If there’s one thing that many of us have experienced, it’s a broken phone screen. It’s that moment when you don’t want to look because you know what you will see. However, it seems as though Mother Nature might be the person to ask once more as seashells could inspire the next shatterproof glass.

Looking To Nature

Many designers have looked to nature for inspiration. Now, it seems that Mother-of-pearl, a material found on the inside of most seashells, could be the next big thing. It might be made of brittle calcium carbonate, but this is extremely strong and tough.

Learning The Science

What makes it so tough? That would be the hexagonal platelets that are joined together with flexible biopolymers. This means the platelets slide over one another when they are hit to spread the impact rather than shattering into many pieces. Cracks will, therefore, often stay in one place.

To The Test

Many researchers have been trying to recreate these properties in glass to make screens that could be shatterproof once and for all. Francois Barthalat works at McGill University where his team have used lasers to engrave these patterns onto thin sheets of glass. They can then be laminated together with a special plastic that breaks the layers into tiny hexagons.

The Future

Now, it looks as though everything from phone screens to windshields could be put to the test as the new shatterproof glass should hopefully stop huge cracks from forming. Sure, the glass might still break a little, but it is set to be a lot stronger and will localize any damage instead.

Planet Earth is an incredible place filled with intricate designs all forged by Mother Nature herself. Thankfully, it appears that one test of strength and durability could soon see us reaping all the benefits – all thanks to seashells.

Sometimes sticking to the classics is well worth it. Though these are often simple, simple isn’t a bad thing. All you need is a ton of cups, water, and a co-worker that you want to mess with.

Fill all those cups with water and place them tightly around every aspect of the co-worker’s desk. Then sit back and watch to see how they react. Maybe they will laugh, or perhaps they will be mad, but you are guaranteed to get a laugh either way.

Sometimes there comes a day when you decide that you’ve had enough and want to move on to the next thing. Or maybe you love your job, but you have an opportunity somewhere else, and you feel you need to take it.

That means you have to quit, but why do this in the traditional way? Making your resignation letter more palatable and just a little fun might be the way to go. Check out this condolence card as an example. How Brilliant? Just make sure ahead of time that your boss has the sense of humor for it.

Do you have a co-worker that you know has a fear of spiders? This is a very common fear, so we are sure that someone in your office will suffer from this. While it’s a bit insensitive to prank someone with a phobia, this next one is too good not to share!

All you need to do is take a cup and write a warning on it about what is underneath it. Then turn it upside down and place it in front of their keyboard. If you want to up the ante (and you know the person can handle it), then use a fake spider underneath the cup.

This one may take a little time, and you will definitely have to do it off the clock, but it would make for a great prank around the holiday season. What do you need for this? A bunch of wrapping paper, a ton of tape, and some patience.

Wrap up everything you can see at the prankee’s desk (victim of the prank) and then sit back and watch as the office day starts. Maybe even set up your phone or camera for the exact moment the person sees their desk – it’s bound to be a golden moment!

This prank may impact your waistline, but the end result may be well worth it. The prank requires a few boxes of Krispy Kreme donuts and some veggie trays. Now eat all those donuts (or give them away, totally your choice!)

Then add the vegetable trays into the boxes and close them up. Now, leave a note in the break room that says these are for everyone. When people open the doughnut boxes to reveal a bunch of healthy veggies, they’re gonna be super disappointed and you will get a few chuckles in the process.

Glitter is able to get into cracks and crevices, which makes it super hard to get rid of. So if you want to do this prank, make sure you do it on someone who has a good sense of humor. If they don’t, you may make an office enemy for life!

Leave a gift on your co-worker’s desk and then watch from afar. Set it up so once they open the gift, the glitter is catapulted into the air. Ensure that the present you leave is nice enough to make up for the glitter bomb! We recommend leaving a nice candle or hand cream.

If you can get your hands on your co-worker’s phone, this prank could be a fun one. To achieve this one, you’ll have to have some idea of where to go in settings because you are not going to have a lot of time on your hands to get it done.

Find their keyboard shortcuts and then go to town. Make the changes and then hand the phone back to the person. This prank may take a while for them to catch on, so just be patient. The outcome will be worth the wait!

It is hard to get going in the morning for some, and so this next prank will definitely be a fun solution to that problem. This is a great one for those early Monday mornings to wake up your office with a bang! For this, you’ll need to invest in an air horn and some tape.

Find a door that is relatively close to the wall and then tape the airhorn to that wall so the handle will hit it when it gets opened. You’ll also need to wake up extra early the morning of the prank but the look on your colleagues’ faces outweighs the lack of sleep.

If your offices have cubicle desk areas, then this next prank could be fun. Start by choosing your co-worker victim and then think of the most embarrassing celebrity that they could be a fan of. Then you will need to collect and print out a lot of memorabilia.

Take the time to design an extensive layout so that it almost looks like a shrine. Then, tape all the memorabilia up all over their cubicle before they get into work and wait and see their reaction.

Do you have a co-worker that always feels like their boss is lurking around the corner? That person is rife for a prank, and this prank is the one we suggest. Take a few photos of your boss, and then get a little creative with Photoshop.

