04 December 2005

Another Classic Prank

As some of you know, I enjoy pulling a good prank every now and again, and I often go to great lengths to make them perfect. When I was in college, I played one of the greatest pranks of my entire life.

The classic film "The Matrix" came out when I was a junior in high school. Once it was met with such high acclaim, they immediately signed on for sequels. For no reason other than boredom, I decided that I'd put together an obituary for Keanu Reeves. All of the elements seemed to come together; also, I have a lot of journalistic experience, including with obituaries, so it seemed a natural fit.

Considering that Reeves is young, his death would have had to have been something sudden and tragic. As it turns out, not only is Reeves a motorcycle enthusiast, but he's also wrecked before while going on "demon rides", which involve night riding without headlights. I factored all of this in, using the Internet Movie Database and a couple of other biographies as background material. I wove a gorgeous tapestry of deception, put an Associated Press label on it, and posted it on a message board I no longer frequent.

Before someone's finely tuned bullshit detector finally went off, I had the following reactions:

  • At least one girl claiming that she'd cried when she'd read the news
  • At least one guy saying that he couldn't find it anywhere else, but that if it was written by the AP, it must be true

    I wish that I had it saved somewhere. That was completely and totally classic.
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