april fools prank essay

14 College April Fools Pranks

Not all of us have the time or the patience to completely tinfoil someone’s dorm room or sticky note their care.

We don’t all have flash mobs of friends to do something nuts for April Fool’s Day. In this post, we’ve got 14 gags that just about anyone should be able to pull off, and there’s no real budget to speak of. Especially not if two or three people are in on them. Check it out!

1. Get like 80 Poppers And…

Here’s what you do: tape them to their dorm room door from the inside (no scaling any skyscrapers for this). With 100 of these things, the sound will be pretty big; the mess will be lovely; you’ll scare the #$&@ out of them!

2. The Best April Fools for Computer Nerds…EVER!

After browsing the ten billion ideas Google has to offer, this is definitely one of the coolest. You’re basically going to put your head in a jar and then put it in their fridge. Or, you could go with their best friend’s or significant other’s head. All you need is a computer.

3. Does Their Major Require Typing?

Hey, if someone you want to play a prank on does a bunch of typing this is a really good one: rearrange the letters of their keyboard. It’s harmless, easy to do without breaking the keyboard and yeah. Even if they are the fastest and loudest typer in school, it will boggle their mind. You could order the letters to say something perhaps?

4. This is Hardcore

This can get ugly fast, so you need some finesse. If you’ve got a girlfriend/boyfriend, have a stranger they don’t know hand them a handwritten “I’m breaking up with you and dropping out” letter. It helps if the gangs are in on it, but again, while this will definitely get a reaction it might backfire…

5. Nail Polish + Soap

This is an oldy but goody. You just coat their soap with clear nail polish and in the morning when they try to shower it won’t lather, and they’ll be like, “Whu?”

6. Fill the Halls with Fruit

Not on the ground silly, but hanging from clear cords or strings. At least everyone will get their fruits in for the day. You could go with bananas, apples, pears, strawberries, grapes, or even go big with grapefruits.

7. Mouse + Jello

These days a regular computer mouse doesn’t cost but a few bucks. So, go ahead and put their mouse in the middle of a jello mold of your choosing. It should be said that jello is both cheap and amazing. You can get pretty crafty with jello, and just about everyone loves the stuff.

8. Go Pop Star

Just pick a pop star they would love to have plastered all over their stuff and go to town. Bieber is always a favorite. But let your imagination run wild.

9. Pregnancy

This only works on guys that have no clue it’s April Fool’s Day. You know, those guys who only know basically New Year, Spring Break, and Christmas. If they have a girlfriend, oh yeah this will get them good. If they don’t and you know someone they’ve been frisky with in the past that’s willing to play along…even better.

10. Flash Mob Anyone?

Okay fine, no prank or gag list is complete without the theater company involved.

11. The Out of Reach Alarm Clock

Simply put: legendary. Grab their alarm clock while they’re sleeping, and set it to go off an hour earlier in a hidden place that will drive them nuts. If it can be taped to the ceiling out of reach – perfect!

12. The Ultimate Stink Bomb?

Everybody loved a stink bomb. So why not bomb an entire dorm? Why not bomb an entire building? I mean you can get boxes of these things in multiple colors, head into the stairwell and go floor by floor (two people on both sides for ideal coverage). So awesome! And, if you’re major is covert operations you should be able to stealth-mode this, and no one will even know you just pulled a prank that will make the college paper!

13. Dixie Cups for Miles

This is especially cool for anyone that’s a fan of beer pong. You can get hundreds of these things for cheap (make sure to recycle them afterward), fill them only a little bit with water or whatever works, and then chill. You could fill an entire dorm room hallway. You could fill their dorm room . It’s funny.

14. A Bed Full of Cornflakes!

Cornflakes. Cheap, loud, crunchy, and delicious with milk and processed sugar. Why not a bed, car, dorm room , or closet full of them?

Okay, all you aspiring students out there, how do you do it? Share your tips for pranks in the comments!

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30 Epic & Harmless April Fools Pranks for Schools (Students, Teachers, and Everyone!)

Febriana Ramadhanya

April Fools’ Day is upon us once again, a glorious day dedicated to harmless pranks and infectious laughter. It’s the perfect time to unleash a little harmless fun at school. And did you know? Having fun, like these April Fools’ pranks, can serve as a valuable brain break , boosting students’ productivity and engagement.

April Fools’ Day traces its origins back centuries, with various theories surrounding its inception. From ancient Roman festivals to medieval European customs, this day has evolved into a global celebration of mischief and merriment.

Ready to elevate your prank game this year? We’re here to help you do just that with a collection of epic April Fools pranks for schools, encompassing students, teachers, and even whole-school antics. Plus, we’ll show you how to turn that playful energy into lasting engagement throughout the school year with ClassPoint , the #1 student engagement tool chosen by teachers worldwide. So, get ready to make this April 1st an unforgettable one!

April Fools Pranks for the Classroom Tricksters

• Safe and Silly: Channel your inner interior designer and turn your classroom upside down! Desks on tables, chairs turned upside down, and bookshelves propped against the wall. Don’t forget to hang goofy signs or memes for extra laughs.
• Googly-Eyed Everything! Stock up on googly eyes and transform everything in sight. From textbooks to calculators to even the teacher’s chair, googly eyes are guaranteed to bring a smile.
• The Talking Plant: Tape a funny voice recorder under a potted plant. When someone walks by and talks to the plant, they might get a surprising reply! (Make sure it’s appropriate humor!)
• The Inflatable Backpack: Sneak a small inflatable pool floatie into your friend’s backpack. When they unzip it – poof! Instant sumo wrestler impression. Just make sure it doesn’t block any hallways!
• The Disappearing Student: Clear your desk completely and hide somewhere in class. Work with fellow classmates to pretend that you never existed. Then, when your teacher arrives and takes attendance, confuse them and wait a few moments until you reveal yourself.

April Fools Pranks for Teachers

• Fake Class Schedule Change: Write a new class schedule with slightly altered times (lunch at 8:00 AM? Hilarious!) Just remember to reveal the truth before things get too chaotic.
• The Backward Lesson: Feeling adventurous? Teach a day’s lesson completely backward. Start with the conclusion, then work your way back to the introduction. Students will be kept on their toes, and it’s a surprisingly effective way to review!
• Mystery Subject Day: Start the day with a completely blank schedule, throwing your students into a tizzy! Throughout the morning, drop subtle clues during the class that slowly reveal the surprise subject. The reveal itself becomes the prank, as it might be a subject they weren’t expecting!
• The Pop Quiz (Not Really!): Announce a surprise pop quiz on a completely unexpected topic (like the history of shepherd’s pie!). Watch your students scramble for answers, then reveal it was all a joke!
• The Classwork Caper: Hand out a worksheet with nonsensical instructions, like “Write your name in bubble wrap” or “Draw a portrait of your favorite math symbol.” Let students work on it for a few minutes before revealing it’s a prank!
• The Interactive Breakout Room: Educational breakout room games are a popular way to engage students. Create a custom breakout room experience with a series of puzzles and clues that ultimately lead to a funny prank message or a riddle with the answer being “April Fools’ Day!”

Classic April Fools Pranks, Reimagined

• The Principal Prank Call: (With the principal’s knowledge, of course!) Have a trusted colleague call a class pretending to be the principal with a ridiculous announcement (like mandatory backwards day!).
• The Snack Sabotage: Swap your friend’s chips with colorful marshmallows, veggie straws, or a “healthy” alternative they might not expect. Leave a funny note and watch the laughter erupt! Remember to reveal yourself as the prankster after a few minutes to keep it lighthearted.
• The Messy Desk Misdirection: Leave your desk looking like a disaster zone: papers strewn everywhere, pens scattered, coffee cups precariously balanced. But upon closer inspection, reveal everything is neatly organized underneath – just a little visual trickery!
• The Upside-Down Display: Turn a small bulletin board or whiteboard upside down and pin funny messages or pictures on it. Students will have to do a double-take to read them!
• The Mysterious Message: Craft a cryptic clue or riddle in invisible ink (lemon juice!) related to your class subject or pop culture. Scatter hints around the room (a note mentioning “invisible ink” or a lemon diagram) and drop clues throughout the day to build anticipation. Once students decipher the message, reveal how to read invisible ink (heat or light source).

School-Wide Shenanigans

• The Great Name Swap: For one class period, have students switch name tags with someone else. It’s a fun way to mix things up and get to know classmates better.
• The School Supply Scavenger Hunt: Create a list of silly or unexpected school supplies (like a rubber chicken or a pair of mismatched socks). Students must race around the school to find them, adding a dash of friendly competition.
• The Backward Day Challenge: Declare a school-wide “Backward Day.” Wear clothes backward, eat lunch in reverse order, and write from right to left. It’s a lighthearted way to break the routine and have some fun.
• Reverse Classroom: Teachers and students switch roles for a class period. Students become the teachers, leading discussions or presenting topics, while teachers take on the role of students, participating and engaging in activities.
• The Secret Staff Swap. Teachers and staff members exchange roles for the day. Watch as the principal teaches a class, the custodian leads the morning announcements, and the librarian patrols the halls. It’s a delightful twist that showcases the versatility and camaraderie of the school community.
• The Surprise Flash Mob. Organize a spontaneous flash mob during lunch or a school assembly. Choose a catchy song and choreograph simple dance moves for everyone to follow. It’s a fantastic way to bring students and staff together in a moment of joy and unity.

April Fools Pranks with a Twist

• The Hidden Treasure Hunt: Leave a series of cryptic clues around the school, leading to a hidden surprise in the yard – maybe a pizza party or extra recess time!
• The Mystery Guest Assembly: Instead of the usual school assembly, invite a funny guest speaker (a local magician? A balloon artist?). The element of surprise will keep everyone on their toes.
• The School Mascot Makeover: Give your school mascot a harmless and creative costume makeover. Think of a superhero cape or a tutu! Just be sure the changes are appropriate and respectful.
• Mystery Locker Decoration: Assign each classroom a random locker number and provide them with materials to decorate it with a creative theme. Judges can then walk around and select winners based on creativity, teamwork, and adherence to the theme.

