Pranksters created a time loop in a Starbucks

Could a bunch of pranksters successfully convince bystanders that the space-time continuum had been shattered? They attempted to do just that when they created a "time loop" in a Manhattan Starbucks. This wild story of improvisation is among those shared in the new book "Causing a Scene: Extraordinary Pranks in Ordinary Places with Improv Everywhere." Here is an excerpt.

Mission: The möbius

Date: March 22, 2003

Number of agents: Seven

Objective: Have a group of agents create a time loop in a Starbucks by repeating a five-minute sequence of events 12 consecutive times in one hour.

When thinking of the world’s most creative art forms, most highbrow critics tend to leave pranks off the list. Let’s face it: Taping a “Kick me” sign to someone’s back or placing a whoopee cushion on their chair usually fails to inspire in the same way as, say, a beautiful song or a brilliant film.

However, with Improv Everywhere, my objective has always been to push the boundaries of pranks beyond sophomoric high jinks. Instead of embarrassing someone with a practical joke, why not use a prank to create chaos, make people stop and observe their surroundings, and send them on their way with a fascinating story to tell? These were precisely our motivations when we pulled off a mission called “The Möbius.”

Most junior high school students are familiar with the concept of the möbius strip. You can create a möbius by taking a strip of paper, making a loop, and then flipping one side over before taping the two ends. The result is a never-ending loop with one continuous side.

In 1858, two German mathematicians, August Ferdinand Möbius and Johann Benedict Listing, discovered this mind-boggling contraption. Almost 150 years after their discovery, seven Improv Everywhere agents attempted to boggle some minds of their own by creating a living möbius — a pattern of events that would repeat as a time loop — in a Manhattan Starbucks. For years, movie audiences have been entertained by temporally repetitive plots, like Bill Murray living the same day over and over again in "Groundhog Day," the Enterprise’s uncanny tendency to encounter temporal rifts in "Star Trek," or the flux capacitor creating time loops in the "Back to the Future" series. With "The Möbius," Improv Everywhere attempted to create a time loop in the real world ... and to boldly go where no prankster has gone before.

I. The plan

"There is the theory of the möbius — a twist in the fabric of space where time becomes a loop, from which there is no escape." — Lt. Commander Worf, "Star Trek: The Next Generation"

In early 2003, Improv Everywhere was still in its infancy and I was acquiring a reputation in the New York comedy scene for being a prankster. As Improv Everywhere’s fan base grew, a steady flow of ideas for pranks started trickling into my e-mail inbox. One of the first missions submitted to me came from Mark Hoffman, who, along with his pal Kevin O’Bryan, concocted the following idea: What if a group of actors replayed the same five minutes as a time loop in a public place?

As a longtime Trekkie, I was immediately intrigued by their idea. It reminded me of an episode of "Star Trek: The Next Generation" where the crew slowly realizes they are trapped in a time loop and the Enterprise keeps blowing up. Creating our own "Star Trek"–style möbius of events in a public place wouldn’t be your typical sophomoric prank — we’d be attempting to fool people into thinking that the space-time continuum had been shattered.

I chose the Starbucks on Astor Place in Manhattan as the site for this mission. A roomy coffee shop with two entrances, this particular Starbucks was an ideal setting — it provided lots of space and NYU students tend to hang out there for hours on end, reading and studying. Essentially, they’d be our captive audience and our stage would play like a theater in the round with eyes watching us from all sides. For one hour, we would transform this peaceful coffee shop into a freaky Twilight Zone.

I recruited six agents for the mission and assigned each of them a specific action to replay over and over again. These six choreographed segments of our möbius would play out over the course of five minutes and would be repeated 12 times consecutively in one hour. The six major components to our time loop were:

1) The Argument. Agent Katie Dippold and I enter the Starbucks holding hands. While standing in line and debating what to order, Agent Dippold reaches for her cell phone in her purse, revealing a pack of cigarettes in her handbag. Then we initiate the following dialogue:

Agent Todd: You can’t smoke in here, Katie.

