It should be a universal truth that a prank is only funny and harmless if the pranker and the prankee can laugh about it after the surprise.
The world might actually be a little bit better if more people embraced that.
But there are always going to be people who push pranks too far, and then blame the victim for "overreacting," pointed out the side-eyeing members of the "Am I Overreacting?" (AIO) subReddit.
Redditor Alzzy17 recently got pranked by their girlfriend, and while it was gross at first, once she explained the joke, they were able to laugh about it together.
But when they got more details about how their girlfriend set the prank up, the Original Poster (OP) was so disgusted that they immediately ended the relationship.
They asked the sub:
"Am I overreacting for breaking up with my girlfriend over a toilet plunger prank?"
The OP's girlfriend pranked them in a very gross way, all for the sake of a trend.
"Am I overreacting by breaking up with my girlfriend over a toilet plunger prank? This just happened, and I'm still fuming."
"Apparently, on TikTok, the toilet plunger prank has been trending. It's where you ask your partner for help with a clogged toilet, and instead, you actually put Nutella, water, and fart spray on a plunger and fling it at your partner."
"My girlfriend decided to do that prank on me, and normally I can take a joke."
"After she flung the toilet plunger contents on me, including into my mouth, I obviously died and went to h**l."
Then the OP found out more about the prank, which only made it worse.
"Trying to help me calm down, she showed me the video she was making, and I was like, okay, it's just a prank, fine, whatever."
"BUT THEN, I asked her if she bought a new toilet plunger to do this prank or if she at least washed it."
"But no, she took the regular f**king toilet plunger we had in our house to do this prank."
"Y'all, I'm so f**king mad right now."
The OP's girlfriend tried to apologize, but he couldn't stand it anymore.
"She told me she's so sorry and everything. She forgot to buy a new toilet plunger for the prank but still wanted to do it, so she worked with what we had."
"But what, that f**king means that I actually got f**king feces in my f**king mouth. I'm so unbelievably angry. I told her I'm done with her, and now she's p**sed at ME??"
"Am I overreacting?"
"We live together, so it's not gonna be easy to just break up. Plus, telling all our friends and family we broke up because of a toilet plunger prank feels so childish, but I feel so disrespected."
"Her being childish is my biggest issue with her. She plays pranks and practical jokes on me relatively often, which is normally fine (although freaking annoying). But this one just crossed the line."
"AIO?"
Fellow Redditors weighed in:
- NOR: Not Overreacting
- YOR: You're Overreacting
Some were incredibly disgusted by the prank and the girlfriend's thoughtlessness.
"NOR. That's gross. Plus, TikTok pranks are mean-spirited and stupid. She's immature for doing this and deserved to be dumped." - Edcrfvh
"Sounds like your girlfriend needs to grow the f**k up. I can't imagine how this would have gone down if the roles were reversed. She played stupid games and won stupid prizes. I would be done for it too."
"Pranks for the most part are f**king dumb and stupid, and then the one pranking gets p**sed/hurt when they get a reaction they didn't 'expect' but totally valid. Even jump scares can get someone hurt. Nah, she needs to grow up." - AdAlternative637
"I think you should throw the whole girlfriend away." - Queennriiii
"Your ex gf needs a f**king wake-up call. This is unacceptable behaviour, even if it was a new plunger."
"I’d dump her, too. You did the right thing."
"And if her family complains, then tell them exactly what she did and why it was unacceptable."
"TikTok is killing people's brain cells." - Alicam123
"NOR. That’s f*cking disgusting. I would break up over that absolutely fucking disgusting abuse."
"That’s not a prank."
"Just the fact that she’d follow a 'prank' on TikTok proves her intelligence level isn’t high enough to warrant being in a relationship with her." - Select_Draw3385
"Based on this prank, I'm confident OP's girlfriend does not have the requisite intellectual capacity needed to function well in a long-term relationship."