April Fools Pranks for Students in Digital Classrooms

• Audio Mix-Up: Use voice-changing software during your lesson to surprise your students with unexpected voices. Start the class with a chipmunk voice, or even impersonate famous characters throughout the class.
• Fake Technical Glitch: Pretend to encounter a technical glitch – suddenly freeze your screen or pretend that your audio has cut out. After a dramatic pause, return to normal as if nothing happened, leaving your students puzzled for a moment.
• The Fake Student Debacle: When teachers are calling out names for attendance, add a fake name or two to the roster. Wait until your students are perplexed wondering who their mystery classmates are before you reveal the prank.
• Inverted Screen Sharing: Share your screen, but invert the colors using your device settings. Everything will appear in strange, psychedelic hues, leaving your students puzzled until you reveal the prank.
• Customized Quiz Questions: Prepare a quiz with outrageous questions related to your subject matter. Watch your students’ faces as they try to make sense of questions like “What is the airspeed velocity of a Concorde?” or “How many bodegas are there in New York City?”

Pranksmanship 101 to Handle April Fools Pranks in Schools

Teacher tips: how to handle student april fools pranks gracefully.

April Fools’ Day can be a whirlwind of giggles and good-natured teasing. But even the most prepared teacher can be surprised by a student prank. Here are some tips to handle them with a smile:

• Take a breath and assess the situation. Is it harmless fun, or is it disruptive or causing damage?
• Maintain a positive attitude. A prank can be a teaching moment about respect and responsibility.
• Use humor when possible. A laugh can defuse tension and show you’re not easily flustered.
• Focus on the positive. Acknowledge the creativity behind the prank, and use it as an opportunity to build rapport with your students.
• Turn it into a teachable moment: Use the prank as an opportunity to discuss the importance of boundaries, respect, and responsible behavior.
• Set clear boundaries. Let students know what types of pranks are acceptable and what are off-limits.

Student Tips: April Fools Pranks to Avoid

Remember, the goal of an April Fools’ prank is to spread laughter, not cause trouble. Here are some pranks to steer clear of:

• Anything that disrupts the class. Don’t do anything that makes it hard for you or your classmates to learn.
• Pranks that could cause damage. Think twice before using messy substances or anything that could break.
• Pranks that target a specific person in a mean-spirited way. Pranks should be funny for everyone involved.
• Pranks that involve lying to the teacher or principal. Honesty is always the best policy.  If your prank relies on a lie, it could backfire and cause more trouble than laughter.
• Pranks that are cruel to animals: School mascots are often animals, so make sure any pranks involving the mascot are harmless and respectful.
• Pranks that could cause a safety hazard: Avoid anything that could cause someone to trip, fall, or get hurt.
• Don’t overdo it. Sometimes, less is more. A well-timed, simple prank can be funnier than an elaborate one that takes too much time or effort.
• Be mindful of who you’re pranking. Is this someone who might not appreciate your sense of humor?

How to Boost Engagement Beyond These April Fools Pranks for Schools

April Fools pranks can be a fun way to break the routine and spark creativity. But how can we translate that playful energy into lasting engagement throughout the school year? Here’s where ClassPoint becomes your secret weapon.

#1 Gamified Learning

• Mystery Subject Challenge: Start the week with a surprise quick poll to guess the subject based on clues you reveal throughout the presentation.
• Points & Leaderboards: Award stars for participation and track progress on a live leaderboard , fostering friendly competition.
• Interactive Games: Transform traditional review sessions into interactive games. Use ClassPoint’s interactive quiz feature to create multiple-choice quizzes with answer timers and sound effects. Award bonus points for quick and accurate answers.

#2 Interactive Classrooms

• Unconventional Activities: Use ClassPoint’s built-in whiteboard for unexpected activities like collaborative drawings.
• Interactive Content: Add draggable objects onto a presentation slide or ask students to submit videos for them to explore additional information they can’t find in textbooks.
• Student-Driven Presentations: Empower students by letting them create their own presentations on assigned topics. Encourage them to incorporate multimedia elements like images , videos , and interactive polls to engage their classmates.

#3 Collaboration is Key

• Real-Time Collaboration: Group students to work on projects together, fostering communication and shared learning.
• Group Brainstorming: Utilize ClassPoint’s Word Cloud feature for brainstorming ideas as a class. Pose a question or prompt and have students submit their answers anonymously.
• Live Feedback & Discussion: Conduct a live poll and Q&A session to gauge student understanding throughout the lesson. Spark discussions and debates based on the poll results, allowing students to explain their reasoning and learn from each other.

By combining the playful spirit of April Fools pranks for schools with ClassPoint’s interactive features, you can create a dynamic and engaging learning environment that keeps students excited all year round!

Final Thoughts

April Fools’ Day may only happen once a year, but the fun doesn’t have to stop there! Use these April Fools pranks for students, teachers, and everyone else as a springboard for year-round engagement. Encourage creative prank ideas (with boundaries), turn them into learning games, or have themed learning days inspired by your pranks. 

With our list of 30 epic April Fools pranks for schools, we’ve equipped you with the tools to turn this April 1st into an unforgettable moment. From April Fools pranks for teachers to school-wide shenanigans, there’s a prank for every corner of the school, ready to bring laughter and lightheartedness to all. So next time you want to shake things up, unleash your inner prankster (responsibly)!

About Febriana Ramadhanya

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20 Best April Fools' Pranks to Try This Year

The whole family can get in on these easy and safe ideas.

Of course, we know how quickly pranks can get out of hand, so everything here is easy to do and totally safe for the whole family and any friends you're getting involved. We tried to think of ideas that would bring the laughs and avoid any true annoyances. And all of these are to be done in person, so you can quickly shut it down if you need to.

If you aren't up to April Fools' Day pranks this year, look to one of these kid-approved jokes or riddles for adults that can easily be sent over text to get them giggling or a little bit stumped!

Whoopee Whoops

It's a classic for a reason. Place it under your kid's seat before they sit down for breakfast or for your work BFF to sit on, no matter who is the victim of this prank, you'll get the whole room laughing. Bonus: the whoopee cushion can be used over and over.

Balloon Pillow

Before your significant other goes to sleep, replace their pillow with a bunch of balloons. The key here is to make sure the balloons are positioned properly to throw them off (you can use tape to keep them together). Then, when they go to lay down, their "pillow" will be moving all over the place.

An Accident

It's really hard to leave poop out of an April Fools' Day prank list. Buy a fake one , and place it literally anywhere: on the toilet, in the car — seriously, you can't go wrong.

Change the Date

Before they wake up in the morning, change all the calendars in the house, plus their phone if you can get to it, to make them believe it's a totally different day. And this year, April 1 is on a Saturday, so you can get the kids up early and tell them it's time for school.

Empty the Drawer

Or, empty multiple drawers, and then leave the house or pick a good hiding space. They'll be left wondering where all of their clothes, underwear or utensils went, and you won't be around for them to ask. You can also switch up drawers to get them even more confused.

Balloon Room

Locate a windowed door that the target of your prank will see from the outside. Blow up a collection of balloons and cluster them together. Attach to the inside of the window in the door so that it looks like the entire room is filled to the brim with balloons on the other side. (And hey, if you can actually fill the whole room with balloons? Even cooler!)

Uncontrollable Remote

This prank takes the “control” out of remote control: Use a teeny sticker or tape to cover over the sensor on the clicker. No matter how hard they try, they won’t be able to make those TV channels budge … even with new batteries.

Scary Silhouettes

All you need for this gag is a few strategically placed fake insects — or, you can even cut them out of paper. Stick them to the inside of a lamp, and when your target flips the switch — yikes! They’ll discover some very suspicious silhouettes inside the shade.

Warning: This gag requires commitment… because you’re the one who’s probably going to be cleaning it all up! Carefully place confetti atop the blades of a ceiling fan, tucking them all out of view from below. When someone flips the switch to turn on the fan, confetti will blanket the room like it’s December 31 instead of April 1.

Slip a sign reading “honk and smile” inside the car of your prank target; make sure it’s hidden and out of their view (and not blocking their views at all). All commute long, they’ll wonder why they’re getting beeped at nonstop by drivers who seem more flirty than inconvenienced.

Glue a pair of googly eyes on every single item within the fridge — so the condiments appear to stare back when someone opens the door. This also works great with all produce.

Affix a party popper — yes, the kind of dollar store item you can buy for New Year’s Eve — to the jam of a closed door, with the string stretched across the door. So when someone turns the knob to cross the threshold, they’ll find themselves surprised by a loud noise and a mini explosion of confetti.

Dirty Diaper

Yes, the classic baby shower game of melted chocolate inside a diaper works great as a timeless April Fools' Prank, too. If you have a baby in the home, smear a diaper with chocolate candy or peanut butter; then call in a spouse or child to observe with horror as you taste the mess.

All the Noise

Place bubble wrap under an area rug or a bathmat for a rude surprise when a passerby steps down. This one’s particularly effective first thing in the morning, before your unsuspecting victim has had any coffee — nothing like a loud, unexpected noise to wake someone up real quick!

Rubber Band Barrier

Take some time to wrap one of their most essential objects — like the remote control or their smartphone — with layers upon layers of rubber bands. Then watch them try to remain patient long enough to free it.

Gravity-Defying Glass

Place an upside down glass of water on your prank victim’s desk or table and let them figure out how to remove the glass without causing the water inside to spill. To do this, fill a glass with water and then place a card over the top before turning it upside down quickly on the surface. Then carefully remove the card.

