Harold B. Lee Library

Pranks

‘Prank’ invitations allow the inviter to show how fun and young he or she is. Using a prank sets the tone for the date, making serious matters seem lighthearted and casual. Sometimes prank invitations go too far, and are mean instead of fun. There is a fine line between lighthearted and careless, that the aspiring prankster must not cross for there to be any hope of a successful date.

Examples of ‘Prank’ Invitations in the Special Collections Archives

Preference Dates at BYU (FA 01 580)

The roommate of the inviter dressed as a giant chicken. The giant chicken invaded the invitee’s house and laid an egg with the invitation inside it.

A mission file containing photos of the inviter circled in red with arrows asserted that the invitee needed to get close to the suspect because he or she may be a communist. The assignment was to go to the dance with the inviter.

The Preference Ritual (FA 01 639)

The inviter knew a cop. The cop was convinced to pull over the invitee; make an appearance of arrest, then told the invitee that the only way out of an arrest was to accept the inviter’s invitation to the dance.

Special Creative Dating Invitations (FA 01 692)

The inviter made a large poster with the invitation to the dance on it and taped it to the underside of the hood of a car. Then, the inviter made up some car trouble so the invitee could be asked to look under the car’s hood.

During the week prior to the invitation, the inviter left a plethora of random elephant related items in the invitee’s house. The last item contained a note with a meeting place and time arranged. When the invitee showed up at the designated meeting place, the inviter was there in an elephant suit.

The invitation was written is such a way as to be a facsimile of a mission call. Instead of a destination it included information about the date.

The inviter and several friends dressed up as angels, their angel fanfare occurred at two in the morning, when the bleary eyed invitee was subjected to the suspect poetry writing ability of the inviter.

Creative Dating Invitations (FA 01 765)

The inviter enlisted the help of over a hundred friends and neighbors to shout the invitation outside the invitee’s window late at night.

The inviter was wrapped in a large cardboard box. When the invitee started opening the box, the inviter jumped out and spoke the invitation.

Creative Dating: A BYU Tradition (FA 01 787)

The inviter stole a shoe from the invitee’s closet, reenacted a skit version of Cinderella and then fit the shoe to the invitee when that part came up in the skit.

Creative Dating Invitations (FA 01 863)

The inviter tied the invitation to a kite and flew it near the invitee’s house. When the invitee came out to ask what was going on, the inviter asked the invitee to hold the kite for a bit. The inviter didn’t come back, so eventually, the invitee let the kite down and got the invitation.

The inviters wanted to go on a road trip to their home state, where the invitees also lived. They kidnapped the invitees and put them in interrogation rooms, asking all sorts of questions that related to the state they were planning on visiting, and culminating in the invitation.

The invitation was put in a balloon full of shaving cream.

Creative Invitations and Responses (FA 01 1144)

The invitation was pinned to the invitee’s dog’s collar.

The invitation was painted on the invitee’s window.

The inviter dressed up as a prince and borrowed a white horse to hand deliver the invitation.

Dating: The Art Form- Creative Date Invitations at BYU (FA 01 1401)

The inviter kidnapped the invitee at knifepoint, the invitee responded by having a mock trial concluding with the punishment for kidnapping being a term of community service as a dance partner.

The inviter wrote out a long invitation on helium balloons and strung them in order on a 400 foot string, so the invitee had to pull it for a really long time to get the whole message.

Creative Ways to Ask Someone to a Dance: Artistic Communication within Teenage Groups (FA 01 1424)

The inviter went to the home of the invitee with three live lobsters in her backpack. The inviter asked the invitee if she could use his restroom, and while she was in there, the inviter left the lobsters in the tub with the invitation tied to their claws. The invitee had to find a way to get the invitation off the lobsters without getting pinched, and couldn’t find the identity of the inviter. The next day, the inviter made a cake for the invitee with a piped lobster on top.

The inviter had a friend who was a cop, who agreed to pull over the invitee and pretend to book a ticket, but bring roses and an invitation back to the car instead.

Creative Date Invitations: Originality and Reasons Youth Participate (FA 01 1755)

The inviter wrote the invitation on the invitee’s lawn in bleach.

The inviter kept coming up to the invitee during the week and saying “I have something important to tell you, but I can’t remember exactly what it is.” Later, the invitee was woken by an alarm at two in the morning with an attached note that read: “I just remembered what I wanted to tell you! Will you go to [the dance] with me?”

Utah Traditions of Creative Dating (FA 01 1963)

The inviter rewired the invitee’s car so the horn honks whenever the brake is depressed. When the invitee looked under the hood, there was a note with instruction on how to fix the car as well as an invitation to an event.

The inviter sent the invitation in a giant, person sized envelope.