earn a shortened work day. They set all the clocks in the office (and even Michael’s wristwatch) forward in time and wake up their manager just as they hit “5 p.m.”
Jim Replaces Dwight's Desk Items With Holiday-Wrapped Replicas
In the cold open to one of The Office’s best holiday episodes, Season 5’s “Moroccan Christmas,” Jim proves that he has a “black belt in gift-wrapping” by covering Dwight’s desk and every single item on it. The real kicker, however, is when Dwight tosses his suitcase onto the desk, causing it to collapse immediately before Jim, in an aside, explains that he replaced everything with convincing cardboard copies.
Dwight And Stanley Coerce Jim Into Giving Them Free Meatballs
Jim discovers, though trial and error, that Stanley (Leslie David Baker) is most amused by a joke as juvenile as filling Dwight's desk with meatballs. As it turns out, it was all an elaborate ruse for them both to get free food from the prankster.
Jim Sabotages Dwight's Sales Call Role Play
In response to poor customer reception from both of them — which turned out to be falsified by Kelly (Mindy Kaling) — Michael has Jim and Dwight stage a sales call and Jim takes Dwight’s turn as another opportunity to mess with him. He uses the name "Bill Buttlicker," pretends to criticize him with a friend on another line, gets him to speak louder and louder by claiming he is hard of hearing, and adds the condition that he will make a $1 million purchase only if Dwight is fired.
Jim Prank Calls Gabe As Jo Bennett
Jim edits the audio version of Jo Bennett's (Kathy Bates) memoir, Take a Good Look, which she reads herself, to make it sound like she is calling Gabe (Zach Woods) about changes she made to the book. Jim leaves the audio playing all day long, keeping Gabe preoccupied the entire time.
Jim Faxes Dwight Messages From His Future Self
Jim explains that, before leaving the Scranton branch, he stole some of Dwight's personal stationery and has been using it to keep in contact with him by posing as his former co-worker’s future self via fax from Dunder Mifflin’s Stamford office. This convinces Dwight to prevent Stanley from drinking coffee he believes is poisoned by slapping his mug out of his hand.
Pam Gets Dwight To Run Around The Building
Dwight wants to prove to Pam Beesly (Jenna Fischer) that he is a faster runner than Toby (Paul Lieberstein), so she steps outside with him promising she will record his time after four laps around their office building. In reality, she is merely holding a digital thermometer and has no intention of timing him.
Jim Makes Dwight An Oversized ID Badge
As new ID badges are being made for staff members, Jim decides to make an extra special one for his desk neighbor surrounded by an “enormous,” 5”x7” laminate. He goes the extra mile by filling in “Fart” as his middle name instead of “Kurt.”
Dwight Puts Saran Wrap Over Clark's Face
In an unusual effort to bond with Dwight, Pam hands him a roll of saran wrap, wordlessly suggesting he should wrap it over the toilet bowl before the new guy, Clark Green (Clark Duke), leaves for the restroom as part of a classic hazing scheme. However, Dwight completely misinterprets the plan and, seconds later, nearly suffocates the young man with the plastic wrap.
Jim And Pam Have An Actor Pose As Jim
As a trick on Dwight, Jim and Pam ask an actor they know named Steve (Randall Park) to pretend to be Jim while he is out at the dentist as a trick on Dwight. The elaborate ruse involves Steve memorizing Jim's sales from the previous day and replacing the family photo on Pam's desk with Steve, in Jim’s place, holding two half-Asian children.
Pam's Elevator Prank on Dwight
An Office prank that proved to be a bad choice was the time Pam had Kevin rewire the building's elevator to open when it should close, etc. as part of a joke against Dwight. Unfortunately, they both become actually trapped, leading Dwight to act fast and "establish a pee corner."
Jim Pretends To Be Telekinetic
As Dunder Mifflin is planning to have a Casino Night in the warehouse, Jim tells Dwight that he has mastered the game of Roulette by way of “mind control.” To prove it, he enlists Pam's help by having her move a coat rack behind her with an umbrella.
Pam Insults A Client On The Phone
In an effort to receive her very first customer complaint, Pam calls a representative from a client and makes a "Yo Mama" joke. Unfortunately, instead of receiving a customer complaint card to complete a house of cards the staff had been working on, the company drops their business with Dunder Mifflin completely.
Jim Hides Andy's Cellphone
After discovering that Andy (Ed Helms) has changed his ringtone to an irritating rendition of "Rockin' Robin," Jim and Pam team up to hide his cell phone in the ceiling and call it repeatedly. The prank works a bit too well, causing Andy to overreact by punching a hole in the wall.
Dwight Surprises Jim With A Sneak Snowball Attack
Dwight successfully catches Jim off guard, allowing him the upper hand in an indoor snowball fight, by posing as Pam. He achieves this with a very convincing wig and later admits that he has a wig for all his co-workers.
Jim Hides Dwight's Desk
As he revealed during an AMA on Reddit, Rainn Wilson’s favorite Office prank is the time Dwight arrived one morning to find his desk missing. After a game of "Hot or Cold," he discovers that Jim managed to hide it in the Men's restroom.
Pam Feigns Going Into Labor
Following a montage of pregnant Pam using the excuse of her water breaking to get out of various things, it seems like the moment is really occurring during a boring meeting when water drops to the floor. However, when the staff discovers she had a water bottle strapped to her leg, no longer is that ruse effective.
