The Office was full of hilarious moments, and the pranks Jim pulled on Dwight throughout the seasons were some of the funniest scenes. Dwight and Jim never really got along well, but they eventually worked things out to the point where Dwight asks Jim to be best man at his wedding.
While this was a heartwarming ending, the best part of Jim and Dwight was the trouble they were always giving each other. Here’s a list of 10 of the best and most iconic pranks Jim pulled on Dwight.
THE JELLO STAPLER
This prank definitely isn’t the grandest or most elaborate, but it definitely is iconic. This is the prank that really kicked off all of the pranks Jim would pull. The stapler prank is associated strongly with The Office. While this prank wasn’t that hard to put together, it was really funny. The simplicity and absurdity of putting a stapler in Jello made this prank one of the best, but Jim’s pranks all evolved from this point.
QUAD DESK
Some of Jim’s best pranks involved messing with Dwight’s desk. When Jim goes on paternity leave, Dwight uses his desk to form “mega desk.” He gets so attached to the mega desk that he wants to keep it forever. To get back at him, Jim stacks the desks together to create what he calls “quad desk.” Dwight is mostly frustrated by the fact that Jim calls the structure “quad desk” when there are only three desks involved. This is just one of the many examples of Jim pranking Dwight, and Dwight reacting in his typical, strange way.
JIM AND PAM LEARNING MORSE CODE
Some of Jim’s best pranks involved him working with Pam to annoy Dwight. Also, some of these iconic pranks were more about slowly bothering and driving Dwight crazy over time. Jim and Pam decide to take classes on morse code just so they could communicate using this method in front of Dwight. Dwight slowly catches on, but Jim and Pam deny they are using morse code.
GIFT WRAPPING DWIGHT’S DESK
This is another prank that involves Dwight’s desk. During one Christmas, Dwight returns to work to see that his desk has been covered in gift wrap. He insists that unwrapping the desk will not be any trouble because of his skills with “skinning a mule deer.” But, Jim was sly and didn’t just cover the desk with wrapping paper. Instead, he somehow manages to create the desk structure out of wrapping paper with no desk underneath. Dwight ends up falling on the floor, and Jim has another iconic moment.
ASIAN JIM
This prank might be one of the most elaborate that Jim pulls throughout the show's history. Thankfully, he has Pam’s help with the execution of this one. One day at work, instead of the normal Jim showing up, a man of Asian descent shows up saying he’s Jim. Dwight doesn’t believe him, but he’s shocked to find a family picture of new Jim, Pam, and their two children, who are also of Asian descent. Pam also comes up to new Jim and gives him a kiss. Dwight definitely isn’t sure what to make of all this. This prank is a prime example of how Jim uses more than just physical pranks to mess with Dwight’s head.
SENDING FAXES FROM THE FUTURE
When Jim leaves Dunder-Mifflin Scranton to work at Stamford, he grabs some of Dwight’s stationery on the way out. When things at Stamford aren’t going too well and Andy freaks out when Jim tries to recreate the Jello prank, Jim luckily uses this stationery to prank Dwight from afar. Jim faxes Dwight messages to himself from the future, giving him warnings. Dwight is warned that someone poisoned Stanley’s coffee mug, prompting Dwight to hit it out of his hands. With this prank, the person who got the bad end of the deal is really Stanley.
JIM CONVINCES DWIGHT HE HAS MAGIC BEANS
When Dunder Mifflin hosts a garage sale, Jim beings to convince Dwight that he has magic beans for sale. At first, Dwight doesn't believe him, but Jim is able to slowly change his mind. Dwight might be a great salesman, but he is also pretty gullible. Jim tells Dwight he has “Professor Copperfield’s Miracle Legumes.” Dwight ends up trading a telescope to get the legumes, and Jim gets the upper hand. This is one of Jim’s pranks that is just so ridiculous that it stands out. Jim is definitely inventive when it comes to creating new pranks.
PUTTING DWIGHT’S THINGS IN THE VENDING MACHINE
This is another one of Jim’s earlier pranks on Dwight, and some of these classic pranks are the best. Jim is able to place all of Dwight’s items such as his pencils, stapler, and mug into the vending machine since he’s friends with the guy who stocks the machines. This prank is simple but funny, and it’s made even better because Jim puts Dwight’s wallet into the machine, leaving Dwight to use nickels that he got from Jim to buy his own things back. While Jim might not have always loved working at Dunder Mifflin, at least he always had these pranks to keep him busy.
GAYDAR
This episode might be one of the most ridiculous and hilarious episodes of The Office. After Oscar gets outed, Dwight and Michael are unsurprisingly rather backward in their handling of the situation. Jim is at Stamford during this time, but Dwight and Michael contact him to see if he knows where they can buy “gaydar.” Jim sends Dwight a metal detector and calls it “gaydar.” The funniest thing about this is that the “gaydar” dings on Dwight, prompting him to wonder if he’s actually gay. It's hilarious, and perhaps one of the show's greatest moments.
IMPERSONATING DWIGHT
This prank is definitely one of the best and most iconic from the show. When Jim shows up to work dressing and acting like Dwight, Dwight is not happy about it. Jim wears Dwight’s signature work outfit, calls for Michael and says “beets, bears, Battlestar Galactica.” Dwight is so upset by this that he yells, “identity theft is not a joke, Jim!” Fans of The Office will never forget this iconic scene.