Because of how mortified Sal gets in awkward situations, his punishments on Impractical Jokers are on an entirely different level of funny. Sal can be seen visibly recoiling when he's forced to do something shameful, and since the jokers know how to push each other's buttons, it happens quite often.
Because of the cringe-worthy nature of Sal's punishments, they can be hard to watch without viewers cringing, themselves. When his punishments involve an audience and he becomes an annoyance to the general public, it's a miracle Sal is able to get through them while still in tack.
The Shame Of Water (2020)
Equipped with alcohol impairment glasses, Sal is dressed as a waiter and given a pitcher of water to serve restaurant guests. The eyewear messes with Sal's depth perception and makes it impossible for him to fill up people's cups, causing him to miss his target completely.
He ends up pouring water all over the tables and himself, and most of the customers are too shocked to stop him. To end the punishment, Sal is spun around in a chair and sent back out to the floor with a tray of food and drinks to serve.
Parks And Wreck (2014)
The jokers take Sal to Mount Pleasant city hall and inform him that he'll be presenting a proposal of how to make the town better. When the first slide opens with the suggestion of a playground for seniors, the panic on Sal's face is obvious.
He pitches a series of ideas for the playground, including a "complaining booth," and a wheelchair-friendly trampoline terrace. The entire presentation was made even more awkward due to the fact that the council was made up of senior citizens.
Swim Shady (2017)
Rather than teaching a class like the jokers often do during challenges, Sal is forced to photograph one. He's sent into a water aerobics lesson with a camera and the instructions to do whatever his friends tell him.
Sal falls into the pool repeatedly, emerges from the water much too close to people, and even takes pictures of their swim trunks. Thankfully, everyone in the class found his antics too funny to be annoyed, but it was still difficult not to cringe at some of the awkward things the guys made him do.
Statue Of Limitations (2016)
Impractical Jokers is sent a note from the department of homeland security chastising them for letting Sal climb up a federal landmark for a challenge. It turned out to be against the law, but the infraction was dismissed. However, the guys never told Sal that the case had been thrown out, and they spend almost a year planning a prank on him.
Sal is sent into what he thinks is a deposition to testify to homeland security. The actress is so strict with him that he never could have guessed it was a prank, and the awkwardness was radiating off of viewers' screens. When "homeland security" shuts down the production of the show and makes Sal think it's his fault, Joe, Murr, and Q finally put an end to his misery.
Junk In The Trunk (2014)
If the driver hadn't been in on the prank, this one probably would have landed Sal in jail. Sal is locked in the trunk of a rental car and under the impression that the driver has no clue what's going on.
He spends the entire time panicking, and when the woman opens her trunk and finds Sal, he immediately begins to apologize. The woman's acting is on point and she even chases Sal around the parking lot and hits him with a loaf of bread. Both Sal and viewers were relieved to discover that it was all staged.
The Running Of The Bullies (2018)
For the first time ever, Sal didn't have fun spending a day at the pool. He poses as a lifeguard tasked with the duty of keeping the bullies at bay. While it sounds like a good thing, Sal didn't run into any actual bullies and ended up being the one doing the bullying.
The guys make him kick everyone out of the pool, even when they've done nothing wrong. Sal gets into it with a kid who stands up to him and also has an argument with one of the mothers. Joe, Murr, and Q refuse to let Sal leave until the pool is completely empty.
Poetry Slammed (2021)
Sal sits in with a group of poets who all share their work and ask for feedback. Sal's purpose is to be as rude to the poets as possible and give them backhanded compliments after their readings. The class can tell that Sal knows nothing about poetry, especially after he says a haiku needs more words.
He also tells a speaker that her poem reads like a greeting card, prompting very confused responses from the audience. Lastly, Sal is forced to go up and read and perform a poem the guys wrote for him. Needless to say, it was a catastrophe.
The Dream Crusher (2015)
Sal's punishment was to be the Simon Cowell of a children's talent show. Thankfully, the children were all aware of what was going on so none of their feelings were actually hurt, but the audience had no clue.
Sal started off by yelling for his chicken wings in the middle of a little girl's act, which would have been brutal if she wasn't in on the joke. After every performance, Sal had to insult the contestant, and even got up to show a kid that he could upstage him with his karate moves. The audience was so annoyed with Sal, that they yelled for him to sit back down.
Tipping Point (2019)
In one of the most awkward punishments of all time, Sal delivers food to a lobby and solicits tips. No tip he gets is enough, and the guys make him ask for more money from everyone he talks to. Sal clearly doesn't know how to go about it, so he tries different tactics to make him appear less rude.
Some of the customers tip him well after he complains, making his dissatisfaction with the amount even worse. Sal's final customer refuses to give him more money, but things get awkward when the customer forgets his keycard and ends up stuck in the lobby with him.
Whose Phone Is Ringing? (2016)
Nothing's worse than a phone going off in the middle of a quiet room, and Sal had to endure the embarrassment over and over again. The guys set his ringtone to play "Whose phone is ringing?" and put Sal in the audience of a book reading. Every time someone spoke they would call his cell phone, making the audience increasingly angry the longer it went on.
A good samaritan helps Sal turn off his ringer, but he's forced to turn it right back up. He gets yelled at by the crowd and a lady demands that he leave the room. To top it all off, Joe, Murr, and Q make Sal do a reading for the crowd, which is titled "Silence is Golden."