Sticky Situation

This prank’s on the messier side, but it’s super easy to execute: Swap the clear disinfectant within a container of sanitizer for clear school glue instead. They’ll pump out a sticky surprise right into their hands … and wonder why it’s not evaporating as they rub.

Undrinkable Drinks

Whip up some Jello and let it set in juice glasses, complete with a straw in each. Serve them up to guests’ surprise: Those “drinks” aren’t liquid at all, and those straws will get them nowhere.

No End in Sight

What’s more frustrating than spinning the toilet paper roll endlessly in search of the end? Make that exercise even harder by spraying down the loose edge of the toilet paper roll with a bit of hairspray — they can roll and roll, but won’t get the loose edge free before they lose their cool.

Unfamiliar Faces

Swap out the photos in your home’s frames, or in your workplace’s employee gallery wall. Replace the familiar faces with pics of celebs, politicians, or historic figures. What — you never knew George Clooney was a distant cousin…?

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26 hilarious April Fools' pranks to pull on family and friends

April Fools' Day is the perfect occasion to bond with your family through laughter, jokes, and mild deception.

Whether you're an experienced trickster or just getting the hang of April Fools' antics, there are plenty of wholesome pranks that will have your entire family chuckling.

Pull a classic prank like putting whoopee cushions under your couch pillows, or take your hijinks to the next level by placing bubble wrap under the carpet.

Younger kids will be delighted by sweet, silly jokes like putting googly eyes on household items, or replacing family photos with your favorite movie stars.

It's important to make sure that your April Fools' pranks remain lighthearted — after all, nobody likes to feel truly tricked . It's also best to keep the mess to a minimum. Who wants to spend April Fools' Day vacuuming up the results of a prank?

The best pranks end with laughter all around, from prankster to prank-ee, and these playful practical jokes are certain to delight the whole family on April Fools' Day.

Frozen breakfast

Put cereal and milk in a bowl and let it freeze overnight. When your hungry kids try to dig in, they’ll get quite the surprise.

Swap sleepers

If your kids are heavy sleepers, carry them into their sibling’s bed and let them wake up in a different room to start April Fools’ on the right foot.

Care for a drink? When your family tries to taking a sip of this juice, they'll find out it’s really Jell-O.

Underwear surprise

Swap out the contents of their underwear drawer for bathing suits for an early morning prank that'll get all the laughs.

“Eye” see you

Give your kids a good laugh by attaching googly eyes to, well, everything.

Balloon closet or drawer

Fill your child’s closet or dresser drawers with balloons. When they wake up for school and look for an outfit, they’ll be in for a colorful surprise.

Toilet paper message

Unroll the toilet paper and leave a funny message for the unsuspecting user. One option: “You’re going to wash your hands, right?” Scribble a note, roll the toilet paper back up, and wait to see who ends up reading your message.

Honk for April Fools'

Let your practical jokers put a sign on your car that reads “My kids are playing an April Fools’ joke on me. Honk and wave at me!” This joke is even funnier if they get to take a ride in the car with you.

Toothpaste switcheroo

Surprise your kids this April Fools’ Day with a little toothpaste switcheroo. After breakfast, hand over their toothbrush — but instead of the usual white paste, opt for something creamy and sweet. Cream cheese or vanilla frosting will do the trick; if they use a colored kids’ tooth gel, try using cake decorating gel instead.

Bugs in your ice

This oldie-but-goodie prank is easy to make at home with this tip. Add almost boiling water to the ice cube trays and toss in a few plastic bugs. The hotter the water, the more clear the ice will be when frozen.

Sweet trick

Offer up brownies as an afternoon snack, but everyone will be shocked when they find brown letter “E”s (get it —  brown  “E”s?) instead.

Milk shenanigans

Add a few drops of food coloring to the carton of milk; when your child goes to pour it into her glass or bowl of cereal, she’ll get a colorful surprise — bright pink (or blue, or green) milk!

Bathtime hoax

Using a Q-tip, apply gel food coloring around the inside of the faucet in the bathtub or sink. When the faucet is turned on, you’re left with colored water!

Pillow prank

Just when they thought April Fools’ Day was over, here’s one last prank. Remove the pillows and fill their pillowcases with several partially inflated balloons. When they put their head down to sleep, they’ll realize you got the last April Fools’ laugh. Obviously if you have younger children, you’ll want to take the balloons out of their room before they drift off to sleep.

Cupcakes for dinner

Your kids will think you’re the coolest mom ever — for a moment at least. Bake up mini meatloaves in muffin cups (don’t forget the colorful wrappers). Then “frost” them with creamy mashed potatoes. See how long it takes for your kids to realize that you really aren’t  that  cool after all.

Put a whoopee cushion under your baby’s high-chair cushion, under the booster seat or car seat cover and see if you get a laugh from the baby, his older brother or your partner.

Salty hot chocolate

Instead of adding sugar to the drink, add salt! Your kids may be excited for the first sip of the warm, sweet drink, but that first sip will surprise them. (Make them a mug of regular hot chocolate, too, so that they aren’t too disappointed!)

Alarm clock fast forward

We all want to get as much sleep in before work or class. Push the time on your kid's clock a couple hours forward and watch your kids' reaction when they realize they're ready for their 9 a.m. class at 7.

Bedtime classic

Borrow a summer camp classic and short sheet your kid’s bed before bedtime — when they try to get in, you’ll have the last laugh.

Fake cake pop

This sweet treat is hiding a savory center. Put a raw brussels sprout on a lollipop stick and cover it with chocolate frosting and sprinkles. Your kids will be shocked when they bite into the cake pop. To avoid too much disappointment, be sure to have some real cake pops on hand to give your kids after the surprise is over.

Tricky T.V. remote

Ever had to mediate a family fight over who gets to choose the channel? This prank will leave everyone equally confused. Put a piece of black electrical tape over the remote sensor on your television, and watch your family try to change the channel with no luck.

Celebrity photo swap

This prank will test just how observant your family members are. The night before April Fools' Day, replace all your framed family photos with pics of your favorite celebrity. Wait and see how long it takes for your family to realize that your Christmas card photos have been replaced by action shots of Dwayne Johnson.

Short shoes

When your kids try to put their shoes on before school on Monday, they’ll be wondering how their feet grew several inches overnight. Stuff the toes of your kids’ shoes with cotton wool, and watch them struggle to fit their feet into their too-tiny shoes.

Pop! goes the bubble wrap

This gag will start off April Fools’ Day with a bang. Put a layer of bubble wrap under areas that your family frequently walks on, such as the bathmat, kitchen rug, or living room carpet. They’ll jump when the ground starts popping underneath their feet!

Not-so-slippery soap

Carefully dry off your family member's bar soap, then cover it thoroughly with clear nail polish or Elmer's glue. Wait for it to dry, then put it back in the shower. Your unsuspecting target will be confused when they can't get their soap to lather.

Keep the fun going!

• 101 truly funny jokes that'll make you laugh yourself silly
• What is the origin of April Fools' Day? Here's why we pull pranks
• 75 hilarious clean jokes that'll totally crack kids and adults up
• Corny jokes that kids and adults can't help but laugh at

Sarah W. Caron contributed to this story, which was originally published in 2016 and has been updated.

Amanda Mushro is a writer, on-air parenting and lifestyle expert, and a mom of three. Sometimes she thinks she’s doing a great job at this mom gig, but then she does something that makes her question her own parenting abilities.

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April Fools’ Day 2024: the best and cringiest pranks

By Amrita Khalid , one of the authors of audio industry newsletter Hot Pod. Khalid has covered tech, surveillance policy, consumer gadgets, and online communities for more than a decade.

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Welcome to the worst day on the internet! As Chaim Gartenberg pointed out in 2021, brands and a holiday dedicated to hoaxes are rarely a winning combo. If you’re a company with any kind of social media presence in 2024, you really, truly only have four options on April Fools’ Day:

• Don’t do an April Fools’ joke.  Put the time and energy into doing something productive that will materially benefit the world (or, less idealistically, your business) instead. Or just don’t do anything. Abstaining entirely would still be a net positive over the drain of resources and mental energy.
• Do an April Fools’ “joke,” but actually follow through on your stunt.  This is arguably not a prank since you’ve actually created a video game skin or a real product that people can buy — but it doesn’t really hurt anyone.
• Do an April Fools’ joke, but be extremely clear from the start that this is a dumb joke and you have no intention of doing the thing that you are “humorously” pretending to do.  Does this defeat the purpose of doing an April Fools’ joke because you’re not “fooling” anyone anymore? Absolutely. (Please see my first two points.)
• Lie to your customers, successfully tricking them into believing you are making some product, rebranding, or service you are not.  By doing so, you will almost certainly annoy everyone once your deceit is made plain for the extremely small gain of pointless PR. The aphorism goes that there is no such thing as bad publicity; the seemingly endless line of companies willing to make fools out of themselves has proven this false time and time again.

Luckily, most companies seem to have gone with Option 1 this year. It’s a very quiet April Fools’ Day on the internet so far today, with a prank related to the Pokémon sleep tracker app and a couple of other harmless jibes. It’s also typically a bad day to launch a new product, even after Asus launched the (very real) ROG Ally handheld gaming PC last year.

Also, Gmail, which is perhaps Google’s longest-running April Fools’ Joke, turns 20 today. However, Google’s homepage seems to be prank-free for now.

If you see anything that particularly sticks out for good, bad, or just unusual reasons, send it to us .

• The best April Fools’ “prank” in tech.
• April Fools’ 2024: Don’t copy those (97,619) floppies.
• Remember to like and subscr— AAAAH!
• April Fools’ 2024: finally, an esports competition I could win.

