[Anderson Cooper, Cnn Anchor:] Are you tired of your job? Sitting at a desk maybe all day, hammering meaningless stuff into a keyboard? Well, someone out there wants to boost your life with a little absurdity, a little mystery, a little je ne sais quois, a little challenge to the 9:00 to 5:00 consumerist culture. And as CNN's Jeanne Moos reports, you can be a part of it if and only if they ask you to be.
[Jeanne Moos, Cnn Correspondent:] This is what happens when several hundred New Yorkers join the mob, and we don't mean "The Sopranos."
[Unidentified Male:] It was nuts. I don't even know what happened.
[Unidentified Female:] All of a sudden, we were like mobbed, and they were all worshipping a dinosaur.
[Moos:] This was mob number six. You can sum it up in two words.
[Unidentified Female:] Exquisitely meaningless.
[Moos:] Pardon the grainy pictures but, this assignment called for covert coverage. Invitations to join the mob arrive by e-mail. Mob members are instructed to assemble at several bars. We went to the one at Howard Johnson's in Times Square where we awaited our marching orders. [on camera]: Is it your first?
[Unidentified Female:] Yeah. Is it your first?
[Moos:] It's my first. [voice-over]: At 7:00 p.m., someone passed out written instructions. [on camera]: We're supposed to go to Toys "R" Us. [voice-over]: The mob exited. [on camera]: Have you ever seen a place clear out so fast?
[Unidentified Female:] What happened? It must be free food at another bar.
[Moos:] Actually it was a giant dinosaur two blocks away at Toys "R" Us. The mob arrived without warning. At 7:20, the instructions said, drop to your knees. Whenever the dinosaurs roars, moan and cower behind outstretched hands. Regular shoppers appeared befuddled.
[Unidentified Female:] It was really weird.
[Moos:] Flash mobs have been popping up in various European and U.S. cities. In New York, they've materialized at a shoe store, a hotel, even at Macy's rug department, where a mob asked sales personnel for a love rug. A mob showed up in Central Park and made bird noises. No one admits publicly to being in charge. [on camera]: Any mob organizers here that we can talk to in any way, like? [voice-over]: At Toys "R" Us, security had no time to mobilize. In a matter of moments, the mob got up and dispersed, leaving folks scratching their heads.
[Unidentified Female:] Why?
[Moos:] Mobsters declared it the best mob ever.
[Unidentified Female:] A big mind game for everybody. Just doing something stupid is quite funny.
[Unidentified Male:] It's just a bit too passe now. There are so many people there.
[Moos:] Can you believe this guy is complaining that the mob was too mobbed? Jeanne Moos, CNN, New York.