Not that I was aware of, but my dad told me that in his day it was common practice for butchers' apprentices to be sent to another butcher's shop for a 'long stand'.

On the other hand .....

Between college years I worked at the local hospital. I did all manner of things from gardening to covering for the mortuary porter.

In my first week a ward rang and asked me to get a "monkey hanger!" I thought, "You aren't going to catch me out with that one, lady!"

Alas! A monkey hanger turned out to be an integral part of an orthopaedic bed.

A senior nusing officer (there were none of these management wastes of space in those days) took me to one side and said, "This is a Hospital, we take it all seriously!" That turned out to be another urban myth!

When i was 16 i worked as a junior in a hairdressers, they sent me to the butchers for some chicken lips..... and i went and asked them!! The butcher didn't laugh at me though, he just said sorry we don't have any, so i went back and said the same thing..... it was only when i was on my way home that night i realised id been pranked!

When I was doing Work Experience, my manager told me to go to the shops and ask for a "long weight".... I instantly realised what he was doing, so I went and spent most of the day walking around town and going to the Arcade.

 

I got back about 30 minutes before the end of my shift  He never asked again.

The youth of today are far more switched on than I was. I was so gullible - wouldn't have dared question anything.

 

I loved your response though Rawky 

don't think I was ever pranked at work - as a kid I was sent to the neighbour's to ask for a jar of elbow grease though.    Thinking back too.. the science teacher at school used to send first years to other classes to ask for a long stand.

Where I worked in an office, the seniors used to send the new filing girls/boys to the hardware shop for tartan paint or rainbow paint.

When I was doing admin. at an elecrical wholesalers, the store manager used to send the store lads up to the hardware shop for glass nails and sky hooks. They all used to fall for it as  well.

Lol at all of the above I think I did well to have never been pranked! When I was qualified and started working full time, we all used to prank each other all the time though Texting the landline was very popular