Richard Lawler

No, Tinder isn’t hiring someone to track down matches who suddenly stopped responding. That’s a good thing for the “ghosters, breadcrumbers, zombies, submariners, and slow-faders” among us, because avoiding uncomfortable conversations is probably what they’re going for.

Amrita Khalid

In the clearly just-for-laughs video , Waymo passengers step into an AV tricked out like Grandma’s house — complete with a crotchet steering wheel cover, florals, and a geriatric lady’s voice gently reminding them to buckle up.

Ironically enough, Bloomberg deemed the Alphabet-owned AV startup the “Grandma of Robotaxis” earlier this year. Way to embrace it.

SciShow claims it has tapped into the source vein for living pet rocks. As one-time Decoder guest host Hank Green says in the video, it’s clearly an April Fools’ bit, but then he follows through with an announcement that you can preorder a pet rock sticker collection from the SciShow merch store.

It’s April Fools’ Day, so the googly eyes are back in Overwatch 2 , complete with other extremely balanced adjustments (Lifeweaver’s platform goes way, way up now, and Mercy is armed and dangerous), plus some special challenges and sprays that players can earn.

All I want is a tiny, colorful laptop, something Apple used to do! And could do again! For the briefest moment, this April Fools’ joke gave me hope for that. Almost.

Guess I’ll just keep using this gloomy, barely-blue MacBook Air.

Other than campaigning for right-to-repair laws , the folks at iFixit made a video that is not about deconstructing a piece of technology piece by piece. Instead, it’s an advertisement for the repair tool that even our largest phones and tablets don’t need (yet). Meet the Spudger XL, Spudger Pro, and Spudger Pro Ultra .

Unlike every other app and service chasing the bouncing ball of vertical video (off the top of my head, we have YouTube , Instagram, NBA, Amazon, Reddit , Twitch , Netflix , Spotify ... you get the picture), Bluesky’s April Fools’ contribution is... actual shorts .

At least, assuming they get enough orders on Custom Ink to put the shipment through, but I’m not sure why Bluesky CEO Jay Graber didn’t mention this when she was on Decoder ?

Victoria Song

Turns out, it was Gmail . Twenty years ago, nobody believed Google would give out a whole gigabyte of email storage for free. But like Sundar says — it was, in fact, not a joke. The rest is history.

So, where were you when you got your first Gmail beta invite?

If the only problem with your gaming chair is that you ever have to get up, try Razer’s Cthulhu . It’s equipped with eight arms to grab Hot Pockets, shave your beard, and more, all with “a 96.9 percent chance of the tentacles always listening to you!”

According to the FAQ :

The Razer Cthulhu’s behavior is derived from its interactions with you. If you’re unhappy with the behavior this may be a skill issue.

They didn’t say DLC ( Elden Ring: Shadow of the Erdtree won’t be here until June 21st); they said expansion. And they delivered.

Issa Rae has come a long way from creating web series for YouTube , and on April 1st, her crowdfunded media company Hoorae imagined this Insecure spinoff, Confident: The Video Game for PS1 , where players would probably do... everything differently from Issa’s character in the show .

Ash Parrish

For April Fools Day, CD Projekt RED is going old school: floppy disks.

The developers of Cyberpunk 2077 have “announced” a ( very not real ) new limited physical edition of the game arriving on floppy disks — 97,619 of them to be correct.

A fun gag, but I’m not looking forward to the legion of kids who’ll look at this and go “oh cool they made the save icon real!”

The developers at Pocketpair are doing that annoying game developer thing where on April Fools Day they announce a legitimately cool new game idea only for it to be a joke. And for some reason, it’s always a dating simulator.

In Palworld: ~More Than Just Pals~ choose from a roster of dateable Pals and trainers including the busty Lovander with a student ID number... errr... 69. It’s a shame this is fake; weird dating sims are always fun .

Landfall Games, developer of TABS and Stick Fight: The Game , continues its tradition of launching pretty neat games on April Fools Day .

In Content Warning , you and up to three of your friends journey to the underwater Old World to film all kinds of spooky shit. Survive the night, upload your video, ???, profit! Best part is, for the next 24 hours the game is free on Steam. After that you’ll have to pay a whopping $7.99, which seems like the best part of the joke.

Andrew Webster

Sadly, the Pokémon Sleep World Champions Tournament is just an April Fools gag tied to the sleep tracker Pokémon Sleep , which sucks because I’ve been training my whole life for this.

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April Fools’ Day

By: History.com Editors

Updated: March 18, 2024 | Original: March 30, 2017

April Fools’ Day—occurring 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.

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 .

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 swapping the contents of sugar and salt containers.

A Brief, Totally Sincere History of April Fools’ Day. Washington Post. History’s Greatest April Fools Jokes. National Geographic . Some of the greatest April Fools' pranks of all time. CNN. 15 Best April Fools’ Day Hoaxes. CBS .

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21 Funny April Fools' Day Pranks for a Good-Natured Laugh

Warning: They might get you back next year. 😂

For most people, the best opportunity to prank someone is April Fools' Day . And as April 1 approaches, you might be gearing up to share some April Fools' Day jokes or catch your friends and family with some texting pranks or gag gifts . But if you're lucky enough to see someone in person, why not go all out and try one of these in-person April Fools' Day pranks?

These prank ideas are all pretty easy to execute and are sure to rile a response. And they all have one thing in common: They're all done in good fun. But beware: The recipient will probably get you back somehow! Ree and Ladd joke that they "have actually developed a fear of fake snakes. Not because we are scared of plastic toys, but because we are deathly afraid of being one-upped by the other." 😂 Good thing you have all these examples here to keep a similar cycle going!

Swap Out Family Photos.

See how observant your family is by swapping out one or more of your family photos and see who notices. You can either superimpose a celebrity into an existing photo or simply use the display picture that often comes with a store-bought frame.

Bake 'Cinnamon' Rolls

Spoiler alert: There is definitely no cinnamon in this recipe . While everyone will expect a sweet treat, they're actually filled with pulled pork and barbecue sauce. So while tasty, they're certainly not something they'll expect for breakfast or dessert.

Freeze Breakfast

On March 31, pour bowls of cereal and milk and stick them in the freezer. In the morning, serve them to your kids and watch their faces as they can't get anything on their spoons!

Cover the Office in Plastic Wrap

Work in an office? Prank your favorite coworker by wrapping all of their desk supplies in plastic wrap before they get to work. Think: stapler, mouse, keyboard, or even their chair. The more you cover, the funnier.

Hide Fake Snakes

You think this list wouldn't include the classic Drummond prank? It's hiss-terical. Simply buy a rubber snake and hide it in a spot you know they'll end up like in bed, in the shower, or in the silverware drawer.

SHOP FAKE SNAKES

Issue Fake Parking Tickets

Anyone who drives would have a momentary freak out if they see a parking ticket on their windshield. But if you make it fake and make it funny (add a hilarious note of why they got the violation, for instance), they'll definitely chuckle.

Flip Someone's Computer Screen

If your family or coworkers use a PC with a Windows operating system, you can flip the display screen upside down by pressing CTRL, ALT, and the downward arrow key. (Don't worry, it's easily reversible by pressing CTRL, ALT, and the upward arrow key!)

Give the House Some Eyes

Who doesn't find googly eyes hilarious? Pick something visible, say your houseplants or maybe everything in your fridge and decorate them with googly eyes. Everyone will crack up!

Hide All the Utensils

Before everyone wakes up or maybe before dinner, hide all of your forks and spoons and see the surprise on everyone's faces when they go to grab the essentials and find them all gone!

Hide a Whoopee Cushion

If you're over a certain age, you'll definitely remember the hilarious prank of hiding a whoopee cushion under someone's seat. We bet the little ones have no clue, and the older ones don't think they still exist, but they do.

SHOP WHOOPEE CUSHIONS

Put Your House Up for Sale

You don't really need to put your house up for sale, but if you put a sign in your yard, your kids will think you did for a day! A generic one won't fool too many interested adults, though.

Color Your Milk

Add a few drops of food coloring to your milk container and watch everyone's shock when they go to pour it. The same could be done with the creamer at the office!

Swap Everyone's Laundry

Switch out the contents of everyone's sock or underwear drawer and watch them scramble to get dressed! Eventually, they'll all realize they have the same problem and figure it out.

Confuse Your Favorite Chat Buddy

Download a GIF of the anticipatory "typing dots" message indicator and send it to your favorite unsuspecting chat buddy. They'll think you're about to send a message all day long!

Swap Out the Toilet Paper

Switch out your regular toilet paper for a roll of white packing tape and watch everyone roll with laughter when they realize. You can leave real toilet paper out, too, so they're not stuck.

SHOP PACKING TAPE

Move the Clocks Forward

If you have alarm or wall clocks in the house, move them all an hour or two ahead! That goes for the clocks on the microwave and all other appliances, so they're all consistent.

Give Them an Overnight Growth Spurt

Want to confuse the family? Stuff the fronts of their shoes with tissues or toilet paper and have them wonder if their feet suddenly grew really fast overnight.

Scare Them in the Shower

Add a cardboard life-size cutout or wall decal of someone in shower and hear them screech when they open the shower curtain!

Serve Veggies for Dessert

Did you know that if you dip Brussels sprouts in chocolate and let them dry, they look like chocolate truffles? Better yet, if you add a lollipop stick, they look like cake pops.

Spill the Milk

You can use old school glue like Elmer's to create a giant white splatter pattern. Let it dry and then lay it across someone's keyboard. It will look like you've spilled milk and give them a moment of panic.

AnnMarie Mattila is the Commerce Editor for The Pioneer Woman, covering products ranging from home, fashion, beauty, and more. 

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Listen&Learn: April Fools’ Day

Pre-listening vocabulary.

