Electric cars sit charging in a parking garage at the University of California, Irvine January 26, 2015. “The Irvine Smart Grid Demonstration”, a $79 million project funded half by federal stimulus money and half by Edison and partners like UC Irvine, was launched in 2010. The $12 billion utility's research team Southern California Edison is testing everything from charging electronic vehicles via cell phone to devices that smooth out the power created by rooftop solar panels. Those are some of the roughly 60 projects in the works at Edison's Advanced Technology division. It has a small $19 million annual budget, but its influence far exceeds that. (Photo by Lucy Nicholson/Reuters)

Natalie Dormer attends the mtvU Fandom Awards at MTV Fan Fest at Comic-Con, July 24, 2014, in San Diego. (Photo by Jordan Strauss/Invision for MTV/AP Images)

Actors, clowns and mime artists celebrate “Humor Day” in St Petersburg on April 1, 2022. April 1 is also referred to as “April Fool’s Day” and is a time for playing pranks in the country. (Photo by Anatoly Maltsev/European Press Photo Agency)

LG Chile has continued the So Real It’s Scary campaign developed at Superheroes, Amsterdam, with their own prank, “Ultra Reality: What would you do in this situation?” The video shows an office set up with an 84 inch HD television screen which appears to be a window frame. Job seekers arrive for their interview but freak out when they see what appears to a meteor destroying the city through the window.

Participants take part in the 14th annual “No Trousers Tube Ride” event on the London Underground on January 12, 2025. The event, staged by Improv Everywhere, takes place every January in New York City and has since expanded internationally. What began as a small prank with just seven participants has grown into a global celebration of silliness, with dozens of cities, including London, joining in each year. (Photo by Guy Bell/Alamy Live News)

The eighth annual Nipponbashi Street Festa stamped Osaka March 20, 2012 (Nipponbashi is Osaka’s geek district – much like Akihabara is for Tokyo). Cosplayers turned up in colourful outfits, dressing as characters from their favourite manga, anime, and video games. The street was closed to cars, and otaku flooded the streets, snapping pics, cosplaying, and hanging out.

Sony is marketing the remake of the Stephen King horror movie Carrie with with “Telekinetic Coffee Shop Surprise”, a prank video set in a New York cafe. Viral marketing firm ThinkModo shot the film over two days in ‘sNice cafe on 8th Ave, New York, with actors posing as customers. As people wandered in off the street for their coffee, stuntman Travis Gravis spilled coffee on a laptop belonging to actress Andrea Morales.