Agent Dippold: I’m not smoking, I’m just getting my phone.

Agent Todd: Give me those! [I attempt to snatch her cigarettes.]

Agent Dippold: Stop it!

Agent Todd: You promised you would never smoke around me. [I make a second attempt to grab her smokes.]

Agent Dippold: I’m not!

Agent Todd: You promised you wouldn’t let me see these.

[Agent Dippold storms toward the door in frustration and turns to address me.]

Agent Dippold: I can’t believe you’re doing this!

Agent Todd: [yelling] Come back! Come back here, Katie!

[Agent Dippold exits the Starbucks and I chase after her.]

2) The spill. Agent Porter Mason sits and writes at a nearby table. Shortly after Agent Dippold and I enter and stand in line, he spills his cup of coffee. Agent Mason then trots across the Starbucks, grabs a handful of napkins and returns to his table to clean up the mess.

3) The cell-phone call. Agent Flynn Barrison also sits and reads at a table. Directly after Agent Dippold and I exit, he receives a cell phone call (his ringtone is set to loud and plays “The Entertainer” by Scott Joplin). He gets up and walks to the window for better reception. After finishing his call, Agent Barrison returns to his table.

4) The bathroom line. Agent Anthony King sits at another table, sipping his coffee and writing. Shortly after Agent Barrison takes his phone call, Agent King rises and heads to the bathroom line, stumbling and bumping into Agent Mason on the way. After apologizing to Agent Mason, he asks the patron at the back of the line, “Is this the line for the bathroom?” After briefly waiting in line, he returns to his table. Upon sitting back down, Agent King turns to Agent Barrison and remarks, “That bathroom line is too long.”

5) The R.E.M. song. Agent Ken Keech then enters from outside with a boom box playing “Shiny Happy People” by R.E.M. After strolling through the Starbucks while blasting the song, Agent Keech exits the through a door on the opposite side of the coffee shop.

6) The sneeze. Agent Chris Kula sits and reads a copy of ESPN The Magazine. After Agent Keech exits, he sneezes loudly, waits two beats, then clears his throat. Moments after his sneeze, Agent Dippold and I reenter the Starbucks and the loop starts again. (Agent Kula is also responsible for placing the cell phone call that makes Agent Barrison’s phone ring.)

More in books Susie Essman offers up hilarious health advice  ‘K2’: Anatomy of a deadly climbing expedition Slideshow: Children of war

Our goal was to seamlessly repeat this five-minute sequence of events for one hour. “I didn’t know the 'Star Trek' reference, but I did recognize that this was definitely the highest-concept prank I’d ever participated in,” Agent King said. “There was a lot of anticipation and excitement leading into it, because we didn’t know if we could pull off something this elaborate.”

At around 4:40 p.m. on the afternoon of the mission, Agents King, Barrison and Mason entered the Starbucks. There were two open tables in the coffee shop; Agent Mason claimed one, and Agents King and Barrison sat down at the other. After a few minutes passed, Agent Kula entered and, posing as a stranger, asked to sit at Agent Mason’s table. Soon, all four agents were sitting silently, sipping coffee, and minding their own business. At 4:47 p.m., Agent Dippold and I waited outside for the agents to get in place. Everything seemed humdrum inside the coffee shop, but little did the Starbucks patrons know, they were about to enter a bizarre vortex where Improv Everywhere would obliterate the dimensions of time and space.

MORE FROM TODAY BOOKS: HUMOR

Susie Essman offers up hilarious health advice

Susie Essman offers up hilarious health advice David Alan Grier: Is beige the new black? ‘Roast’ will help channel your inner insult comic Ever try guiding 13-year-old girls going on 30? Pranksters created a time loop in a Starbucks Excerpt: ‘Rejected’ by Letterman and Conan Comedian: Why don’t black people see UFOs?   Comedy book teaches how to ‘Play Doctor’ Excerpt: 'My Trip Down the Pink Carpet' As Mad Libs turn 50, play an exclusive game   Add Today Books: Humor headlines to your news reader: