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New Improv Everywhere: Frozen Grand Central

improveverywhere.com — Over 200 Improv Everywhere Agents froze in place at the exact same second for five minutes in the Main Concourse of Grand Central Station. Over 500,000 people rush through Grand Central every day, but today, things slowed down just a bit as commuters and tourists alike stopped to notice what was happening around them. Enjoy the video first and then

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  • whiteknives, on 02/01/2008, -5/+141Epic.
  • fessla, on 02/01/2008, -0/+74one of the craziest things i've ever seen.
    i would love to take part in something like this.
    • markperia, on 02/01/2008, -2/+6Im moving to NY at the end of spring. Im gonna go and take part on their next mission.
    • jlharrity, on 02/01/2008, -3/+46Flashmobbing is one of my favorite parts of the digital age. I always laugh at this one:

      http://youtube.com/watch?v=bj0Ma2CsHME
      • JeffD, on 02/02/2008, -1/+7That was incredible :) It had me laughing the whole time.
      • bluezinc, on 02/02/2008, -3/+1Yeah, but that's just a Japanese prank show, not a flash mob. However, this is a good example of how Japanese prank shows are the best thing ever.
    • rentmitchum, on 02/02/2008, -0/+13I couldn't be one of the frozen people, I'd start laughing.
    • EmileVictor, on 02/02/2008, -0/+3If you're around NY you can sign up for their list, they email you when there's something on. Otherwise, there are groups like this all around the world - improv everywhere has a forum where you can find one.
    • Bodhinature, on 02/02/2008, -0/+10I'm surprised they didn't all get arrested and charged with terrorism.
  • thwackitechnica, on 02/01/2008, -2/+160This has to be my favorite one yet. Kudos to the participants for staying frozen so well, too.
    • AndyStitzer, on 02/01/2008, -0/+9I still like the bathroom attendant at McDonalds
    • elint6, on 02/01/2008, -4/+1U2 concert FTW
    • thebaron2, on 02/01/2008, -1/+6I sweat to god they looked like statues! Very well done - my favorite so far.

      Anyone seeing these guys "perform" for the first time should check their other mission videos out on the site once it recovers from the digg hammer.
    • xlop, on 02/01/2008, -0/+7My favorite is still the suicidal jumper on the ledge.....two feet above the ground complete with negotiator.
      • MrSidnet, on 02/02/2008, -0/+1I think that was the first IE video I saw. Classic.
    • Nesh, on 02/02/2008, -0/+6Can't forget about the Starbucks Mobius.
    • riggs32, on 02/02/2008, -0/+3 can you guys post links to the videos your talking about cus I haven't seen any of them and this video was awesome :-)
  • angusware, on 02/01/2008, -0/+34I'm too twitchy. No Red Bull for these guys!
  • gharding, on 02/01/2008, -0/+14This is definitely my favorite stunt. Perfect amount of people.
  • dagaz, on 02/01/2008, -0/+72That is so cool! I love his convo with the cop:
    "Me: Do you know what that was?
    Cop: I have no idea! That is the craziest ***** I’ve ever seen in my life, AND I’M A COP!"
    • bxblox, on 02/02/2008, -0/+5The sentence after that was hilarious, knowing how desperate the city is to recruit more cops to work practically for free.
  • effstops, on 02/01/2008, -1/+9I would love to have witnessed this. Brilliant!
  • chocoboj, on 02/01/2008, -10/+3I felt bad for the guy in the cart. I could see him stuck on the other side of the concourse and kept thinking "oh man, I hope he doesn't get pissed"
  • iamfiction, on 02/01/2008, -3/+103I would have been running around slapping the butts of the frozen
    • h4mx0r, on 02/02/2008, -2/+2You'd be mobbed the moment they unfroze.
  • Postmodernism, on 02/01/2008, -0/+11It's time to join my local improv everywhere group. I hope we do the "Pants for Sale" mission.
  • iPissExcellence, on 02/01/2008, -0/+107people were actually taking pictures for evidence...
    • fhornplayer, on 02/01/2008, -7/+105Because a still-frame is an awesome way to show that someone isn't moving.
      • shadeOfGrey, on 02/02/2008, -1/+31I think that's what he was implying
        .
        • iPissExcellence, on 02/02/2008, -1/+16according to his diggs compared to mine, people didn't seem to get that.
      • ophello, on 02/02/2008, -0/+5just take a lot of pictures of the same person, and clealy other people are moving
      • ostracize, on 02/02/2008, -0/+2You want to remember the event.
  • wild, on 02/01/2008, -0/+129It always amazes me, both on this video and with street performers on Michigan avenue, that people take a photo to prove to their friends that someone was frozen in place.
    • bxblox, on 02/02/2008, -0/+20the more intelligent in the crowd were using video cams
  • kinseyincanada, on 02/01/2008, -1/+50dugg for "(this animation may not work in all browsers, get Firefox.)"
  • Error601, on 02/01/2008, -33/+3The levels people will go to try to get attention...
    • dinot, on 02/01/2008, -1/+19yeah. don't you hate it when on the internet everyone is raving about something and saying it's cool and these damn party poopers have to go against the grain and say it sucks, just to be cool? the levels people will go to get attention....
  • UltramegaOK, on 02/01/2008, -2/+5"We filmed this mission discreetly from the upper balcony and with a roaming agent on the floor with a camera sticking out of a cart of luggage."

