Top 10 Pranks from The Office (U.S. version)

Never trust something just because it’s gift-wrapped. Dwight strolls into the office, only to discover that Jim has pulled a fast one and wrapped-up his desk. This, of course, results in one of Mr. Schrute’s typical rants. After he thinks he has diffused Jim’s little joke with a lengthy retort, he casually sits down and… Yeah, Jim really has too much spare time on his hands.

After getting bored on a business trip, Jim decides to disguise his hotel room so it looks like some sort of smash-and-grab deal has gone down and that he’s been killed. He even goes so far as to leave out a suitcase full of money, and scrawl things like “It was Dwight” on the walls. When Dwight and Erin wander in, they’re obviously on edge and shocked by the scene. Then Jim’s corpse falls out of the closet.

We’ve all tried something like this at some point. With a bat relentlessly stalking the airways of the Dunder-Mifflin office, good old Dwight puts on his Van Helsing boots to save the day. Jim sees this as an opportunity to convince Dwight he has been bitten, and that he is sensitive to light and garlic bread. Classic.

We all hope it’s Friday every day in the working world, but that doesn’t make it true. Unfortunately for Dwight, Jim and Pam convince it Friday, when actually it’s Thursday. We watch as TV’s cutest couple chats about what they watched on TV the night before, just to throw him off – which ultimately results in Dwight dashing into the office late Friday morning. Just when the performance reviews are coming in.

As an elaborate Christmas gift to Jim, Pam launches a prank that’s based on the premise that Dwight is being covertly recruited by the CIA. Over several months, she sends Dwight multiple discreet messages, supposedly from the bureau, requesting that Dwight confess all his secretes. The climax of this prank sees Dwight waiting for a helicopter on the roof of the office – until he receives a last-minute message requesting him to destroy his cell phone, because he has been compromised.

Sometimes you know you’re right, but you just can’t prove it – and it’s the most annoying thing in the world. While Jim’s out at the dentist, he has his Asian friend Steve sit in his place and pretend to be him. With Steve prepped on Jim’s sales knowledge and everyone else playing along, Dwight is duped once again. And just when he thinks he can prove his case with a family photo, we find out that Jim’s thought of everything.

During Jim’s temporary departure to another branch, he makes sure he has some Dwight-tricking artillery in his arsenal to keep himself occupied. Armed with some of Dwight’s stationary, Jim sends him apparent messages from himself, from the future – warning him of upcoming dangers – like poisoned coffee. This allows Dwight to race to Stanley’s rescue, or so he thinks.

This brilliant concoction of pranking genius sees Jim place all of Dwight’s belongings into the office’s vending machine. After Pam casually purchasing his pencil cup, Dwight comes to the conclusion that he will have to buy his way out of this one. But wait, his wallet’s in there, too. Well, at least Jim leaves him with a bunch of nickels.

What is worse than one Dwight Schrute? How about two of them? In the quintessential example of a taste-of-your-own-medicine prank, Jim decides to go all out and dress up like Dwight, after getting the idea from a pair of glasses he finds at the drug store. From his parted hair to his washed out shirt – Jim even throws in some of Dwight’s ridiculous nonsensical questions.

Before we unveil our number one “Office” prank, let’s look at some of our honorable mentions:
- Check in the Bathroom “The Fight” (S02E06)
- Mega Desk aka Quad Desk “St. Patrick's Day” (S06E19)
- Telekinesis “Casino Night” (S02E22)

This is quite possibly one of the most popular gags in “The Office”’s history. Alongside the introduction to the show’s diverse cast in the “Pilot” episode, we learn that Jim and Dwight share a special, scornful relationship, which is exemplified by an elaborate prank: by molding Dwight’s stapler into some Jell-O, we get a first taste not only of Jim’s willingness to go completely out of his way for a good prank, but also his uncanny ability to get away with it every time. Godspeed Jim. Godspeed indeed.

Do you agree with our list? What is your favorite prank from “The Office”? For more assorted Top 10s published daily, be sure to subscribe to WatchMojo.com.