• prank: a trick that is meant to entertain or embarrass someone
• hoax: a false story that is reported as fact
• gullible: willing to believe many things, even if they are strange or obviously untrue
• fictitious: not real, nonexistent
• dispute: to disagree about something
• evolve: to grow and change
• target: someone who is the victim of a cruel or deceptive act

Listening activity

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 1:19 — 1.2MB)

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Gapfill exercise

Comprehension questions.

See answers below

• In 1698, a London newspaper published a hoax about a. a disastrous festival b. a lion-washing ceremony c. England switching to a lunar calendar
• The Roman festival Hilaria was a celebration of a. the stars b. the equinox c. the theatre
• A hoax about the history of April Fools’ was accidentally reported by a. the BBC b. the Associated Press c. the Washington Post

Discussion/essay questions

• Have you ever been pranked or pranked someone else? Why do you think pranks bring us joy?
• Hoaxes have become more common in the age of the internet. Have you ever believed a hoax? What are some good practices for determining if information is true?

Many countries around the world celebrate a day of pranks and jokes on April 1st. Most April Fools’ pranks take place between friends, but the day is also an opportunity to trick the general public . Media companies often report hoaxes on April 1st to fool gullible audience members. This tradition dates back to 1698, when a London newspaper reported on a fictitious lion-washing ceremony. The origins of the holiday are disputed. One theory is that it evolved out of Hilaria, a Roman spring equinox festival . Another is that it began with the switch to the Gregorian calendar in 16th-century France. People who continued to celebrate the new year in April became the targets of pranks. There have even been April Fools’ hoaxes about the history of April Fools’, one of which was accidentally reported by the Associated Press in 1983.

Answers to comprehension questions

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I want to check my answer

bài hơi khó=)))

It is exciting for me. We have such a day on the solar calendar. It is the 13th day of Farvardin, the first month of spring in Iran, and it equals the 2nd day of April.

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Essay on April Fools Day

Students are often asked to write an essay on April Fools Day in their schools and colleges. And if you’re also looking for the same, we have created 100-word, 250-word, and 500-word essays on the topic.

Let’s take a look…

100 Words Essay on April Fools Day

What is april fools day.

April Fools Day is a fun day celebrated on the first day of April. People play tricks on each other on this day. These tricks are called pranks. After playing a prank, people often shout “April Fools!” It is a day full of laughter and fun.

Origin of April Fools Day

The start of April Fools Day is not clear. Some believe it began in France in the 1500s when the New Year was moved from April 1 to January 1. Those who still celebrated the old New Year were called ‘April Fools’.

How is it Celebrated?

On April Fools Day, people plan tricks to fool their friends and family. The tricks are harmless and meant to make people laugh. Media and big companies also join in, making funny announcements.

Importance of the Day

April Fools Day reminds us to laugh and enjoy life. It lightens the mood and brings joy. It’s a day when everyone can be a little silly and have fun. So, on this day, let’s share laughter and happiness.

250 Words Essay on April Fools Day

April Fools Day is a special day celebrated on the first day of April every year. On this day, people play harmless jokes on each other and have fun. It’s a day when you can trick your friends, family, or even teachers and get away with it! The jokes are meant to be light and not hurt anyone’s feelings.

The Origin of April Fools Day

The exact beginning of April Fools Day is unclear, but it is believed to have started in the 1500s in France. At that time, the New Year was celebrated around April 1. When the date was changed to January 1, some people didn’t know about the change and kept celebrating in April. Others started making fun of these people by playing tricks on them. This tradition of playing pranks continued and became what we now know as April Fools Day.

April Fools Day is celebrated by playing practical jokes. People try to make others believe something that is not true. Once the person is fooled, the joker often shouts “April Fool!” to show that it was all a prank. Some people also create funny stories in newspapers or on the internet to trick a large number of people.

Importance of April Fools Day

April Fools Day is a day to laugh and have fun. It helps us to take a break from our serious lives and enjoy some humor. It teaches us not to take everything too seriously and that it’s okay to laugh at ourselves sometimes.

In conclusion, April Fools Day is a day of fun, laughter, and harmless pranks. It’s a day to let loose and enjoy some good-natured humor with friends and family.

500 Words Essay on April Fools Day

What is april fools’ day.

April Fools’ Day is a fun holiday that is celebrated on the first day of April every year. On this day, people play harmless pranks on each other for laughs. The person who falls for the prank is called an ‘April Fool’. This day is celebrated in many countries around the world, although it is not an official holiday.

The History of April Fools’ Day

The origins of April Fools’ Day are not very clear. Some people believe it started in France in the 16th century. At that time, New Year’s Day was moved from April 1st to January 1st. Some people didn’t know about this change and kept celebrating the New Year on April 1st. Others started making fun of these people by playing pranks on them.

How is April Fools’ Day Celebrated?

April Fools’ Day is all about fun and laughter. People play pranks or practical jokes on each other. These pranks can be simple, like telling someone their shoelaces are untied, or more complicated, like setting up a surprise. The key is to keep the pranks light and fun, and not to hurt anyone’s feelings. When the person falls for the prank, the joker usually shouts, “April Fool!”

Famous April Fools’ Day Pranks

Over the years, there have been some famous April Fools’ Day pranks. For example, in 1957, a British TV show told viewers that spaghetti grew on trees. Many people believed it and even asked how they could grow their own spaghetti trees! In 1996, the fast-food chain Taco Bell said they had bought the Liberty Bell, a famous American symbol, and were renaming it the ‘Taco Liberty Bell’. Many people were fooled until the company said it was just a joke.

April Fools’ Day Around the World

April Fools’ Day is celebrated in many different ways around the world. In France, children stick paper fish on their friends’ backs and shout ‘April Fish’ when the prank is discovered. In Scotland, the day is called ‘Gowkie Day’. A ‘gowk’ is a Scottish word for a foolish person. The pranks last for two days, with the second day for pranks involving the backside, known as ‘Taily Day’.

In conclusion, April Fools’ Day is a day for fun, laughter, and harmless pranks. It’s a day when everyone can be a joker and enjoy a good laugh. So, on the next April Fools’ Day, think of a fun prank to play on your friends or family. But remember, the aim is to have fun, not to hurt anyone. Happy April Fools’ Day!

That’s it! I hope the essay helped you.

If you’re looking for more, here are essays on other interesting topics:

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Apart from these, you can look at all the essays by clicking here .

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30 Last-Minute April Fool Pranks: Easy, Quick, and Hilarious

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Sharing is Caring!

Looking to spread some laughter and joy? I put together a list of 30 creative, funny, and very easy April Fool prank ideas that are perfect for sharing laughs with your family members, friends, students, or siblings. Get ready for some good-natured fun that’ll leave everyone smiling!

• Grab a baking pan, cut out some ‘E’s from brown construction paper, cover them with foil, and tell the kids you’ve made brownies. This harmless joke is perfect for a classroom prank or a fun treat at home. Want to be extra nice? Have a backup treat ready to go!  Scroll down for the step-by-step video !
• Tell your children or students that school is closed on April 31st. 
• Take an empty mayonnaise jar with the label still attached, fill it with vanilla pudding, and enjoy it with a large spoon.
• Remote-controlled fart machine : Press a button for a gas-tly good time with a variety of hilarious fart sounds!
• Swap out Tootsie Rolls with brown crayons.
• Add some mischief by putting tape on someone’s mouse sensors, ensuring a hilariously confusing tech prank.
• A day prior, paint a family member’s soap bar with clear nail polish, allowing it to dry overnight, and then enjoy the laughter as they wonder why it won’t lather no matter how hard they try in the shower.
• Buy a leek from the grocery store and put it under the sink. Then tell your SO that you think there’s a “leak under the sink” and ask them to check it out. 
• Enhance the fun by sticking googly eyes on EVERYTHING! On veggies, eggs, and even plants – the ideas are endless!
• Put Jell-O in a cup, insert a straw, and allow it to solidify to create the illusion of a beverage. Offer it to someone unsuspectingly, who then attempts to drink it, only to realize it’s Jell-O. Hand them a spoon to enjoy their treat instead.
• Swap the bags between different cereal boxes for a playful twist on breakfast confusion.
• Tape photos of Slash (from Guns and Roses) to your SO or coworker’s car. Tell the car owner there was vandalism in the parking lot and it looked like their tires were slashed. (Works best if they know who Slash is).
• Create a creepy surprise by unrolling a section of toilet paper, drawing a big hairy spider on it, and then rolling it back up before placing it back in its usual spot.
• Place rubber ducks all over the place!
• Sprinkle some mischief into your meals by replacing the salt in the shaker with sugar, ensuring a sweet surprise whenever someone reaches for a sprinkle!
• Print out pictures of actor Nicolas Cage and hide them in random places throughout the house. Place these surprises behind doors, in the fridge, under items they use every day, and in other spots for delightful accidental discoveries throughout the day.  
• Leave out a bowl of Skittles mixed with M&Ms and watch as the unexpected flavor mix surprises everyone.
• Cover the sensor of the remote control with a small piece of clear tape. When someone goes to turn on the TV, they’ll be puzzled when the remote doesn’t seem to work.
• Spice up dessert time by scooping out vanilla ice cream for a surprising scoop of frozen mashed potatoes.
• Twist off the tops of Oreo cookies, or any brand with a white filling, scrape out the filling, and replace it with toothpaste or mashed potatoes for a surprising twist.
• Tuck realistic plastic bugs into your child’s daily spots, such as their shoe or pillow, and wait for the inevitable squeals of delight.
• Add a colorful twist to breakfast by dropping a few dashes of food coloring into the bottom of a cereal bowl before pouring in the cereal. 
• Add a humorous touch to your office by placing a sign on the printer that reads, “Voice Activated: Speak to Print”
• Label a water bottle with a printed ‘Toilet Water’ sticker, offering it to unsuspecting friends or family members for a prank that’s sure to raise some eyebrows! FREE download is available below !
• Put water into an upside-down cup. Fill a cup halfway with water, cover it tightly with a piece of thin cardboard, and flip the cup over. Place towels around the cup’s location if available. Quickly remove the cardboard before it gets too wet, clean up any minor leaks, and your prank is set!
• Give them a healthy surprise by filling an empty donut box with veggies instead of delicious pastries.
• Gourmet Doughnut Seeds , Gourmet Mom On The Go Gourmet Mom On The Go shares her ingenious recipe for creating scrumptious “doughnut seeds” that are sure to delight taste buds and spark joy in every bite.
• Funology provides a playful challenge: Betcha Can’t Pick Up This Dollar Trick !
• Cake Ball Dog Poop , Sugary Sweets takes “doggie bag” to a whole new level!
• Surprise your family and friends by sprinkling Fake Snow , Tinkerlab

Be sure to leave a comment sharing your favorite prank, and spread the fun by sharing this list with friends and family. 

