Now, you might be wondering what kinds of situations you can use the pratfall in. A good one is when you're having an important business meeting with influential people you don't know that well. Surprise! Crash! A great ice-breaker for those awkward introductions.

The biggest challenge in performing a pratfall in modern times is to convince the audience that it was an intentional stumble. Unfortunately, the best venues usually involve alcohol, and even a skilled pratfaller may end up looking like a hapless sod instead of a comedic genius.

One way is to start up an association of practicing party pratfallers, and plan your spills in advance (at least 30 seconds). This way, your colleagues will congratulate you on a successful pratfall instead of ridiculing you as a drunken lout.

Of course, once you've established yourself in the community as a pratfall artist, you have no more worries about being "falling-down drunk". Everybody will just assume you're "performing" again.