Then print out a ton of these images and get to decorating your co-worker’s workspace with them. This prank puts a literal spin on their fear that the boss is always looking over their shoulders. Evil genius idea, perhaps?

When you are one of the crew, often there are get-togethers, whether at work or outside of work. When these happen, there are times when you make bets amongst each other. But what happens when you lose?

Well, usually the bets are made with money, so you will need to provide a cash injection to your colleague. There’s no worse feeling than giving money away so why not get even by delivering it in pennies? That’s right! Roll into work with a wheelbarrow like this.

It is always cool when people bring stuff in and leave it in the breakroom for everyone to dig into. That is why this next prank is a great one. All you have to do is bake a cake and get creative while decorating it.

Leave a message on the cake like this one and watch it sit in the breakroom untouched. Or not, who knows? This kind of reminds us of that viral cookie challenge where the parent leaves the child with a sweet snack and tells them not to eat it. Would you guys still eat the cake?

Remember when you were in school, and the teacher would leave the room? Of course, you do because this was one of the highlights – this situation often led to some fun little pranks and a whole lot of talking. So why not use some of those thoughts to do some pranks on your office mates?

You will need a folded piece of paper and a few rubber bands. Then when you are out of sight from the boss, use your feet as a catapult and toss your folded paper across the room at one of your co-workers.

Technology keeps advancing every day, and so you can use this to your advantage. When no-one is looking, you can add a note to one of the appliances (this works better if it is new). This note should talk about the voice-activated properties of that appliance.

Then while you are eating your lunch, watch to see how many people spend their time yelling at that appliance. It is gonna be funny, we promise!

If you are looking for a good prank for the office around Halloween, you will need one that is a little scarier than your other ones. This prank will cost you a little money and time, but it will be well worth it.

Make a copy of your face, and then place it on a small window or in a frame on the wall. It is important that your face is in some sort of contorted shape. So, when they turn on the lights and walk into the office, you’ll give them the fright of their lives!

The best part of the day is when that clock strikes time for your shift to be over. Then you smile, grab your stuff and head out to your car to head home. But what if you came out to something like this?

This is a great prank, and all you have to do is give up one of your breaks to plan it and know which car is your co-worker’s. If you end up pranking the wrong car, this could badly affect your work reputation.

So if you have a little time, this could be a fun prank to execute. This is a great one to do for anniversaries or birthdays. Simply blow up enough balloons to fill up your prankee’s office or cubicle.

Then place all these balloons and wait for them to come into the office. They will love the prank and hopefully get a little laugh from this. Plus, it will make for some great snaps!

Though many offices frown upon you getting on your social media, most of us do it at least a few times a day. This can be a bad idea, though, if you have a prankster in the office. All you have to do is leave your Facebook page open for there to be some tomfoolery going on.

If you see someone that has left their page open, you have the perfect opportunity to mess with them. Change their privacy settings to only me and see how long it takes them to figure it out!

It is always nice to have your own mug at the office. This can really let the team know you a little bit better. But if you do keep a mug at the office, you may have to put up with people touching it and maybe even using it.

This woman had a problem with it, and then her team decided to prank her a little. This is a simple prank but one that could make everyone laugh (or not!).

Sometimes it’s the subtle pranks that make the most impact. But be prepared to play along, as this prank is going to frustrate whoever you play it on. Whenever you work in the office, your mouse is your main tool.

So if it stops working, it is challenging and will cause a backlog in your day. Take a post-it note and tape it over the sensor on the bottom of the mouse. This will render it useless and it will be pretty darn funny to watch while your prankee tries to figure it out!

So this next prank is time-sensitive and takes a little prep work. You will need a pan, a freezer, some glue, and a cup. First, you will want to take that glue, put it in a bowl or pan, and set it in the freezer.

Then, place that on your friend’s keyboard with a cup next to it. You will need to act quickly, though, because the heat from the computer will melt the glue pretty fast.

If you are not in the mood to do a whole bunch of steps to get a laugh out of your co-workers, there are a few pranks that take little to no effort. This one with a leek in the bathroom is one of those.

Simply buy a leek and place it on the tank of the toilet in the employee bathroom. Then when you leave, tell the person you want to prank that there is a pretty serious leak in the bathroom. You’re guaranteed to score some chuckles from your colleagues when they figure out your lame joke.

Remember that scene when Bully puts Gizmo in his office drawer in Gremlins 2? That idea is one variation of this next prank. You will need some pretty heavy-duty plastic bags and a fish with all its tank goodies.

Place the plastic in and carefully it fill with water. Then place all the fish tank decorations in and lastly, drop the fish in. When your co-worker opens that drawer, it will be pretty funny.

How awkward is it when you open up something and find a picture of someone you don’t expect? This can be anyone, but a few of the funniest options for this prank are Nicholas Cage or Samuel L. Jackson.

Print out a bunch of these funny pictures and place them randomly around the office. See how long it takes your teammates to find them all… this task will for sure make them smile.

There are times in every workday where you feel like you could stand a little downtime. But people will notice if you are not at your desk for a long period of time. So why not build yourself a decoy?

You can use a mannequin or a doll, dress it in your clothes, and then place it in your chair. It will be interesting to see how long it takes people to notice! Plus, their facial expressions are bound to be priceless!