Gone are the days of innocent pranks where the worst consequences would be a furious or embarrassed victim, nothing more. Nowadays, due to social contagion, many young folks have started pushing the boundaries in terms of what they can get away with, a decision that sometimes costs them their finances, health or worse—their life. And as you’ll see below, some of these practical jokes are anything but harmless.

1. Hot Water Challenge

By far, the hot water challenge comes in first place for the dumbest and most dangerous so-called challenge where you either pour hot water over a friend or drink it through a straw. It’s like people who engaged in this never even stopped to think of their actions. Like that time when 15-year-old Kyland Clark who is now scarred for life with second-degree burns caused by his best friend pouring a pot full of piping-hot, boiling water on him while he was asleep. Another victim was a young girl who passed away after chugging down boiling water.

2. YouTuber and the Knives

Many YouTubers have gained reputations for doing absurd things, all in the name of views and subscribers. Take for instance 20-year-old Timothy Wilks and his friend who thought that it was a great idea to fake rob unsuspecting people with butchering knives. Well they just so happened to approach the wrong “victim,” one who just so happened to be carrying a concealed weapon. Unaware that it was a prank, the man used self defense, which proved to be fatal to Wilks. No charges were placed against the shooter though, since he genuinely believed that his life was in danger.

3. Ding Dong Ditch

Ding dong ditch is a harmless old-school prank from the 70s and 80s that didn’t involve boiling hot water or threatening people with butcher’s knives. Fast forward to 2020, when 16-year-old Daniel Hawkins, Drake Ruiz and Jacob Ivascu decided to annoy their neighbor who promptly chased them after catching them in the act. Furious, the man hopped into his car and rammed into the boys’ car, causing them to crash into a tree. Of the five passengers, two were badly hurt while the remaining three listed above all succumbed to their injuries. As for the homeowner, he was rightfully charged and is currently awaiting his trial.

4. Exploding Chair

Going back to YouTubers and their desire for humorous content, here is comedian Robin Armstrong and his girlfriend, a couple with a long history of pulling pranks on each other for the world to see. Well she decided to turn it up a notch by rigging Armstrong’s chair with explosives. One minute he’s having cheese being pelted at him by his friends, the next he’s being launched some 10 feet into the air. He completely missed the pool that he was supposed to fall in, instead fracturing his back after landing hard on the ground. Though he recovered just fine after a three-week stay in the hospital.

5. Toilet Zoom Prank

With the whole pandemic situation, many businesses were forced to carry out their meetings over Zoom, leading to a number of awkward moments that no one asked for. Just ask Nick Emery, the CEO of Mindshare, an advertising company. Instead of excusing himself to use the bathroom like a normal person, Emery decided to bring the meeting with him, much to everyone’s dismay. Needless to say, they were all very angry, and subsequently reported the prank immediately reported to the Board of Directors who wasted no time ending Emery’s 20-year-long reign as CEO.