You might also like these April Fool’s Jokes to share with your family as well as our 45 Riddles and Brainteasers for some giggles and LOL-worthy laughs.

7 thoughts on “30 Last-Minute April Fool Pranks: Easy, Quick, and Hilarious”

These prank ideas are fantastic! I love the mayonnaise jar filled with vanilla pudding prank—it’s sure to bring a lot of laughs and surprise!

Hi Stephanie, your April Fool’s pranks list is genius! Love the creativity and ease of these ideas. Thanks for sharing laughter and joy with such fun pranks!

April Fool’s pranks add a delightful touch of humor and fun to our lives, bringing smiles and laughter to those around us. They provide an opportunity to share light-hearted moments with friends and family, fostering a sense of camaraderie and joy. Embracing April Fool’s pranks allows us to unleash our creativity and wit, creating unforgettable memories and strengthening our bonds with loved ones

Thanks for sharing its very helpful

Much appreciated, let me know which one you tried!

Thanks for sharing its very helpful content.

enjoyed…thanks for the content..looking forward for the another blog

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April Fools Pranks & Jokes for Middle School

Teaching middle school is certainly not for the weak, but it can be so much fun for the right person! Middle school students are a wonderful mix of young children and young adults. While it can be an awkward age, it can still be magical at times. Middle school students can understand complex issues and have in-depth discussions, but they can also be silly. April Fools’ Day is popular for those who enjoy being silly, which includes plenty of middle schoolers! If you’re considering getting in on the fun this year, keep reading for the best ideas for funny April Fools’ pranks and jokes in your middle school class!

Trick them with a reading passage about April Fools’ Day

I created a differentiated reading passage about the history of April Fools’ Day. This passage, written at two reading levels, discusses how April Fools’ day came to be. This resource also includes a differentiated context clues activity, short answer reading comprehension questions, and a writing assignment. That’s not all, though! I couldn’t create a resource about April Fools’ Day and not get in on the fun! The resource also includes three prank worksheets that ask students questions that don’t have correct answer options and questions that are way too advanced for them. This is a great way to get in on the fun while also sticking to the standards!

Refer to an imaginary teacher all day

It is important to remember not to take April Fools’ pranks and jokes in your middle school classroom too far! Announcing that you are quitting or moving at the beginning of the day could really ruin the day for your students, so make sure to keep things lighthearted. One very simple thing you could do is reference an imaginary teacher who works at the school over the day. Talk about the field trips your students went on with her class. You could even let one student be in on it and ask them to take something to the imaginary teacher’s classroom!

Fake Assignments Make Great April Fools’ Pranks

It wasn’t for April Fools’ Day, but when I was in high school, my math teacher scheduled a quiz. On the day of the quiz, he passed out questions that honestly looked like they were in another language. I didn’t have a clue how to solve any of the problems. Several minutes of my classmates and me sitting and panicking passed until he told us to stop. He said it was an assignment he had in college. We all breathed a collective sigh of relief as he passed out the actual quiz. I don’t remember much about that math class, but I will never forget that! You can easily do something similar! You could create an assignment with college-level essay questions. Just don’t let the joke go on for too long because that might be too much for students who are very grade-conscious.

Middle schoolers are full of chaotic energy, and that’s also kind of the best thing about them. Make this April Fools’ Day one to remember with your silly students by using some of these best ideas for funny April Fool’s pranks and jokes in middle school!

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The earliest possible mention of April Fools’ Day is in Geoffrey Chaucer’s The Canterbury Tales, written in 1392. In the story “Nun’s Priest’s Tale” it is mentioned that “Syn March bigan thritty dayes and two.” This seems like a jokey way of saying the first of April. However, modern scholars believe there was a misprint, and that Chaucer meant another date—specifically the anniversary of the engagement of King Richard II of England to Anne of Bohemia on the 2nd of May (“The Origin of April Fool’s Day”).

The next piece of evidence about April Fools’ Day comes from the French poet Eloy d’Amerval. He wrote about “poisson d’avril” which means “fish of April” (Amerval, Eliy d.). Some scholars say that April Fools’ Day started in the Middle Ages in Europe, where the New Year was celebrated on April 1st. Those who had New Year’s Day on January 1st made fun of those who partook in the celebration on April 1st by sending people fishes. In fact, January 1st was made the mark of the new year officially only in 1564 according to the Edict of Roussillon (“The Origin of April Fool’s Day”).

Speaking of another mention of April Fool’s Day, in 1539, the Flemish poet Eduard de Dene wrote a poem about a nobleman who made his servants go on “foolish errands” (“The Origin of April Fool’s Day”). In a similar region, in the Netherlands, the beginning of this day was initiated with the Dutch victory at Brielle in 1572 over the Spanish. The fool, in this case, was the defeated Spanish Duke Álvarez de Toledo. Yet, scholars do not know how to explain this event becoming an international holiday (Brielle).

There are also two other theories that relate to more ancient times. According to History.com, “Historians have also linked April Fools’ Day to festivals such as Hilaria, which was celebrated in ancient Rome at the end of March and involved people dressing up in disguises. There’s also speculation that April Fools’ Day was tied to the vernal equinox, or the first day of spring in the Northern Hemisphere, when Mother Nature fooled people with changing, unpredictable weather” (“April Fools’ Day”). As you can see, more and more theories crop up the greater you investigate this holiday.

Lastly, we come back to Great Britain. In 1686, writer and philosopher John Aubrey wrote about a celebration called “Fooles Holy Day.” Besides all the obscure references, it is certain that the celebration became popular through Great Britain in the 18th. According to History.com, “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”). As time went on, and the celebration became more widespread, it became a one-day holiday.

As you might have noticed, April Fools’ Day has a confusing history. There are multiple theories about its origins. It variously started in Great Britain, the Netherlands, Italy, and many other places in Europe. It may or may not have been the mark of a new year, and it may or may not have been connected to the vernal equinox. One would have to be a fool to accept one theory.

Works Cited

“The Origin of April Fool’s Day.” Museum of Hoaxes, hoaxes.org/af_database/permalink/origin_of_april_fools_day/.

Amerval, Eliy d. Le Livre De La Deablerie. Michel Le Noir, 1508.

Brielle. “College Van B & W.” Gemeente Brielle / Bestuur, Organisatie En Beleid /, web.archive.org/web/20130517121717/http://www.brielle.nl/bestuur-organisatie-en-beleid/college-van-b-w_3907/.

“April Fools’ Day.” History.com, A&E Television Networks, 30 Mar. 2017, www.history.com/topics/holidays/april-fools-day.

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8 Hilarious April Fools Day Stories To Make You Laugh

Hilarious April Fools Day Stories

• Hilarious April Fools Day ‘Work’ Pranks - Based on True Stories
• Hilarious April Fools Day Pranks - Based on True Stories

They say that laughter is the best medicine so today I thought to myself, why not share a few hilarious April Fools Day stories?

They say that laughter is the best medicine so today I thought to myself, why not share a few hilarious April Fools Day stories ?

Now, these aren’t going to be your average, any-old April Fools Day jokes.

Oh no no! We’re going full April Fools Day jokester mode. There’s no turning back now!

GIANTS SAY AS GIANTS DO – Submitted By a Plann’r

I served breakfast to my kids on a tiny tea set and tiny table. I told them they were now giants!

A PROPOSAL TO REMEMBER – Submitted By a Plann’r

My Dad asked my mom to marry him on April Fools Day. She always said the joke’s on him because she said yes!

Hilarious April Fools Day ‘Work’ Pranks – Based on True Stories

THE SUSPENSE

First, bring a large suspicious bag to work and tell everyone that you’re definitely not going to do an April Fools joke. Walk around the office looking suspicious. Stand outside the bathrooms. Smile at the elevator.

Don’t do a prank.

THE REALITY CHECK

Pick a person and at an assigned time have everyone else in the office stand up in complete silence and leave the room in single file. Bonus – film the reaction.

THE INVISIBLE TEAM MEMBER

Tell everyone a new person is starting. Set up their desk and randomly change their workspace throughout the day. Add a coffee cup and spread out pieces of paper. At the end of the day ask for everyone’s thoughts on the new team member.

Hilarious April Fools Day Pranks – Based on True Stories

THE REGRET IS REAL

Offer someone chocolate, and as they’re eating it start pointing and laughing. Don’t say anything, just laugh.

See how long it takes them to stop eating that choccy!

IT’S BREAKFAST TIME!

Drop a few plops of blue food coloring into a new bottle of milk (ideally, buy that milk the day before on your grocery run!!). Start fixing up a breakfast of delicious cereal for your partner or kids, and wait for the reaction. Don’t say anything!!

WHAT HAPPENED TO THE SOAP?

Paint a bar of soap with clear nail polish and let it dry overnight. Put the soap in the shower or bath and wait for the questions to begin. (Pssst-> the soap won’t be able to suds up!)

