Who uses a “Kick Me” prank?? And does it work? I really am curious. It seems like the stereotypic prank, yet I don’t think I’ve ever seen it used in person, and if I had then it was either unobliged (i.e. nobody actually kicked the loser) or short-lived, the first person that did fessed up like a momma’s boy and the prank was over.
What is the evolution of this classic prank? Innovation uses a light bulb as a symbol. Pranks use a “kick me” note taped to the back of an unsuspecting victim. Which, luckily nowadays, tape is even removed from the equation since a Post-It can be used. Bright, eye-catching, trademarked canary yellow and all. Further proof of it’s simplistic prankster ingenuity.
Perhaps the joke is not in actually kicking the person but in establishing the lack of observation + unusual fetish of a prey. In which case, perhaps “I like really tight ropes” or “Just For Men” aptly situated just above the hind area would be more adventurous. These would also serve better in assuring the prankee, upon discovery of the note, of their general submissive and demeaning role in all things social.
What if the note said “Love Me”? What would people’s reactions be? Would they stare questionably as if “Did this guy seriously put this note on his own shirt and stroll nonchalantly through our bridal party as if he had no clue?? I feel oddly sympathetic and attracted to him, and, and, and maybe I could actually Lov… “[ END SCENE]
I can think of one instance where verbatim compliance with the directive would have come in handy recently. If Billy Cundiff could have squared up against a pigskin donning a “Kick Me Straight” label in a playoff game then perhaps Baltimore would still be kicking more balls in Indy this weekend. But as it was, the label must have fallen off or have been altered to “Hang Your Head in Disgrace”.
I don't usually follow blind directives like a handwritten note taped to someone's back. However, if it said "Student Walker" or "Didn't Bathe", my aversive reaction would probably match the intended response. I do generally follow slightly higher quality directives, although still randomly targeted. Like fortunes in a fortune cookie. Or The Valentine's Day candy hearts that say Hug Me, or something cheesy like that. Perhaps it's not that the message is delivered in an unusual way, but that it is typed. That tells me someone gave more than an initial thought to the message, proofread it for accuracy, then committed to printing it on a worthy medium. In which case, the validity is already halfway established, even it is about to be eaten.
I wonder what they do in the school for the blind? What is their equivalent of a Kick Me note? Does it still say Kick Me but in Braille? And do they just walk right up and paste it on the front of somebody? Seems like it may be a tad more cruel than just pasting it on a non physically-handicapped person, but they have to joke around somehow. Plus according to Mr. Quaid's acknowledgment in National Lampoon'S Christmas Vacation, when administered by a mule to the head, it can actually cure blindness. So perhaps the roots of the directive are in faith and miracles, in which case it is not so much a prank but a pathway to peace. And a trip to the Super Bowl.