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15 DIY Pranks to Pull on April Fool’s Day

This one’s for all of you jokesters out there. If you’re ready to pull some fun-spirited pranks on friends and coworkers, here are 15 DIY pranks you can try on April Fool’s Day.

Good Pranks to Pull: The Money Grabber

Good Pranks to Pull: The Money Grabber

Grab some super glue and some change, even a dollar bill will work. Glue the money to the floor of the workshop or garage and watch frustrations build as people try to pick up the money.

Donut Delivery

Donut Delivery

Is it your turn to bring doughnuts to today’s work site? Try squirting some ketchup into what looks like a jelly doughnut. Mayonnaise would also work.

Fake a Cutting Catastrophe

Fake a Cutting Catastrophe

Working on the table saw? Bring along a fake finger or two to fake an injury. And, if you have a few ketchup packets on hand, you might as well put them to good use for pranks.

Good Pranks to Pull: Block a Mouse Sensor

Good Pranks to Pull: Block a Mouse Sensor

Take a piece of tape and use it to block a computer mouse sensor. When your coworker goes to work on his files, it will take him a minute to figure it out.

Spooky Spiders

Spooky Spiders

Is someone you know scared of spiders? Put some fake ones in the workshop or craft area! Fake snakes and other bugs are equally gross to some people, so those work well for pranks, too.

Turn it Red

Turn it Red

Will your victim be using some glue on April Fool’s Day? Mix in some red food coloring and watch their reaction. This would also work with someone’s toothpaste.

Plastic Wrap Trick

Plastic Wrap Trick

Put some clear plastic wrap over the spout of liquid hand soap and people will wonder why the soap isn’t coming out. This could work for other liquids as well, such as shampoo. Be creative with your pranks!

Slippery Soap

Slippery Soap

When your favorite mechanic goes to wash his hands, give him a little surprise. Just paint the bar of soap with some clear nail polish so it will be slippery and won’t lather.

House Pranks: Rearrange Drawers

House Pranks: Rearrange Drawers

Rearranging the workshop drawers will momentarily confuse any DIYer. Where the heck are my sockets?!?

House Pranks: Fake a Clog

House Pranks: Fake a Clog

Looks like the toilet needs to be unclogged. Except someone will be surprised when they find a fake snake or rat in the toilet bowl. Hilarious!

Good Pranks to Pull: Duct Tape Blow Horn

Good Pranks to Pull: Duct Tape Blow Horn

You know those loud blow horns some people bring to sporting events or parades? Use duct tape to attach the bottom end of a blow horn to the wall behind a door. When the door flies open, it should hit hard enough to activate the horn. The sound will definitely be a surprise!

Good Pranks to Do at Home: Orange Juice Mix-Up

Good Pranks to Do at Home: Orange Juice Mix-Up

Does your work partner drink orange juice every morning? The powder from a box of macaroni and cheese is the same color as orange juice when mixed with water. Try swapping them for a good laugh.

Bubble Wrap® Potty Prank

Bubble Wrap® Potty Prank

Tape some Bubble Wrap® to the underside of a toilet seat. When someone sits down, the noise will surely make them jump.

Pranks to Do at Home: Faulty Cups

Pranks to Do at Home: Faulty Cups

Use a needle to poke some holes in the paper cups at the company water cooler. Ha!

Pranks to Do at Home: Stinky Shower

Pranks to Do at Home: Stinky Shower

Take a couple beef or chicken bouillon cubes and place them in the showerhead. It will be a shock to the senses when the water heats them up.

 

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April Fools’ Day: Origins, Meaning & Hoaxes

April Fools’ Day: Origins, Meaning & Hoaxes

April Fools’ Day—celebrated on April 1 each year—has been celebrated for several centuries by different cultures, though its exact origins remain a mystery. April Fools’ Day traditions include playing hoaxes or practical jokes on others, often yelling “April Fools!” at the end to clue in the subject of the April Fools’ Day prank. While its exact history is shrouded in mystery, the embrace of April Fools’ Day jokes by the media and major brands has ensured the unofficial holiday’s long life.

Origins of April Fools’ Day
Some historians speculate that April Fools’ Day dates back to 1582, when France switched from the Julian calendar to the Gregorian calendar, as called for by the Council of Trent in 1563. In the Julian Calendar, as in the Hindu calendar, the new year began with the spring equinox around April 1.

People who were slow to get the news or failed to recognize that the start of the new year had moved to January 1 and continued to celebrate it during the last week of March through April 1 became the butt of jokes and hoaxes and were called “April fools.” These pranks included having paper fish placed on their backs and being referred to as “poisson d’avril” (April fish), said to symbolize a young, easily caught fish and a gullible person.

Hilaria in Ancient Rome
Historians have also linked April Fools’ Day to festivals such as Hilaria (Latin for joyful), which was celebrated in ancient Rome at the end of March by followers of the cult of Cybele. It involved people dressing up in disguises and mocking fellow citizens and even magistrates and was said to be inspired by the Egyptian legend of Isis, Osiris and Seth.

Vernal Equinox and April Fools’
There’s also speculation that April Fools’ Day was tied to the vernal equinox, or first day of spring in the Northern Hemisphere, when Mother Nature fooled people with changing, unpredictable weather.

History of April Fools’ Day
April Fools’ Day spread throughout Britain during the 18th century. In Scotland, the tradition became a two-day event, starting with “hunting the gowk,” in which people were sent on phony errands (gowk is a word for cuckoo bird, a symbol for fool) and followed by Tailie Day, which involved pranks played on people’s derrieres, such as pinning fake tails or “kick me” signs on them.

April Fools’ Day Pranks
In modern times, people have gone to great lengths to create elaborate April Fools’ Day hoaxes. Newspapers, radio and TV stations and websites have participated in the April 1 tradition of reporting outrageous fictional claims that have fooled their audiences.

April Fools’ Day: Origins, Meaning & Hoaxes

In 1957, the BBC reported that Swiss farmers were experiencing a record spaghetti crop and showed footage of people harvesting noodles from trees. In 1985, Sports Illustrated writer George Plimpton tricked many readers when he ran a made-up article about a rookie pitcher named Sidd Finch who could throw a fastball over 168 miles per hour.

In 1992, National Public Radio ran a spot with former President Richard Nixon saying he was running for president again… only it was an actor, not Nixon, and the segment was all an April Fools’ Day prank that caught the country by surprise.

In 1996, Taco Bell, the fast-food restaurant chain, duped people when it announced it had agreed to purchase Philadelphia’s Liberty Bell and intended to rename it the Taco Liberty Bell. In 1998, after Burger King advertised a “Left-Handed Whopper,” scores of clueless customers requested the fake sandwich. Google notoriously hosts an annual April Fools’ Day prank that has included everything from “telepathic search” to the ability to play Pac Man on Google Maps.

For the average trickster, there is always the classic April Fools’ Day prank of covering the toilet with plastic wrap or switching out sugar and salt.

 

 

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