Pranks on my kids, Part 1.
I had an old garden sprinkler that I found at my house, left behind by the previous owner. It had spent god knows how long under the porch and was clogged with dirt.

Most people would have thrown it out and gotten a new one. But most people aren't stubborn engineering geeks. So I proceeded to clean the mud out of it and poked a wire through the holes to clear them.

I got it fairly clean and attached it to the hose to test it, and turned it on. I noted which holes were apparently still clogged, and picked up the hose and kinked it in my hand so I could do a quick clearing of the holes in question and test it again.

As I did so my sons and a friend of theirs appeared and my oldest son asked, "What are you doing, Dad?"

"Fixing the sprinkler," I replied. "Go take a closer look and see if I got it right."

Three small boys trooped over and bent close to look at the sprinkler.

You can imagine the rest.
( The Resident Loon Not a demographic. Do not measure., Thu 13 Dec 2007, 14:28, 4 replies)

Brilliant...
Comedy gold!

*clicks*
(oneloafleft, Thu 13 Dec 2007, 14:33, closed)

Once again...
The Loon makes me giggle like, well... A Loon, I guess...

*super clickage*
( Devil_In_Tights the *real* DiT!, Thu 13 Dec 2007, 14:52, closed)

Heeheehee
first laugh I've had today!

*click*
(TheWeeWitch hasn't been here much recently .., Thu 13 Dec 2007, 15:57, closed)

Best part was
it wasn't even planned. I really was going to just finish the job and put the sprinkler away when they appeared.

They had their revenge in a way, though- at my current house I found a sprinkler in the shape of a rabbit in the garden and started cleaning it out, then hooked it up to the hose. I turned it on and nothing came out, so I walked over to look and see if anything was happening- it was the sort that just had a sprayer in the top rather than the kind that spins- and I thought I might see some water leaking through or something. As it happens, the water did start to leak out a bit, so I wiped my finger over the sprayer to clear off the dribble of goo that was starting to emerge.

Apparently this was a Very Bad Idea, as the dribble of goo was the equivalent of the first little dribble coming from the dam wall. The water found the opening and washed out the caked mud from inside the sprinkler all at once, coating me from the waist up in dark brown splatters.

All three of my kids witnessed this and were leaning against the house, laughing until the tears came. And yes, I was laughing right along with them as I dripped mud from my face...
( The Resident Loon Not a demographic. Do not measure., Tue 18 Dec 2007, 17:51, closed)