Flash Mobs

Have you ever heard of a "flash mob?"

As far as I know its a fairly recent phenomenon that has been enabled by the web. I have seen flash mobs of entire campuses breaking out into mock ninja fights, hundreds of people at a park form a single file line behind one person, and mock gunfights where a hundred people say bang then fall to the ground. One particularly funny flash mob in Japan featured about 100 college-aged people running out from behind a wall while screaming towards an unwitting middle-aged person. It was hilarious to see their responses, especially the ones who started running and screaming with the mob.

I think my new favorite flash mob however is in the video below. 207 people froze in place at Grand Central Station in New York for 5 straight minutes while someone else recorded the scene. I must say they pulled it off stupendously and the scene had a marked effect on passers-by:

Pretty awesome, huh?

I would love to do something like this at my college, though my small campus might make it slightly less effectual. One fun one could be to freeze in place at the dining hall, or to have a flash dance in the middle of the quad between classes. There is already a facebook group set up for flash mobs at the 5C's but as far as I know there hasn't been an event thus far.

Hmm...