IT’S TIME TO BAN PLASTIC WATER BOTTLES

Still using plastic water bottles in your household? A great way to get your family (housemates, or live-in partner) is to do this prank. Grab one or two of the water bottles from the fridge in the morning and while over the sink, poke tiny pinholes into the sides using a sewing needle.

Gently wipe down the outside and pop the bottle on the counter or table where someone would naturally go to pick it up. When someone does go to pick it up, the pressure of their grip will cause a light spray of water to go eeeeeverywhere.

Note: It’s best not to pop the bottle nearby electrical appliances or charging ports.

Did you find these April Fools stories and pranks absolutely hilarious? I hope you did!

I can’t wait for the day that I can try the tiny tea set prank, muahahaha…

Over 3M brands already use our all-in-one creation, scheduling and publishing tool for posts AND stories!

Author:  Christy

Christy Laurence is the multi-award-winning Founder of Plann, an app she created after watching hugely talented people around the world give up on making an income from their passion due to lack of marketing help. After winning ‘Australasian Startup Founder of The Year’ for her achievements helping businesses grow using Instagram, she now splits her time between Silicon Valley and Sydney to grow her own software business, and help others grow their businesses too. She has a strong pun game and loves a good chat, connect with her directly at @christyladylaurence

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April Fools Analysis Of The Essay

Activate prior knowledge Title: April Fools on Polar Circus allows me to infer that essay is possibly about an April Fools prank gone terribly wrong on the mountain or a stressful incident that ultimately makes the climbers “April fools” Already know: Polar Circus is an alpine climb on Cirrus Mountain in the Athabascan Icefields of the Canadian Rockies, April Fools is celebrated every year on April 1 by playing practical jokes and spreading hoaxes Unfamiliar vocab: Couloir- A couloir (a French word meaning “passage” or “corridor”), is a narrow gully with a steep gradient in a mountainous terrain.

April Fools on Polar Circus Summary

April Fools on Polar Circus is one of the most famous April Fools’ pranks in history. On April 1, 1988, a group of skiers decided to play an elaborate prank on their fellow climbers by rigging up a series of hidden wires to trip unsuspecting skiers as they made their way down the treacherous slopes of Polar Circus.

Though many were initially fooled by the prank, it quickly became clear that something was amiss when several unfortunate skiers found themselves falling headfirst into hidden snowpits and getting injured in the process.

Despite its initial success, April Fools on Polar Circus has since become a cautionary tale about the dangers of underestimating the unpredictable nature of mountain terrain. If you’re looking for an adrenaline-filled April Fools’ prank to play on your friends, look elsewhere – this one is best left in the history books.

April Fools On Polar Circus Thesis

April Fools is a popular holiday where people play pranks and jokes on one another. On April 1st, 2015, a group of students from the University of Oxford decided to pull an elaborate April Fools prank on their thesis adviser. Led by engineering major Jake Williams, they created a convincing fake thesis called “Polar Circus Thesis”. The thesis claimed that global warming was a hoax created by the government to control the population. It included made-up data and graphs, as well as quotes from made-up experts.

The prank was so convincing that it fooled not only their adviser, but also the head of their department. The group even went so far as to create a fake website and social media accounts to support their thesis. The whole thing blew up when they were finally caught and their April Fools prank was revealed. The story made headlines all over the world, and is still remembered as one of the most successful April Fools pranks ever pulled.

For April Fools’ Day, many people like to play pranks and engage in silly hijinks. But for some daredevils, April Fools is the perfect opportunity to test their limits and try out extreme stunts. One such stunt involves climbing up Polar Circus, one of the most treacherous peaks in the world.

Polar Circus is a massive ice wall located in the Canadian Rockies. It is known for its steep incline, unpredictable weather conditions, and sheer size – measuring over 1 kilometer high and 1 kilometer wide. Climbing this peak requires immense skill, courage, and determination.

Despite these challenges, a group of fearless climbers decided to take on April Fools On Polar Circus Thesis – a daring expedition that had never been attempted before. The team spent months preparing for the climb, practicing on smaller ice walls and honing their skills. Finally, on April 1st, they set out to summit Polar Circus.

The climb was incredibly difficult, but after two days of hard work the team reached the top. They were the first people to ever climb Polar Circus on April Fools’ Day – and they did it without any casualties. This April Fools’ Day, don’t be afraid to take risks and push your boundaries. You might just end up accomplishing something amazing.

A couloir may be a seam, scar, or fissure, or vertical crevasse in an otherwise solid mountain mass. Undulating- To move with a smooth wavelike motion. Knoll- a small hill or mound Classify the essay as formal or informal: Essay is informal as topic is of interest to the writer Appeals to a general audience Topic is serious but the essay strives to entertain and interest reader Vivid language Use of illustration Personal anecdote Writer as important as topic.

Identify the essay’s pattern of argument: Exposition The goal is to report about an event or a situation and by doing so elucidate that subject She is explaining to us the role of fear and how these factors force her to change as a person Identify the essay’s structure: Narrative Tells a story and analyzes/evaluates the significance of the story She is telling us the story of her climb and the impact it has on her as fear weaves its way in and out of the story Incorporates dialogue.

Determine the method of organization Order of impression Details are presented in the order in which they catch the reader’s attention Helps the reader understand the writer’s point of view Determine the thesis Roddan presents her thesis in the final line of the first paragraph- “the tango with fear makes me wise. ” Thesis is implicit as conclusion develops through the content of essay, rather than knowing where the story/argument is going to end.

Types of proofs Anecdote- brief story composed of enticing incident/ encounter with fear while climbing Polar Circus Description- presents a sensory experience in words and extends to include an analysis of significance of the “picture” Analyze the writer’s style Cause and effect- The climber has “reason to come down” but partner retaliates with”It depends on how much you want it,” resulting in the climber to challenge herself and continue with her “tango with fear” Description- Writer uses descriptions to thoroughly inform us of her experiences as shown through phrases such as “a chasm fifteen feet wide… etween my partner, Barb, and me,” “dark, claustrophobic couloir” and ” “barndoor” open and the block of ice topples over my shoulder. I look down to see the ice explode beside Barb, who suddenly looks tiny and hunched in her small belay stance. ”

Simile last two pitches of the climb cascade out of the notch like a enormous wedding gown” allows us to understand the relationship between the climber, her partner, and the mountain Metaphor- “Doubt slides in with spaghetti arms and little shivers that evaporate my courage. This metaphor explains to us indirectly that to dance with any partner, trust and understanding is crucial Tone- informal tone as topic is of interest to the writer, appeals to a general audience, topic is serious but the essay strives to entertain and interest reader, vivid language is used Examine the effectiveness and limitations of the essay Both analogies of the tango and wedding are of main focus within essay Uses powerful verbs to describe her actions, “I rail and pound against it.

The dance becomes a struggle” Tango imagery most prevalent as shown through,” “The tango with fear makes me wise” and “This solid, physical connection to the world causes the fear to recede… first from the arms, then from the mind… then even more gradually fear’s fingers release the heart, which eventually slows and quiets. The intensity is replaced with warm, smooth, flowing beats.

The rhythm takes hold, and the dance begins again. ” Both analogies allow us to make a connection to the writer and to the essay, even if we have no experience with mountain climbing )Given the content of the essay why is the title “April Fools on Polar Circus” appropriate? The title “April Fools on Polar Circus” is appropriate because, essentially, it relates to the irony within the essay. The climb itself occurs on April Fools day and the author compares herself and her partner to “April Fools” when she states,”The April fools, married with fear and laughter on Polar Circus. ” I can distinguish them as fools myself as anyone who would deliberately put themselves in danger to complete a climb at that time of year is insane, no matter how passionate they are about the activity.

She also concludes that because of this fear and foolishness, she becomes wiser as shown through the thesis: “The tango with fear makes me wise. ” 2) Roddan writes that “the tango with fear makes me wise. ” Does it, in your opinion? Provide phrases that illustrate “the tango with fear. ” What evidence is there that it makes the climber “wise”? In my opinion the tango with fear does make us wise, as it reveals the parts within ourselves that we haven’t yet discovered, and the actions we would take in fearful situations. Some phrases that illustrate “the tango with fear” are: “Fear sharpens my senses.

It dances through my body. It tunes me. It wraps its fingers around my heart and squeezes gently. I lean to welcome fear and the edge it brings me, the whispered warnings, the adrenaline,” “We hold on, struggling to control the fear that pounds through our veins and capillaries,” and “This solid, physical connection to the world causes the fear to recede… first from the arms, then from the mind… then even more gradually fear’s fingers release the heart, which eventually slows and quiets. The intensity is replaced with warm, smooth, flowing beats. The rhythm takes hold, and the dance begins again.

These incidents with fear makes the climber “wise” as they elicit responses from her that she isn’t aware of as shown through “We encourage each other; we push each other,” suggesting that the climber’s fear has allowed her to push her partner and herself onward. Another example of this is when the author states, “Impossible to return, I fight. I hit hard to get good placements. A big block of ice disengages itself; my tool is embedded in it. Time stops, and in slow motion I swing onto my other ice axe. I “barndoor” open and the block of ice topples over my shoulder. This demonstrates that with fear comes the “fight or flight” response within the climber that we don’t normally have within ourselves in calmer situations.

This allows her to whatever it takes to protect herself from the dangers surrounding her, ultimately making her wise. 3)Roddan uses two sets of linked images to tell her story: dance imagery and wedding imagery. Outline the development of these ideas by listing the sentences and phrases that Roddan uses for each image. Dance imagery is presented to us when the writer states, “The tango with fear makes me wise” and “This solid, physical connection to the world causes the fear to recede… irst from the arms, then from the mind… then even more gradually fear’s fingers release the heart, which eventually slows and quiets. The intensity is replaced with warm, smooth, flowing beats. The rhythm takes hold, and the dance begins again. ” Wedding imagery is presented to us when the writer exclaims, “The last two pitches of the climb cascade out of the notch like an enormous wedding gown.