    VERY NICE!!!
  • Rikushix, on 02/01/2008, -0/+23I love this. I've done my share of improv workshops and I participated in that waterfight flashmob in Vancouver last summer - this was amazing, I'd so like to be a part of this.
  • OpinioNate, on 02/01/2008, -7/+122Onlookers always assume it's some kind of protest. Sad that it can't be just for the lulz.
    • PRlME, on 02/02/2008, -13/+1yea you got 75 diggz but i still had to digg you down for use of the word lulz. only cause every anou fan boy is using it now. so its like a indirect digg down -=)
      • fhornplayer, on 02/03/2008, -1/+1Yeah, you have -10 diggs, but I still have to digg you down for improper spelling and grammar. Only cause you're a troll. =D
  • domness, on 02/01/2008, -13/+3Omg! That's seriously amazing! I love it when things like these pop up on digg :) This is being blogged :)
  • Quito, on 02/01/2008, -2/+4The Matrix meets Grand Central. Brilliant!
  • TheInimitable, on 02/01/2008, -1/+13Improv Everywhere's global site just went up recently: http://improveverywhere.ning.com/
    If you've been waiting for a chance to get in on IE, now's the time.
  • hokeywebb22, on 02/01/2008, -2/+9That was really good but i still think that the slo-mo Home Dept was better.
    http://www.improveverywhere.com/2006/08/19/slo-mo- ...
  • agildehaus, on 02/01/2008, -2/+10http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jwMj3PJDxuo
  • McBradd, on 02/01/2008, -0/+59Amazing.

    Perhaps the funniest thing was people taking pics to show their friends later... "See! They're not moving!"
  • steveboutin, on 02/01/2008, -0/+6***** THE DIGG EFFECT!!!
    anybody got a mirror?
  • bigdessert, on 02/01/2008, -1/+23MIRROR: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jwMj3PJDxuo
  • redxii, on 02/01/2008, -6/+1"Error establishing a database connection"

    Hi-larious.
  • dailyclerk, on 02/01/2008, -0/+3site seems to be loading slowly. the original version is at http://revver.com/video/648644/frozen-grand-centra ...
  • Mach5, on 02/01/2008, -6/+56Hey, I was IN this. Seriously, I'm the guy in the white jacket next to the girl in the blue/white jacket, looking at his cell phone. It was good fun, people were very confused and were looking strangely at us. The best part was probably scattering at the end and pretending nothing happened. Good times! I'm at 1:06 in the youtube video (and a few other times too).
    • gm33, on 02/01/2008, -1/+2with all the beefed up police and security around in GCS I'm very surprised nothing was done.

      this was awesome though!
    • Mach5, on 02/01/2008, -10/+8Oh, and this was actually filmed for a pilot for a show on NBC (it didn't get picked up). Thats why the production values are high. I'm pretty sure security was in on it too. And best of all, I got payed minimum wage for it! $14.72!!!
      • fhornplayer, on 02/01/2008, -1/+8$14.72 for five minutes is minimum wage?
        • BobMcBob, on 02/02/2008, -2/+3Presumably he was there for more than five minutes, smartass.
        • Mach5, on 02/02/2008, -1/+32 hours worth of time out of my day. dont be jealous :)
  • ahpro, on 02/01/2008, -3/+1Down already? It's only been front paged for 13 minutes.
    • rockrapdude, on 02/01/2008, -0/+3Front page != number of diggs
      • LtXenodite, on 02/02/2008, -0/+3Number of diggs != amount of traffic.

