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B.J. Novak



Last Updated: 3/31/2009

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Status: Single
City: LOS ANGELES
State: CALIFORNIA
Country: US
Signup Date: 8/21/2004

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Friday, June 01, 2007 
So, a few months ago, on the Tonight Show, I talked about a prank I did with a friend at the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston when I was in high school.

Basically, we took tour of this exhibit of Chinese art. They had one of those audio tours where you put on headphones and get a guided tour of the art ("turn to your left... you will see...." etc.).

We decided it would be funny to replace the tapes of the tour with our own recording. We stole a cassette tape from the tour, took it back home, and transcribed where everything was in the exhibit. Then we wrote our own tour and recorded that. My brother Jesse Novak matched it up with appropriate ancient-Chinese-sounding music in the background.

We made fifteen copies of the tapes and got fifteen friends to take the tour with a new tape in their pocket. On the tour, everyone quietly replaced the original tape with the new tape at some point before returning the headset at the end of the tour. This left the next batch of museumgoers with the new tour we recorded.

Anyway, my friend just put the tour up on iTunes. This link should work, or you can just search the iTunes store for "B.J. Novak" or "Prank Audio Tour."

http://phobos.apple.com/WebObjects/MZStore.woa/wa/viewPodcast?id=256548204
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Carla loves Jathan
Carla Good

 
AWESOME! Will definitely have a listen. :)
 
Posted by Carla loves Jathan on Friday, June 01, 2007 - 5:37 PM
[Reply to this
lainey

 
Such a complicated stunt, but I love it! It would be much more difficult to do these days since they don't use tapes anymore. Ahh, those were the days.

My brother and I used to want to pull a Raiders of the Lost Ark move at the mall when the stores were closing. You know how they pull the doors down from the ceiling? We always thought it would be funny to roll underneath it and grab our hat (that we had lost) just as it was closing. My brother came closer to doing it than I did, but alas. Our dad had a store there, and we didn't want to make trouble.
 
Posted by lainey on Friday, June 01, 2007 - 5:37 PM
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Brian Doherty
Brian Doherty

 
Awesome...
 
Posted by Brian Doherty on Friday, June 01, 2007 - 5:37 PM
[Reply to this


 
That...is awesome.
 
Posted by on Friday, June 01, 2007 - 5:38 PM
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That is awesome. If only I could get to Boston now...
 
Posted by on Friday, June 01, 2007 - 5:38 PM
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missy
missy Papiernik winkworth

 
how long before the museum caught on, i wonder?
 
Posted by missy on Friday, June 01, 2007 - 6:28 PM
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Amberla Hickman
Amberla Hickman

 
EEeeeevil! How funny! :)
 
Posted by Amberla Hickman on Friday, June 01, 2007 - 6:36 PM
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Lisa

 
Sweet! I'll definitely have a listen! Tell your friend, "thanks for posting it!"
 
Posted by Lisa on Friday, June 01, 2007 - 6:36 PM
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Tiff

 
HAHAHA. I would have love to have seen the peoples faces as they listened to this. "Personally, I think this painting is crap!"
 
Posted by Tiff on Friday, June 01, 2007 - 6:36 PM
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Marci
Marci Johnson

 
That is GREAT!!!! I wish I had those kinds of ideas in high school!
 
Posted by Marci on Friday, June 01, 2007 - 6:37 PM
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miss suzi

 
i wonder if it would still work today? or was it for one of the temporaries? prolly was.
 
Posted by miss suzi on Friday, June 01, 2007 - 6:38 PM
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tyler
tyler Miller

 
This sounds like a great idea for Jim to pull on Dwight - maybe at the Scranton Anthracite museum...
 
Posted by tyler on Friday, June 01, 2007 - 6:38 PM
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4 Animals

 
LOL! That is an eleborate prank, and so creative. I love it!
 
Posted by 4 Animals on Friday, June 01, 2007 - 6:38 PM
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Michelle

 
woo hoo!! cool! Good work on the Season Finale of the Office!! Can't wait to see you as Michael's boss!!
 
Posted by Michelle on Friday, June 01, 2007 - 6:39 PM
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Tara got Nard Dogged by Jack Bauer
Tara Reilly

 
That is brilliant! What a wonderful prank.

