Best April Fool's Day Pranks & Ideas
Have you ever heard of the Spaghetti Harvest? Back in 1957, via their TV show Panorama, the BBC pranked viewers into believing that spaghetti could now grow on trees; that it could be easily harvested. Because spaghetti was a lesser known food in the UK at the time, the Spaghetti-tree hoax aired on April Fool’s day was a great success, with a many viewers asking for advice on buying or growing ‘spaghetti trees'!
On April Fool’s day in 2008 the Beeb tried to convince poor unsuspecting souls that penguins could fly (oh, that dry British wit!). A few years ago, Jordanian newspaper Al-Ghad reported an alien sighting in the desert close to Jafr town. The Mayor was not best pleased by the prank however, when reports of 10 ft alien pilots and communication disruptions caused public panic.
Origin of April Fools’ Day
There are many theories about the origin of April Fool’s day – there was the medieval festival, the Feast of Fools, the ancient Roman observances of Hilaria or even the Indian festival of color, Holi that could have been precursors to the modern April Fool’s day on the 1st of every April.
Many of the world’s harvest festivals are celebrated around this time of year and this is also the time of year when people celebrate the beginning of summer. It could be the general feeling of exuberance among people around this time of year that started the tradition of playing pranks and creating humorous situations.
While there may be some who disapprove of April Fool’s day pranks, most people enjoy them; even the victims are typically good sports about pranks that aren’t malicious. If you want to join in the fun, here are some ideas you can use:
Edible (not!) April Fool’s Day jokes
 |
|---|
| Brown Es Brownies Trick Image Via Treehouse Parents |
Mock sushi rolls, baked potatoes that aren’t potatoes at all, rubber eggs and bacon for breakfast, the fake worm in the apple (your child does not want to see this in their brown bag), there are so many options here! Get store bought versions of food or get creative with some DIY fake food – get started on the family at breakfast in the morning and continue with colleagues at lunch or surprise the family at dinner just as they think you’ve run out of crazy ideas!
Serve some brownies – a covered tray that reveals brown colored E-shaped cut-outs (brown Es, get it?). Offer people a caramelized sweet treat – enjoy the look on their face when they bite into a caramel covered onion! Dish up a frosted balloon cake – this is just a regular balloon covered with frosting, so when you try to ‘cut’ it, it explodes! Hilarious, but good luck getting any help cleaning up from any of those startled people you just pranked…
More April Fool’s Day Pranks For The Home and Office
How about a helium balloon in the toilet at home? Your child lifts the lid and finds a floatie of a very different kind! Fill their shoes with toilet paper; sew up their socks or just turn up to pick them up from school in a funny wig. Switch their cereals, freeze their cereals or put some edible blood colored dye in there!
 |
|---|
| Balloon Prank Image Via Mashable |
You can tape up their shampoo bottle or their toothpaste or ‘paint’ a bar of soap with clear nail polish – watch while a sleepy kid tries to lather up or brush their teeth! You can switch mouse settings on their computer, or if you really want to be cruel, you could tape-up the TV remote sensor!
In office, you could decide to prank a co-worker by flooding their cubicle with balloons, streamers and/or toilet paper. And about covering their car completely in post-its? Or just take a bunch of plastic cups, fill them with water and cover their cubicle floor with them. In the office washroom, swap the hand-wash liquid with personal lubricant, or even glue. Simple and silly, but 100% hilarious!
Printable April Fool’s Day Tricks
Print out scary (or scared, take your pick) googly eyes and paste them on to food – who wants to eat something that stares up at you! Put a print out of a human head in the cookie jar and remain close-by when your kid or a colleague strolls around for a light snack.
Startle your kids with a “For Sale” sign in your front yard when they get back from school. Print out fake signs for the washroom (you can switch the Ladies and Gents signs) or the storage room, and so on at office (this may only workout with the office newbie though). Or print out some “Out Of Order” signs and place them strategically – on the photocopy machine, the washroom etc. Print out an office memo using its mirror image; enjoy the fun as everyone tries their best to decipher it.
So here’s wishing everyone a Happy April Fools’ Day! What ideas do you plan to use from these? Or do you have some ideas of your own that you’d like to share with us?