when real life isn't like a Brady Bunch episode ...

I seem to remember Peter using a flashlight or a laser penlight (did they have those back in the day?) to fool Bobby and Greg into thinking that a red UFO was in their backyard. The G-men dispatched to deal with him gave him a stern warning -- and boy did he learn his lesson.

And now there's this story, sans the jovial G-man:

Man charged under Patriot Act for laser prank: New Jersey resident accused of shining laser beam at airplane
NEWARK, N.J. - Federal authorities Tuesday used the Patriot Act to charge a man with pointing a laser beam at an airplane overhead and temporarily blinding the pilot and co-pilot.
The FBI acknowledged the incident had no connection to terrorism but called David Banach’s actions "foolhardy and negligent."