Episode 128 - How Pranking Became The Domain Of Internet Sociopaths

Is it healthy to want to prank our kids? Our bosses? Or is there something fundamentally flawed with the brain of a serial prankster?

Pranking people for money started long before Youtube. TV shows like Candid Camera and America’s Funniest Home Videos made people jump and scream for prime-time. But in the internet age, even harmless neighborhood pranks and family-trolling has become something dark and cruel. Especially whenever money gets involved.

Today, Todd and Joe are talking about the psychology of pranking. Does Joe’s instinct to mix up some fake cat vomit to prank his roommate mean he’s a closet sociopath? Are the “bros” who get their jollies from pranking actually in it for the sadism of punching down? Or is there a healthy side to pranking? Can pranking actually be a bonding experience for family and friends?

We also take a look at Family-O-Five, a pair Youtube “prank parents” who took their pranks so far, child protective services got involved. And we’ll discuss Youtube’s decision to demonetize prank channels in general. Is it silencing their free speech? Or is it de-platforming assholes who were getting rich harassing people in public?

History Links:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pHwJHDQHbjA&ab_channel=ABCNews

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/FamilyOFive

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gRZCT5XamfA&ab_channel=SunnyV2

http://hoaxes.org/af_database/permalink/the_sydney_iceberg

Science Links:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pythagorean_cup

https://www.nytimes.com/2008/04/01/health/01mind.html

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Episode 129 - The Universal Law Of Fairness (As Demonstrated By Pirates)

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Episode 127 - How Large-Scale Humiliation Could Become Society’s Duct Tape