Two colleges. Two pranks. One winner.

In the history of college pranks, two schools stand out as masters of the craft: Harvard and MIT, both well-known for their elaborate practical jokes, often on each other. But schools can't rest on their pranking laurels -- we wanted to know which school has the better sense of humor today. So we conducted an experiment where we staged a prank at both Harvard and MIT, then gauged student reactions at each college.

The Massachusetts Institute of Technology is well-known for creating technologically sophisticated pranks, especially where Harvard is the butt of the joke. One of the most famous college pranks of all time was an enormous weather balloon reading "MIT" that popped out of the 50 yard line at the 1982 Harvard/Yale football game, inflating until it exploded in a cloud of talcum powder.

The game was a bust.

Harvard's pranks often involve theft, such as the "Sacred Cod of Massachusetts," a five-foot wooden codfish that has hung ceremoniously in the Massachusetts State House since the 18th century. In 1933, students from the Harvard Lampoon, the college's humor magazine, stole the fish in an incident known as the "Cod-napping," causing statewide panic and alarm until they returned it a few days later.

The Holy Mackerel.

So: Harvard and MIT, two colleges known for their legendary pranks. But which one has the better sense of humor today? Here's how we found out.