Everyone has probably seen this video already, but for those who haven’t it’s a really nice introduction to a group I’ve been following for awhile called Improv Anywhere, which sets up elaborate events that fall somewhere between performance art, pranks and general public hilarity. In this one, over 200 completely normal-looking people walked into Grand Central Station and then froze in place at the same split second, and remained that way for five minutes — at which point they all continued on their way as though nothing had happened. It’s quite fun to watch. Some are in mid-step, one is tying his shoe and another has just dropped an armful of papers.
[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jwMj3PJDxuo&rel=1&w=425&h=355]
There’s a somewhat similar group based in Toronto and New York called Newmindspace.com, which has occasional events including a pillow fight in Nathan Phillips Square, and a light-sabre battle. In their most recent, the group pulled together a group snowball fight in Trinity Bellwoods park, which Torontoist captured on film (or data card, or whatever).