Greatest Pranks

From the article "10 of the greatest college pranks of all time:"

4. The Olympic underwear relay, Sydney University

In 1956, the Olympics were to be held in Sydney, Australia. On the final leg of the torch run into Sydney, cross-country champion Harry Dillon was supposed to bring the Olympic flame to the mayor of Sydney. The mayor would then make a short speech and pass the flame on to another runner to finish the run.

Thousands of people lined the streets waiting for the Olympic runner to appear and finally he did. The crowd began cheering and reporters began recording with their cameras as the police escort quickly surrounded the runner to help him reach his destination safely. The runner went through the streets all the way to the Sydney Town Hall. He ran up the steps and handed the torch to the waiting mayor who turned to begin his prepared speech. About that time the mayor realized that he was not holding the impressive Olympic flame, but instead it was a wooden stick with a can of plum pudding on the top and a pair of kerosene-soaked underwear burning inside the can. When the mayor looked around for the runner, it was too late, and the runner had disappeared into the surrounding crowd.

The real Olympic runner showed up minutes later, but it was years later when the underwear-burning runner was revealed as Barry Larkin, a student of Sydney University. It takes some real guts to prance your way through the crowded streets of Sydney with police escort, as you proudly hold your flaming underwear above you head.