        And 13 minutes is time enough for a few hundred thousand people to see it :o
  • entrophize, on 02/01/2008, -1/+24Hammertime.
  • pbpyrojust, on 02/01/2008, -1/+9That was awesome. The camera work and audio capture was a lot better than their past improvs.
  • jpurnell, on 02/01/2008, -2/+2Clean version at http://www.ucbcomedy.com/videos/play/759 . Charlie is a performer at the Upright Citizens Brigade Theatre in New York, as are a lot of the IE agents.
  • Anoobis, on 02/01/2008, -1/+1How do they know when to freeze and when to move again?
    • fhornplayer, on 02/01/2008, -0/+1There were probably only a handful of folks who could see a clock, but people who couldn't could see them. So, if one frozen person moves, the chain reaction would go off fairly quickly.
    • fessla, on 02/04/2008, -0/+0yeah, the mission report said that they all tried to freeze in a position where they could see their watches.
      however, if they couldn't do that they were just supposed to keep an eye on the others.
    • glenneroo, on 03/10/2008, -0/+1Since this happened it's gone on all over the world, 33 events and counting. We just did our 2nd (and last) freeze last saturday (in vienna) though video still ain't online yet. List of all the videos is here:
      http://improveverywhere.com/2008/02/28/ie-global-2 ...

      As for signals, lots of stuff has been used: a whistle, a clock, mass text messaging, we used a handshake for our first and we had some girls pop a big yellow balloon for the 2nd. Tons of ideas, just use your imagination. To unfreeze, the people holding balloons who were watching the clock started moving after 5 minutes, and everyone else just realized the frozen people were moving again and also went back to "normal", thus leaving the premises.
  • schneid4323, on 02/01/2008, -0/+1In the middle of the page.

    "Where's Rob?"

    isnt that the question on everyones mind....
  • jamesvaughn, on 02/01/2008, -10/+2I've eaten ice cream at Grand Central more than once. I also once saw some guy slip and fall on ice near the cab queue too. His briefcase flew up in the air as if it was choreographed. I laughed my ass off while feeling somewhat guilty about it.
  • jamesvaughn, on 02/01/2008, -9/+1Frozen?! Grand Central doesn't move!
  • foltaggio, on 07/11/2008, -7/+1Anyone read the title and thought this was about Google's phone service?
  • jamesvaughn, on 02/01/2008, -10/+5Sometimes I do this on the subway platforms late at night when no one is around, by myself.
  • cambrown99, on 02/01/2008, -0/+15I love Improv Everywhere
    • supermanred, on 02/02/2008, -0/+4I joined on the global site under Toronto! Can't wait!
  • jamesvaughn, on 02/01/2008, -8/+4The supervisor on the other end of the cart driver's conversation must be thinking this guy has the worst excuse ever: "Evrybody's frozen, I can' move my kaht!" When that lame excuse doesn't work, he says nevermind because they're moving. Suuure they were frozen, you lazy bastard!
    • jmchez, on 02/02/2008, -0/+1Whys is this getting dugg down? I thought the same thing myself.
  • Mr.Gone, on 02/01/2008, -0/+29You know I breathed a sigh of relief at the end of this story. I guess it's just a sign of the times. Finally, no one phoned this in as a possible terrorist plot. Whew. We are heading in the right direction.
    • supermanred, on 02/02/2008, -0/+5In Boston however, it would've been a different story.
  • notgyet13, on 02/02/2008, -0/+10Loved the "kaht" guy -- "Uh, nevermind."
  • TheNik, on 02/02/2008, -0/+1Wow, that was just amazing! Great work!
  • Skooma714, on 02/02/2008, -0/+20I love these flash mob things.

    Good thing the NYPD didn't decide to designate them terrorists.
    • nathos, on 02/02/2008, -1/+6Indeed. There were officers armed with submachine guns last time I was in Grand Central Station. Not sure I'd have the balls to pull this one off.
  • PPCG4, on 02/02/2008, -1/+10Looks like the server is performing the same trick.
  • daeyeth, on 02/02/2008, -0/+2I'm sensing some digg effect at their site; can't get through.
  • bigdt87, on 02/02/2008, -1/+5"One couple froze kissing."

    beautiful.
    • holmcross, on 02/02/2008, -4/+0Poor guy.
      • tektalk, on 02/02/2008, -0/+1What's wrong with you? I'd want to switch places with that guy at the drop of a hat ( I'd drop it myself too )... but that's just me.
  • mclewell, on 02/02/2008, -0/+6I think that this is a really great and very creative idea. I think that a message behind this is to stop and enjoy yourself in this busy, fast moving world. Very nice work!
  • tppeters, on 02/02/2008, -0/+4The site is loading for me, but it's very slow thanks to the Digg effect. You can see the full quality video here: http://revver.com/video/648644/frozen-grand-centra ...

    But it's worth bookmarking Improv Everywhere and checking it out tomorrow when things calm down. They have over 70 things like this, some of which are as good and a few that are even better.
    • VeganG, on 02/02/2008, -0/+1The best one is the dancing in the department store windows.
  • supermanred, on 02/02/2008, -0/+2When is someone going to give these guys a million dollars and their own television show? I bet you they could think up some killer improv pranks if they had a decent budget.
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