Tara
 
Posted by Tara got Nard Dogged by Jack Bauer on Friday, June 01, 2007 - 7:04 PM
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~Heather~

 
wow! Now i will definitely experience the Musuem of Fine Arts...XD ... Bj style. lol.
Sorry, but right now the fumes or whatever radiates off these computers is getting to me...and all i can say to that is--Bring it On. :)

Thanks for the link, i will definitely check it out! First comment from me to you--i think--my memory sucks sometimes. I would also like to add, i've love reading your blog. you should do it more often. Of course, I understand that you have a lot to do...and thanks for thinking about your myspace peeps!

Thanks for reading,
Heather.
XD
 
Posted by ~Heather~ on Friday, June 01, 2007 - 8:29 PM
[Reply to this
Iannetto
David and Diana Iannetto

 
That is great! The article is so ridiculous! How exactly did that "investigation" go? KUDOS!
 
Posted by Iannetto on Friday, June 01, 2007 - 8:29 PM
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.·:* Artemis *:·.

 
lol! You are such a joker.
 
Posted by .·:* Artemis *:·. on Friday, June 01, 2007 - 8:29 PM
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☠☢☣Susan☠☢☣
Susan E

 
Wow! I think this is even something bigger than Jim would do on Dwight! ;) I'll have to check it out.
 
Posted by ☠☢☣Susan☠☢☣ on Friday, June 01, 2007 - 8:30 PM
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so right ♥

 
That is the awesomest thing I've ever heard.

I would listen to it but I don't have iTunes on this computer. Eventually I'll ge to it though. Trust me, I'm going to. Just imagining it sounds hilarious.

♥ Jessica
 
Posted by so right ♥ on Friday, June 01, 2007 - 8:30 PM
[Reply to this
so right ♥

 
That is the awesomest thing I've ever heard.

I would listen to it but I don't have iTunes on this computer. Eventually I'll ge to it though. Trust me, I'm going to. Just imagining it sounds hilarious.

♥ Jessica
 
Posted by so right ♥ on Friday, June 01, 2007 - 8:30 PM
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♥SuJuHolic♥

 
WILL DO!!!
 
Posted by ♥SuJuHolic♥ on Friday, June 01, 2007 - 8:30 PM
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MB

 
That's great, B.J!

So elaborate. So genius.

And the hokey-pokey? Wow. Just wow. I'm impressed.
 
Posted by MB on Friday, June 01, 2007 - 8:30 PM
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Ramona

 
This is hilarious! Who did the bad Schwarzenegger voice?

It's time for Hokey Pokey!
 
Posted by Ramona on Friday, June 01, 2007 - 8:31 PM
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Elodie

 
I remember when you talked about it on the show. I thought it was a great idea and a really fun one. Now, of course, I want to hear it. Thanks for the link, I'm gonna try it. :)
 
Posted by Elodie on Friday, June 01, 2007 - 8:31 PM
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Mary

 
Ever since you mentioned it on Leno, I have wanted to listened to it. Looking forward to it!
 
Posted by Mary on Friday, June 01, 2007 - 8:31 PM
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Low Calorie Valarie

 
That sure is far cry from the usual stealing a bag of chips at the local Quick-E-Mart, or maybe if your a true a rebel... a c.d. at the music store. Can't wait to hear it. :) KUDOSVILLE.
POP. 2
 
Posted by Low Calorie Valarie on Friday, June 01, 2007 - 8:31 PM
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FACEBOOKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKK!

 
I'm definitely searching for that on iTunes.
:]]
 
Posted by FACEBOOKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKK! on Friday, June 01, 2007 - 9:49 PM
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Christina

 
Ha fucking ha!

This is brilliant...I love how it slowly deteriorates into abuse of the listener.

Sounded like the tour was fairly boring, I would have welcomed this if I worked at the museum.
 
Posted by Christina on Friday, June 01, 2007 - 9:49 PM
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~Lindsey~

 
Oh. My. Gosh. That.....was simply amazing.

"You see, we are spicy at the Museum of Fine Arts."

HAHA!
 
Posted by ~Lindsey~ on Saturday, June 02, 2007 - 9:16 AM
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Claudia
Claudia Bianchi

 
Genius!

