April Fools Day: The History and Best Jokes of All Time

April Fools’ Day is a day of pranks and good-hearted fun, but for those of you who are particularly gullible, it can really throw you for a loop.

The exact origin of April Fools’ Day is unknown, but there are two prominent theories about how the tradition got started. One widely accepted theory is that April Fools started in 1582 in France when the calendar was changed to the Gregorian calendar. The first day of the new year was switched from April 1 to January 1. News did not travel quickly back then, so many people still celebrated the New Year on April 1 for a while after the switch. These citizens were called fools and were often sent on “fool errands,” such as invites to non-existent parties. Now the holiday has evolved, and many countries and cultures celebrate a day of pranks and jokes while putting their own individual twist on the day’s celebrations.

Top Pranks of All Time:

• In 1957, Panorama, a respected TV show on BBC, reported that due to a mild winter and the elimination of the dreaded spaghetti weevil, Swiss farmers were enjoying a bountiful spaghetti crop. This was then followed with images of farmers pulling spaghetti down from trees. Large numbers of viewers phoned in to BBC to ask how they could grow spaghetti. “Place a sprig of spaghetti in a tin of tomato sauce and hope for the best,” was the response given. 
• The Taco Bell Corporation announced on April 1, 1996 that it had purchased the Liberty Bell and was going to rename it the Taco Liberty Bell. Outraged citizens called the National Historic Park in Philadelphia but were calmed a few hours later when Taco Bell announced that it was just a practical joke.
• In 1998, Burger King published a full-page advertisement in USA Today advertising their new “Left-Handed Whopper,” made especially for the 32 million left-handed Americans. Apparently the ingredients were the same as the regular whopper, but everything was rotated 180 degrees. The next day Burger King announced that it was just a joke but thousands of customers had already requested a left-handed whopper.  Many others had also requested their own right-handed version of a whopper.

April Fools’ Ideas:

• Tape a magnet to the bottom of a Styrofoam coffee cup and put it on the top of your car. The magnet will hold the cup in place, and you can enjoy watching people frantically trying to get your attention as you drive away.
• Leave a message for someone saying that “Mr. Lyon” or “Mr. Behr” called and would like that person to call back, then leave the number of the local zoo.
• Take a dollar bill and leave it on the ground where someone is likely to find it and pick it up. Have a piece of cloth ready, and when the person bends over to pick up the dollar, rip the piece of cloth. It is likely that the person will reach behind them to check and see if their pants ripped.
• Get a pack of yellow Jell-O and place it in the toilet of your victim late at night (to give the Jell-O time to harden). They will have a funny surprise when they wake up in the morning and go to the bathroom. (The Jell-O does not harm the toilet; it just needs to be broken up before it can be flushed down.)
• Fill your friend’s umbrella with confetti and then close it up. The next time it rains, there will be more than water falling from the sky!

For more April Fools’ joke ideas visit: http://aprilfoolzone.com/ & http://www.april-fools.us/index.html