HI all, I never posted in this group before and needed your opinion since you guys are the experts in this area. I can't get this prank to work.
The one where you jam pennies in the door jam so the victim is unable to turn the door knob. Is this something old and out dated and no longer works on most newer doors today? From what most books say, it pushes the door back in so their is pressure on the door knob and it is unable to be turned. Any advice would be appriciated. thanks in advance!
-A
Shimming the inward opening door from the outside with pennies doesn't prevent the knob from being turned, it prevents the door from 'clearing' the jamb to open.
Some of the webpages which describe some maneuvers to accomplish a tight shim also mention the danger to the victim if there were a fire and no alternate escape.
You put a stack of pennies between the door and the door stop on an inward opening door, forcing the door toward the direction it opens. This puts pressure between the latch and strike producing a lot of friction, making the handle hard to turn. If you insert several pennies away from the handle you can slide them toward the handle, a simple machine/inclned plane. But the penny stack winding up further from the handle results in leverage working for you. And 'penny' from both the top and bottom (one stack above and one stack below). In any case, you need a lot of force pushing the door open. Warnings about fire are well taken.
bud--
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