:)
 
Posted by Claudia on Saturday, June 02, 2007 - 9:17 AM
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Kerry

 
I laughed so hard I had tears in my eyes. Thank you for that. Absolutely hilarious.
 
Posted by Kerry on Saturday, June 02, 2007 - 9:18 AM
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Sharon
Sharon Lorraine

 
Ha! Funny stuff! Thanks for sharing with us.
 
Posted by Sharon on Saturday, June 02, 2007 - 9:19 AM
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Brittney [jerome]
Brittney Brand

 
Zomg, brilliant! Ever since you talked about it, I've really wanted to hear it!
 
Posted by Brittney [jerome] on Saturday, June 02, 2007 - 9:19 AM
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Abby

 
Wonderful stuff. Thanks for sharing!
 
Posted by Abby on Saturday, June 02, 2007 - 9:19 AM
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Mrs. Bee

 
this was very funny. "ludmilla, where is my fucking narration!"

i think if you pack all the clever things i've done in my lifetime together, it wouldn't equal this prank.
 
Posted by Mrs. Bee on Saturday, June 02, 2007 - 9:19 AM
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jay

 
a friend of mine did a similar prank. him and his friends rented a vhs movie years ago. they were tech savy and figured out a way to record over the audio with their own crap. the thing is, my friend was not funny at all, so his friends probably were not either. whoever ended up renting the tape probably just got annoyed.
 
Posted by jay on Saturday, June 02, 2007 - 9:20 AM
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:P Loves The Office!

 
That was about the funniest thing i've ever heard. Did the the the museum ever find out you guys did it?
 
Posted by :P Loves The Office! on Saturday, June 02, 2007 - 9:20 AM
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[c r i s]

 
HAHAHA!
 
Posted by [c r i s] on Saturday, June 02, 2007 - 9:20 AM
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Angel

 
You should put up the original recording as well so we could compare.
 
Posted by Angel on Saturday, June 02, 2007 - 9:20 AM
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Count Choculitis [DF]

 
This is pure genius! Thanks for posting the link =)
 
Posted by Count Choculitis [DF] on Saturday, June 02, 2007 - 9:21 AM
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sparkiepop

 
Oh, you.

That was hilarious.
 
Posted by sparkiepop on Saturday, June 02, 2007 - 9:21 AM
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Mexicanity

 
BJ that was effin hilarious! Thanks for sharing it. I must say I love the part where the guy keeps saying "Shaman". I was cracking up!
 
Posted by Mexicanity on Saturday, June 02, 2007 - 9:21 AM
[Reply to this
Aaron

 
That was genius! I would love to have seen visitor's reactions!

I work at a museum and would love for a prank like that to be pulled here. We just started doing Ipod Audio Tours. Our curators would be furious!

"You see we are spicy at the museum of Fine Arts." Brilliant!
 
Posted by Aaron on Saturday, June 02, 2007 - 5:26 PM
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MoBabyHomeslice

 
I like the elevator music at the end. :)
 
Posted by MoBabyHomeslice on Saturday, June 02, 2007 - 5:27 PM
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Laura

 
Hilarious
 
Posted by Laura on Saturday, June 02, 2007 - 5:27 PM
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You are my density

 
Wow, just listened to the prank, and it was awesome. One of the best pranks ever! :D

It was just so well thought out and executed. Maybe you should become a writer ;)
 
Posted by You are my density on Saturday, June 02, 2007 - 9:12 PM
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John
John Bogg

 
Speaking of pranks, a while back my friend and I went to a sports convention using the
identity of my friend's brother and this other associate my friend's brother worked
with. So, on Herman's Sporting Goods tab we drank beer, ate free food and acted like
we were interested in people's products and promised to call them back. Since we did
not have any cards, we just went on our word.

In college, I used to go into a classroom that was unoccuppied and write on the clalkboard
that class was cancelled.

That's my extent of pranks for the moment.
 
Posted by John on Saturday, June 02, 2007 - 9:33 PM
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Charlie

 
Hmmmmm........very well thought out and excuted. Lovely!!
 
Posted by Charlie on Sunday, June 03, 2007 - 8:16 AM
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Amelia

 
Nice stuff, BJ! You and your friends are hilarious!
 
Posted by Amelia on Sunday, June 03, 2007 - 8:16 AM
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