"In other words, there is no good reason to stay with someone this stupid." - matthewsmugmanager
"Honestly? I couldn't be with someone who doesn't think through things and is so thoughtless. But you gotta decide your own boundaries." - gr33n_goddess
"Bro, you're not breaking up over a toilet plunger prank, you're breaking up because she threw a DIRTY F**KING PLUNGER AT YOU, definitely NOR." - TOASTisawesome
"NOR. Thank you for sharing this, and if I were dating somebody who thought this was a prank, I wouldn’t be dating them anymore. It’s pretty low class and juvenile." - AffectionateWheel386
"NOR. This is as simple as 'she put shit in my mouth, so I don't want to be with someone that put s**t in my mouth.'" - byrdicusmaximus
Others confided that they hate pranks and couldn't date someone like this.
"NOR. I really hate pranks. They are only fun for the prankster, not the prankee. This one is particularly yucky." - Comprehensive-War743
"One time, my brother painted camo on his face, wore ratty clothes, kicked in the door, and chased me through the house with a chainsaw."
"I'm not even kidding. The blade was off it, but when you're getting chased by someone wielding a chainsaw, you don't think, 'Oh, surely the cutting part is off, and this is a prank, and it's actually my brother dressed up, so I can calm down now.'"
"Nope, I locked myself in the bathroom, was halfway out the window when I heard him and my mom start cackling."
"To this day, I f**king hate pranks (that aren't lighthearted and innocent.)"
"Even after getting chased with a chainsaw, I can't imagine what my first thought would be if I believed my person just flung actual crap into my mouth, and then found out that they were stupid enough to actually fling crap into my mouth." - Daisy2345678
"Pranks are supposed to be funny for both parties. Stupid s**t like 'a snake in a can' or Rick-rolling someone or swapping out a picture of someone in the hallway with a picture of a celebrity or character. Not 'I'm gonna traumatize my friend or partner, and it's gonna be so hilarious!'" - ThreeFlipper
"She didn’t forget to buy a new plunger. The prank was more important than you! NOR."
"I'd make her delete the video and delete it from her trash files, too."
"This is so gross. Folks can legit get sick from this type of stuff, and her lack of planning on her 'prank' was a choice, not an accident."
"You may get pushed back from family and friends, but stand firm. Pranks are funny and lighthearted for both parties. This was disgusting, dangerous, and rude. There's probably other red flag things you've been ignoring and not realizing about this relationship, is my guess." - MondayWitchEDT
"What's the punchline? What's funny about it? I'd break up with someone even if it was a clean plunger. Why would you ever flick a plunger at someone you're supposed to care about?" - CerealSemantics
"My ex played 'pranks' on me all the time, but it was just him straight-up lying. He would call me all panicked, saying he was in the car with his two little girls and his tire just blew out and they were stranded on the side of the road, so then I'd be panicking and running around and getting ready to run out the door, and then as I would get in my car he would say, 'I'm just joking, we just got home.'"
"Stuff like that. ALL. THE. TIME. I kept trying to explain to him that it's not a joke if it hurts the other person. He never seemed to get it. That's not the main reason I left, but it definitely contributed." - Allison_Wonderland_7
"If the victim doesn't laugh, it's bullying, not a prank. Even my six-year-old knows this! The fact that grown adults can't comprehend the basic concept of being an emotionally safe person is kind of scary. I get it if someone is a kid or even a young teen, but parents have almost two decades to teach their kids empathy and kindness." - beingachristianwife
"I think it’s deeper than the prank. She’s childish and doesn’t actually think things through. There’s nothing wrong with doing a silly TikTok trend, but if you’re dumb enough to do something that causes any type of harm or distress to your partner, then I think the other person is allowed to want out." - Doergrace
"My prank was I taped down the handle to the water gun thing at the sink, got my oldest brother. He laughed and left it for my next brother. But he forgot about it and got himself again. Harmless, silly, no one thought they were about to die." - kittysparkles85
"REMEMBER GUYS, IT'S NOT A PRANK IF THE PERSON YOU PRANKED DOESN'T FIND IT FUNNY!" - pamlhornet
Redditor pamlhornet said it best: a prank only works, and a prank is only a prank, if both people find it funny, and it's inherently harmless.
What the ex-girlfriend did was really gross on its own, what it suggested about how she'd treat her partner, but the fact that she used an old, dirty plunger and didn't even clean it, because she just really wanted to do the prank that day, was an endless red flag.
