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Where April Fools' Day Started And Pranks For This Year

Imagine where we'd be without April Fools' Day, and how we got here.

By Jason Ray Morton Published 12 months ago 4 min read
Top Story - March 2023
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Image By Author On Dall-E

April Fools’ Day, also known as All Fools’ Day, is a day filled with pranks and jokes, celebrated annually on April 1st. Its exact origins are unclear, but it’s believed to have begun in France in the 16th century.

History Of April Fool’s Day

It was April 1, and the English began popularizing the annual April Fools’ Day by playing practical jokes on their friends and loved ones. Reportedly, the English of 1700 is who we have to thank for fake vomit, whoopie cushions, and fart-tasting jelly beans, among other things.

Historians have theorized that the origin of the fun day of the year dates to 1582 when the French switched from the Julian Calendar to the Gregorian calendar. This was something called for by the Council of Trent in 1563. People were slower to get the news in those days, and some failed to realize that the new year had moved to January 1st, thus continuing their new years' celebrations the last week in March through April 1st. Thus, the origin of many jokes and hoaxes.

Back then, the pranks included such things as having paper fish placed on their backs and being called poison d’avril (April fish), which is reported to mean a young and gullible person.

During the 18th century, April Fools’ Day spread in Britain and Scotland. In Scotland this turned into a two-day-long event, starting with their version of a “snipe hunt” called “hunting the gowk.” This is when people were sent on fools' errands. The next event was Tailie Day, which is likely where the kick-me signs started and included pinning fake tails to people's derriere.

Image done by author with DALL-E AI

Classic Pranks For April Fools Day

After all these years the pranks have sometimes been elaborate and sometimes remained simple enough for anyone to pull off. What, however, is a classic? Here are ten classic pranks that you can use for April Fools’ Day that will have people laughing out loud.

  1. Take everybody’s favorite cookies, and Oreos, and replace the cream filling with toothpaste.
  2. If you live with someone, wait until they go to bed and saran wrap the toilet.
  3. We saw this one in high school. Saran wraps a car. Our vice principal didn’t seem as amused as the football team.
  4. By some glazed donuts and sprinkle them in flour to make them look like powdered sugar. You can also use salt to make it look like a sugar donut.
  5. Plug your wireless mouse into someone else’s computer.
  6. Take screenshots of computer virus alerts, make a collage, and set it as your colleagues' home screen before they come to work.
  7. Hide in a closet or shower dressed as Michael Myers.
  8. Place a whoopie cushion underneath your colleagues’ seat at work or your kid's seat at breakfast.
  9. Slip a sign reading honk if you’re horny on your spouse or best friend's car and make sure they can’t or won’t see it before they leave for the day. They’ll wonder all day long why the commuter traffic was so flirty.
  10. Photoshop a picture of someone else in your significant other's bed and mail it to them with a note saying “You’re busted.” Mail it to your house and make sure you’re there when the mail comes so you can pump them for what’s wrong.
  11. Buy a bag of jelly beans and a bag of gag jelly beans. Replace the normal ones with the gag flavors and give them to the kids, friends at work, or the spouse or girlfriend.

By Erik Mclean on Unsplash

Extreme April Fools’ Pranks

April Fools’ Day pranks can get out of hand if you don’t temper your need for improving on the classics. If you do, you’re not alone. The best April Fools’ Day Prank I ever took part in involved weeks of practice, setting a stage, developing a back story, practicing a stunt, and using low-level Hollywood theatrics and special effects that took weeks to make and test.

At the end of the prank, my best friend at the time pulled out a prop gun and shot me in the chest. The sounds were real. They were recorded from a session on a firing range, and as the two targets turned toward me as they thought I was about to be shot, he “fired.” I clutched my chest, putting enough pressure on the Ziploc bags with fake blood that we sowed into the shirt I had on, and I fell backward off a small ledge into the waters below.

