Test normal standards of social behaviour and etiquette by drawing attention to yourself in an outlandish and potentially absurd manner. Some form of strange prop or costume, eg a horse's head. Don your costume and venture into society. Gauge people's reactions: do they engage with you, laugh at you or turn away and pretend they haven't seen you? See Slight-Hitch Travel (p204) for suggestions that combine this form of travel with hitchhiking.
Our Results

Experimental Traveller Mark Butler:

Standing out and appearing unusual is an accepted part of travelling, but is wearing a horse's head in Japan taking things too far? This type of eccentricity in a land that is known for its strict conformity produces some interesting results - I become invisible. From the boutiques of Tokyo's fashionable Ginza district to the freezing slopes of the ski resorts in the west of the country, I travel unseen, unnoticed. Stand out too far in this country of uniformity and you appear to blend in, for the extreme cannot be seen. The snowboarding is my real reason for coming here; the equine antics are just a sideline. But when the ski lifts are full and the queue is long, a horse's head proves to be the perfect accessory for queue-jumping.

More provocative than most travel experiments, you can be sure this experiment will have unpredictable results. Funnily enough, while we may be inclined to stare at those who stand out in a crowd, we'd rather turn a blind eye to things that make us feel uncomfortable: the homeless, the physically impaired, the accordion busker seeking your loose change...