A harmless prank during the World Cup somehow ended with a broken TV.
By @nicomaybe · Friends
I put a fake spider on my friend's shoulder to mess with him while he was intensely watching the game. The chain reaction of events that followed was something out of a cartoon, and now I'm being blamed for hundreds of dollars in damage.
The full story
I thought this was a good idea, and I need a ruling. We had about eight people over for the World Cup match. My one buddy is OBSESSED. Like, doesn't blink, doesn't speak, just vibrates with intensity for 90 minutes straight. He also has a mortal fear of spiders. So, a few of us thought it would be hilarious to introduce him to Clarence, a horrifyingly realistic fake tarantula I bought last Halloween. The plan was simple: during a tense moment, I'd sneak up and gently place Clarence on his shoulder. Just a little jump scare, a quick laugh, and back to the game. So I do it. I creep over, place the fuzzy monster on his shoulder, and retreat. For a solid ten seconds, nothing. He's completely locked in. Then, he happens to glance to his side. His eyes go wide. But he doesn't scream. It was weirder. He just stopped breathing for a second, and then he launched himself sideways off the couch like he'd been electrocuted. It was a full-body explosion of terror. Here's where it all went wrong. His flailing arm hit the giant bowl of guacamole on the coffee table, sending it flying in a perfect arc. It splattered across my white wall and all over another friend. As he scrambled to his feet to get away from the now-guac-covered spider, his foot got tangled in the power cord for my 65-inch TV. We all watched in what felt like slow motion as the TV tipped forward, hung in the air for a split second, and then crashed face-down onto the floor with the most sickening crunch I've ever heard. The screen was black. The room was silent, except for the distant cheers from the game still playing on someone's phone. Now my friend says I'm 100% responsible for replacing the TV because my "stupid prank" started it all. I feel like his reaction was wildly over-the-top for a rubber spider. Am I really on the hook for a brand new TV and getting guac stains off my ceiling?
How people voted
- On their side — 31% (101 votes)
- Both sides — 40% (133 votes)
- Other side — 29% (97 votes)
Readers are split: “Both sides” leads with 40% — 331 votes and 6 comments so far.
What people are saying
@willsorta — Soft.
@mehkay — Oh honey, that sounds like a mess. It was just supposed to be a little joke, things just got out of hand. I hope you and your friend can work it out!
@ameliaa — You don't mess with a man watching the World Cup, period.
@oscaragain — Soft.
@wes — The guacamole did nothing to deserve that.
@yarakindof — My sister did this to my brother-in-law with a rubber roach and he accidentally shattered a glass door, so yeah you're probably buying a TV.
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