Today’s brides approach slowly, touched by the mystery and majesty of the place” and “a happy marriage of fear, sweat, intelligent strength, and smiles. ” )Although this essay tells a story, it is not an example of short fiction. It is, however, a narrative essay. What characteristics make it narrative? What characteristics make it an essay? There are many characteristics that make this a narrative essay, including the essay being told in first person as shown through, “The dance with fear fascinates me. Learning to accept fear, to take it in without letting it take over, is one of the challenges of climbing ice,” and the incorporation of an informal tone, as well as the reliance on a personal story to support the thesis.

A narrative essay is a combination of essay writing and storytelling, where the writer analyzes and evaluates the significance or meaning of the story being told. We are shown this as we look at the structure of the essay itself. Other characteristics include development and structuring of ideas in a logical coherent way, and the presentation of a thesis whether implicit or explicit, to guide the reader through the significance of the essay itself.

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"The guy's old. What can he bring to the team?" - When the Knicks pulled an April Fools prank on their fans by saying they signed a 52-year-old Walt Frazier

N BA fans often troll players or teams, but every once in a while, the folks inside the league find a way to get back at the fans. On April Fools Day of 1997, that’s precisely what the New York Knicks managed to do.

Nowadays, teams pull April Fools' pranks on their fans pretty frequently, but social media didn’t exist in 1997. That helps explain how the Knicks were able to convince their fans that they were signing a then-52-year-old Walt Frazier to rejoin their squad.

Walt explained his decision to unretire at the age of 52

Frazier spent ten of his 13 seasons in the NBA with the Knicks before he eventually ended up retiring after the 1979-80 campaign. So, by this point, it had been nearly 20 years since Walt had last suited up for an NBA game.

The 1996-97 Knicks were a solid team, so interest in them was high as the calendar flipped to April. The team used that to pull off a hilarious prank in which they claimed to have re-signed Frazier, and he even explained why he decided to return to the league.

“One day at the practice I was just messing around with the guys, and I was doing pretty good,” Walt said via Courtside Buzz . “So Ernie (Grunfeld) said, ‘Hey Clyde, you look pretty good out there.’ And he told me that if I really wanted to come back and I worked diligently to do it, he would think about it.”

Brooks joins the act by reacting to getting cut

As is the case with every roster move in the NBA, when one guy joins a team, another guy has to leave (unless you have an open roster spot, of course). That wasn’t the case for New York, so they claimed to be releasing Scott Brooks to open up a spot for Frazier.

The 1996-97 campaign was Brooks’ only season with the Knicks, and he played sparingly over 38 games. So, since he was a logical guy who could be replaced, he was chosen as the victim of Walt's return, and he delivered an awesome response when asked about the faux move.

“The guy’s old,”  Brooks said. “What can he bring to the team that I can’t do? It’s disappointing, but it’s just the way this business is, and I wish him well. But all I gotta say is one thing: I hope if I get picked up by a team, we play the Knicks in the playoff, and I can show what they could have had. I don’t believe it. I think it’s garbage.”

This entire prank was planned out in great detail, and it was executed quite well. Of course, fans were pretty shocked by the supposed move, but everything made more sense when the Knicks later revealed it to have been an elaborate prank.

The invention of social media would make it nearly impossible to pull something like this off nowadays, but it’s awesome to look back and reminisce on stuff like this. And while it may seem silly, the Knicks sure fooled a lot of fans with this prank move involving Frazier.

Related: “This guy is crazy, man. It’s a pick-up game” - Walt Frazier recounted how Willis Reed would get so mad when losing in a 1-on-1 matchup

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Conservative Justices Take Argument Over Trump’s Immunity in Unexpected Direction

Thursday’s Supreme Court hearing was memorable for its discussion of coups, assassinations and internments — but very little about the former president’s conduct.

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By Adam Liptak

Reporting from Washington

Before the Supreme Court heard arguments on Thursday on former President Donald J. Trump’s claim that he is immune from prosecution, his stance was widely seen as a brazen and cynical bid to delay his trial. The practical question in the case, it was thought, was not whether the court would rule against him but whether it would act quickly enough to allow the trial to go forward before the 2024 election.

Instead, members of the court’s conservative majority treated Mr. Trump’s assertion that he could not face charges that he tried to subvert the 2020 election as a weighty and difficult question. They did so, said Pamela Karlan , a law professor at Stanford, by averting their eyes from Mr. Trump’s conduct.

“What struck me most about the case was the relentless efforts by several of the justices on the conservative side not to focus on, consider or even acknowledge the facts of the actual case in front of them,” she said.

They said as much. “I’m not discussing the particular facts of this case,” Justice Samuel A. Alito Jr. said, instead positing an alternate reality in which a grant of immunity “is required for the functioning of a stable democratic society, which is something that we all want.”

Immunity is needed, he said, to make sure the incumbent president has reason to “leave office peacefully” after losing an election.

Justice Alito explained: “If an incumbent who loses a very close, hotly contested election knows that a real possibility after leaving office is not that the president is going to be able to go off into a peaceful retirement but that the president may be criminally prosecuted by a bitter political opponent, will that not lead us into a cycle that destabilizes the functioning of our country as a democracy?”

Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson took a more straightforward approach. “If the potential for criminal liability is taken off the table, wouldn’t there be a significant risk that future presidents would be emboldened to commit crimes with abandon while they’re in office?” she asked.

Supreme Court arguments are usually dignified and staid, weighed down by impenetrable jargon and focused on subtle shifts in legal doctrine. Thursday’s argument was different.

It featured “some jaw-dropping moments,” said Melissa Murray , a law professor at New York University.

Michael Dorf , a law professor at Cornell, said that “the apparent lack of self-awareness on the part of some of the conservative justices was startling.” He noted that “Justice Alito worried about a hypothetical future president attempting to hold onto power in response to the risk of prosecution, while paying no attention to the actual former president who held onto power and now seeks to escape prosecution.”

In the real world, Professor Karlan said, “it’s really hard to imagine a ‘stable democratic society,’ to use Justice Alito’s word, where someone who did what Donald Trump is alleged to have done leading up to Jan. 6 faces no criminal consequences for his acts.”

Indeed, she said, “if Donald Trump is a harbinger of presidents to come, and from now on presidents refuse to leave office and engage in efforts to undermine the democratic process, we’ve lost our democracy regardless what the Supreme Court decides.”

The conservative justices did not seem concerned that Mr. Trump’s lawyer, D. John Sauer, said his client was free during his presidency to commit lawless acts, subject to prosecution only after impeachment by the House and conviction in the Senate. (There have been four presidential impeachments, two of Mr. Trump, and no convictions.)

Liberal justices asked whether he was serious, posing hypothetical questions.

“If the president decides that his rival is a corrupt person and he orders the military or orders someone to assassinate him,” Justice Jackson asked, “is that within his official acts for which he can get immunity?”

Mr. Sauer said “that could well be an official act” not subject to prosecution.

Justice Elena Kagan also gave it a go. “How about,” she said, “if a president orders the military to stage a coup?”

Mr. Sauer, after not a little back and forth, said that “it could well be” an official act. He allowed that “it certainly sounds very bad.”

Justice Clarence Thomas, who participated in the case despite his wife Virginia Thomas’s own vigorous efforts to overturn the election, was not so sure.

“In the not-so-distant past, the president or certain presidents have engaged in various activity, coups or operations like Operation Mongoose when I was a teenager, and yet there were no prosecutions,” he said, referring to the Kennedy administration’s efforts to remove Fidel Castro from power in Cuba.

Professor Murray said she was struck by that remark, apparently offered “as evidence that there was a longstanding history of executive involvement in attempted coups.”

Justice Alito also turned to history. “What about President Franklin D. Roosevelt’s decision to intern Japanese Americans during World War II?” he asked. Could that have been charged, he asked, as a conspiracy against civil rights?

Prompted by Justice Brett M. Kavanaugh, Mr. Sauer added another requirement to holding a former president accountable. Not only must there first be impeachment and conviction in Congress, but the criminal statute in question must also clearly specify in so many words, as very few do, that it applies to the president.

That seemed a little much for Justice Amy Coney Barrett, the member of the court’s conservative wing who appeared most troubled by the sweep of Mr. Trump’s arguments.

Returning to “Justice Kagan’s example of a president who orders a coup,” Justice Barrett sketched out what she understood to be Mr. Sauer’s position.

“You’re saying that he couldn’t be prosecuted for that, even after a conviction and impeachment proceeding, if there was not a statute that expressly referenced the president and made it criminal for the president?”

Correct, Mr. Sauer said.

The court will issue its ruling sometime between now and early July. It seems likely to say that at least some of Mr. Trump’s conduct was part of his official duties and so subject to some form of immunity.

The court is unlikely to draw those lines itself, instead returning the case to Judge Tanya S. Chutkan, of the Federal District Court in Washington, for further proceedings.

“If that’s the case,” Professor Murray said, “that could further delay the prospect of a trial, which means that whatever is ultimately decided about the scope and substance of presidential immunity, the court will have effectively immunized Donald Trump from criminal liability in this case.”

There is a live prospect, Professor Karlan said, that “there won’t be a trial until sometime well into 2025, if then.”

Sending the case back to the trial judge, she said, “to distill out the official from the private acts in some kind of granular detail essentially gives Trump everything he wants, whether the court calls it immunity or not.”

Adam Liptak covers the Supreme Court and writes Sidebar, a column on legal developments. A graduate of Yale Law School, he practiced law for 14 years before joining The Times in 2002. More about Adam Liptak