Jim Impersonates Dwight
One of Jim’s most instantly recognizable and brilliant pranks is when he commits "identity theft" on Dwight. He achieves this by changing his haircut, talking about "bears, beets, [and] Battlestar Galactica," and donning an ensemble that only cost him $11, as determined by his calculator watch. Dwight later tries to back at Jim with his own totally subtle attempt at impersonating his co-worker.
Pam, Tom, And Pete "Prank" Jim About Her Art Ambitions
Pam meets with her future brothers-in-law, Tom (Blake Robbins) and Pete (Tug Coker), with a plan to prank Jim, until they suggest an alternative that involves teasing her for going to art school in front of him. The "joke" is clearly more on Pam than it is on Jim, who is also visibly hurt by their comments, but her decision to play along at least earns her their acceptance. Later, when talking to Jim alone, she suggests "pranking" Tom about his hair loss.
Jim Convinces Dwight He Is Becoming A Vampire
After Dwight discovers that a bat is loose in the office, Jim comes up with the idea to pretend the animal bit him and show signs that he may be transforming into a creature of the night. He acts like a slice of cold garlic bread is “white hot” for him to touch, like he sees a blinding light coming from Angela’s crucifix, and that the sun is bothering him.
Jim And Pam Stage Dwight's CIA Recruitment
As part of her Christmas gift to Jim, Pam reveals that she has convinced Dwight that the Central Intelligence Agency has been sending him letters and Jim gets to choose what the first top-secret mission should be. It involves sending him a helicopter, which he ends up waiting at the top of the office building where he receives a text letting him know the mission is compromised and he should destroy his phone.
Jim Sends Dwight On A Quest For The Holy Grail
When Dwight discovers a guide to find the Holy Grail in a letter from Robert Dunder, Pam asks Jim if he was behind the scheme, which he had completely forgotten about (including the end of the hunt). Dubbed "The Dunder Code," this quest sees Dwight uncover various clues from around the building, with the staff's help, but to no avail. Unbeknownst to them, the "grail" was found by a warehouse worker.
Jim Ruins Michael's Magic Trick
Michael wants to demonstrate his abilities as a magician to the staff by locking himself in a strait jacket secured by a steel chain and metal lock and hiding the key in his mouth. Little does he realize that, after he drops the key, Jim notices and immediately hides it underneath his shoe.
Jim And Pam Pit Dwight Against A Fake A.I.
With Dwight determined to prove he is a better salesman than the new Dunder Mifflin Infinity website, Jim and Pam team up to make his challenge a little more interesting by sending instant messages as the computer itself, claiming it has gained sentience. The prank ends on a more somber note, however, when Pam, feeling sympathy for Dwight as his secret romance with Angela (Angela Kinsey) is over, sends one more IM admitting defeat.
Jim, Pam, Nellie, And Darryl Put Dwight On A Fake Radio Show
Dwight is unwittingly coerced into representing Dunder Mifflin on a faux radio program about business by Nellie (Catherine Tate) putting on an American accent to play the host, Pam posing as a New York warehouse foreman, Darryl (Craig Robinson) playing theme music, and Jim orchestrating the charade and playing a police chief at one point. It almost backfires when — after they convince him that the company’s stock is down and desperate CEO David Wallace (Andy Buckley) is holding a mailman hostage — Dwight calls David himself.
Jim Says He Can't Be Dwight's Best Man
On Dwight's wedding day, Jim tells him that the "Best Mensch" is supposed to be older than the groom, which is really his playful way of telling him that Michael has returned to fill his place. Jim refers to this as his "best prank ever."
The Staff Fakes Their Way Through Group Therapy
After Michael's boss passes, he tries to put his employees through grief counseling, which no one ends up taking seriously, and shares stories inspired by movies. Michael is fooled by Pam recalling the plot of Best Picture Oscar winner Million Dollar Baby and Ryan (B.J. Novak) describing Mufasa's death from The Lion King, but the jig is up when Kevin fails to discreetly reference Weekend at Bernie's.
Jim Plays Along With Dwight's Mistake Of What Day It is
After discovering that Dwight thinks it is Friday when it is really Thursday, Jim dedicates the rest of the day to making sure he remains under that guise. His many hints work beautifully, causing him to rush into work the following day hours late.
Jim And Pam Talk About Dwight In Morse Code
Pam’s incessant mouse tapping and Jim’s repetitive pen clicking leads Dwight to deduce that the couple is using Morse Code to talk about him in front of him. Jim then explains that it would be ridiculous for him and Pam to hire a nanny, allowing them the time to take a class on an "unnecessary form of communication" to do this. However, as they later explain on camera, that is exactly what they did.
Jim Gets Dwight To Wear A Tear-Away Suit
Jim explains that he discovered the location of Dwight’s dry-cleaners, where he planted an exact replica of his work wardrobe that includes velcro to make it easy for him to tear off the clothes in front of their co-workers. However, it backfires when Dwight tries to get Jim to bring his children to work, striking an unusual sense of fear within the prankster.
Michael's Haunted Warehouse Prank
A prank from The Office so disastrous that it has been retroactively deleted from the show occurred when Michael attempted to scare a group of children visiting the company's haunted house attraction. He suspends himself from the ceiling with a fake noose around his neck, which he claims was meant to be a teachable moment, but was completely in poor taste.
Sometimes, it seems like the good folks at Dunder Mifflin put more effort into childish things like pranks than their actual jobs and we love The Office all the more for it.
