Please note that the content of this book primarily consists of articles available from Wikipedia or other free sources online. Pages: 157. Chapters: Property Damage, Lords of Chaos, Shoe Tossing, Virtual Graffiti, Vandal Resistant Switch, the Splasher, Who Put Bella in the Wych Elm?, Egging, Mischief, Mook, Toilet Papering, Anti-Climb Paint, Outhouse Tipping, Mailbox Baseball, Banner Drop, Cactus Plugging, Vandalism Act, Vandalism of Rembrandt Painting Dana . Excerpt: Vandalism is the behaviour attributed to the Vandals, by the Romans, in respect of culture: ruthless destruction or spoiling of anything beautiful or venerable. Such action includes defacement, graffiti and criminal damage. The Vandals, an ancient Germanic people, are associated with senseless destruction as a result of their sack of Rome under King Genseric in 455. During the Enlightenment, Rome was idealized, while the Goths and Vandals were blamed for its destruction. The Vandals may not have been any more destructive than other invaders of ancient times, but they did inspire British poet John Dryden to write, Till Goths, and Vandals, a rude Northern race, Did all the matchless Monuments deface (1694). The term Vandalisme was coined in 1794 by Henri Gr goire, bishop of Blois, to describe the destruction of artwork following the French Revolution. The term was quickly adopted across Europe. This new use of the term was important in colouring the perception of the Vandals from later Late Antiquity, popularising the pre-existing idea that they were a barbaric group with a taste for destruction. Historically, vandalism has been justified by painter Gustave Courbet as destruction of monuments symbolizing "war and conquest." Therefore, it is often done as an expression of contempt, creativity, or both. Gustave Courbet's attempt, during the 1871 Paris Commune, to dismantle the Vend me column, a symbol of the past Napoleon III authoritarian Empire, was one of the most celebrated events of vandalism. Ni...