While he dragged them back to the car we took to the lake I swam upstream a way, got onto my motorcycle after a quick change of clothes, went back to our house killed the power, and buried myself under some dirt in the basement. When he got them to the house and the power was out he managed to convince them to just come downstairs while he flipped the breaker and they’d talk about what to say. Coming out of the dirt and grabbing the girl's legs, they both screamed bloody murder and one let out a little pee.

It was the best and most impressive prank we could pull off at the time for the money we were making. I think it did the trick.

Takeaways

It’s hard to believe that something from as far back as the 1500s might be entertaining us still today. Yet, April Fools’ Day is a yearly tradition that many people look forward to and many spend their hard-earned money and hours planning their perfect pranks.

Whatever your take on the prankiest of days, remember that if you go all out, be safe, and think about the results of whatever your prank might be. Not everyone has a great sense of humor or is forgiving for just some flowers and a nice dinner somewhere.

Historical
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About the Creator

Jason Ray Morton

I have always enjoyed writing and exploring new ideas, new beliefs, and the dreams that rattle around inside my head. I have enjoyed the current state of science, human progress, fantasy and existence and write about them when I can.

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Comments (16)

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  • David E. Perry11 months ago

    The most evil prank ever: it plays a meow sound and you can't tell where it comes from. https://www.jokergreeting.com/products/hide-prank-joker-meow-glitter-trap

  • Jay Kantor12 months ago

    ~ Coulda 'Fooled Me' ~ Ah, a sense of humor! We all need to find a smile these days. This reminded me of a story I've written 'Circle of Life' - As with the child game whispering around the circle each time around invariably reaps different interpretations: Just 'Goofing or Fooling' around? I will be following you. Thanks for the smiles! Jay Kantor, Chatsworth, Cal 'Senior' Vocal Author

  • Shreeraj Shinde12 months ago

    Dear Jason, I just read your latest blog post and I must say, I was truly impressed by the depth of your analysis and the clarity of your writing. Your writing style is engaging and your ideas are well-articulated. Your unique perspective on the topic you wrote about truly resonated with me, and I appreciate the effort and thoughtfulness you put into each of your posts. As a fellow blogger, I understand the hard work and dedication it takes to produce high-quality content. It's clear that you are passionate about your craft and that shows in every piece you publish. Keep up the excellent work, and I look forward to reading more of your posts in the future. If you're interested, feel free to check out my own blog on my profile. Best regards, Shreeraj

  • Melissa Ingoldsby12 months ago

    Lol very deep history of a crazy holiday congratulations on top story

  • Babs Iverson12 months ago

    Fun read!!! Fantastic story!!! Congratulations on Top Story!!!💖💖💕

  • Muhammad Ali12 months ago

    April Fools' Day can sometimes involve hurtful or mean-spirited pranks that can damage relationships and cause emotional harm. it may also perpetuate a culture of deceit and mistrust, where lying and trickery are normalized.

  • Kayla Lindley12 months ago

    Dude the toilet prank would totally have me livid lmao. Like seriously, awesome suggestions!

  • Victoria R Rise.12 months ago

    Nice 👍

  • Deasun T. Smyth12 months ago

    ha! love these pranks, congrats on your top story.

  • Mariann Carroll12 months ago

    Congrats on Top story. Thanks for the prank ideas 😊

  • JBaz12 months ago

    Always enjoy a good prank.that one you did…..that could have gone sideways. Glad it worked out. Congratulations

  • Fun & interesting. And you've already begun with the pranks, telling us you were giving us ten classics when, in fact, you gave us eleven. An interesting adaptation of #2 above, compliments of Abbie Hoffman in "Steal This Book": forget the saran wrap. Prepare a box of Knox Gelatin & pour it in the toilet bowl after everyone else is in bed. It will set up overnight, perfectly clear & undetectable, until someone makes a deposit. Then, all that can be done is scoop it from the bowl.

  • Madison Newton12 months ago

    Wow, the more you know!

  • Nice one❤️😉👍

  • D-Donohoe12 months ago

    Nice one! Now I want to pull an epic prank on my 6 year old!

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