Harvard and Yale's annual gridiron face-off on Nov. 22 is a big deal for more than one set of storied college rivals. In the decades-old prank-off between archrivals MIT and Caltech, disrupting "the Game" has long been a particular point of pride.

It's not their only pranking outlet, of course: tech students have been wreaking havoc wherever they can since at least 1875, when MIT pranksters sprinkled classroom floors with iodide of nitrogen, a mild contact explosive, so their classmates' feet would set off little fireworks with every step.

Today, MIT maintains an earmarked prank fund, supported by alumni donations, to help students keep the tradition alive — and to help keep the MIT Hacks from getting out-hoaxed by Caltech's Prank Club. The bicoastal competition is the geeky version of working things out on the football field, and the resulting pranks — whether Harvard is involved or not — have made for some of the best college lore there is.

http://www.time.com/time/specials/packages/article/0,28804,1839579_1839578,00.html