I think I might've related this story before. I was in Marine boot camp, and I was a platoon secretary. That means I got to do admin stuff and missed out on a little abuse. A little. One of the questionable benefits I got was that when the platoon got marched to the sick bay to get shots, I went there first, got my shot, and came back so that someone was minding the store (i.e., squad bay).
There was this rumor going around about The Square Needle. It was the urban legend of boot camp. It was supposed to be this humongo needle and syringe full of penicillin that would kill whatever nasty venereal disease might be cultivating in one's nethers, and the high point of the legend was that it was injected directly into the scrotum. It was discussed in uncertain tones. No one wanted to believe it, but we'd taken so much by that time, anything was possible.
Then one day, I had to go to sick bay, and not for an inoculation. I think it was just for paperwork. I came back, and the guys sitting at the front end of the squad room said, "Whereya been?"
"Sick bay," I said.
They knew I went to sick bay for early inoculations. They said, "What for?"
Seized with a sudden impulse, I lowered my voice and said, "Well.... have you guys ever heard of.... the Square Needle?"
Within three minutes, the squad bay was in an uproar. A couple guys were threatening to sit it out or go over the wall. I did tell them, "Look, it's not so bad," but they were unheeding.
I'm not one to carry humorous emotional torture on too long, and I 'fessed up in a few minutes. But I got 'em good. One of my proud prankster moments.
Yes, I can be a mean bastard.