'Cop' Pranks New Yorkers By Pretending To Lift A Cab Off The Ground (Video)

It isn't easy to catch the attention of a New Yorker on the street: They've seen it all, and nothing surprises them.

But when the folks over at Thinkmodo hit the streets of Manhattan to film a special effects stunt, dozens of onlookers stopped in their tracks, baffled by what they'd seen -- or rather, what they thought they saw.

It all started when CarLister.co CEO Bryan Harmon recruited Thinkmodo to create a viral campaign for his company.

Thinkmodo creators James Percelay and Michael Krivicka planned out a live stunt, in which they'd have an angered traffic cop appear to lift a parked taxi and move it out of the way of traffic. It would be performed in front of everyday New Yorkers, none of which were privy to the master plan.

To make their plan plausible, the Thinkmodo team custom-built a replica NYC cab.

By removing the engine and adding 5,000 pounds of steel to the rear of the car, the team turned the car into, as Percelay describes, a “very elaborate seesaw” which could then be lifted with minimal effort.

Harmon referred to the ease of lifting the cab as,

... an analogy for how easy it is to buy and sell a car on the [CarLister.co] service.

I'm not sure if I follow that logic, but the campaign is certainly memorable — and in that respect, an incredible success, both for CarLister.co and Thinkmodo.

Learn more about the mechanics behind the super cool stunt here, and check out the video below.

First, the Thinkmodo crew painted the stunt car, a Ford Explorer, Taxi Cab yellow.

Then, they removed the engine to make the car lighter and easier to lift.

They added 5,000 pounds of steel plates in the rear, to throw off the weight distribution.

In the end, lifting the front of the vehicle felt like the equivalent of lifting a 15-pound weight.

But the New Yorkers on the street didn't know that.

Citations: Tiny traffic cop shocks New Yorkers by lifting taxi off of ground (Mashable)