From celebrity death hoaxes to fake product announcements, April Fools’ is the perfect holiday for pranksters hoping to trick a few unassuming minds. Personally, I find the overall effort of tricking the gullible at heart a tad annoying and humorless. Sometimes, I even find myself cringing inside at the levels of effort it takes to pull off pranks. However, even my cynical side must concede that some April Fools’ trickery is pure genius, innovation and fun. Humor me as I share my positive and negative experiences with the holiday.
On one side of April Fools’, I enjoy how there’s an entire day devoted to catching me off guard. It’s like a fun maze that I have to navigate, and while there may not actually be a prize at the end of it, making it through a whole day without being tricked can feel satisfying. On April Fools’ Days past, I opened my phone to Jackie Chan dying and a new Cento size 100 oz. drink available at Starbucks. Admittedly, I believed both pranks and even embarrassed myself by sharing both news items on social media. Since then, I’ve learned to fact-check before blindly believing the headlines, and I’ve successfully made it through unscathed by pranks thrown my way. Probably my favorite way of participating involved hosting a masquerade ball in which guests were invited to disguise themselves with the hope of not being recognized by other people, leading to prizes. It was like the show “Masked Singer,” but without the singing or celebrities.
That said, some pranks do go too far. I’ve seen some pranks in general lead to people getting hurt or even hit by a car because of how terrified they became by a seemingly innocent scare tactic. Also, some April Fools’ pranks are too forced and overdone, like when friends pretend to get engaged or fake movie trailers. It’s like, hello, we all see the date on the calendar and can tell someone’s bluffing.
Some fake movie news transcends April 1, such as the rumored Live-Action Hunchback of Notre Dame making its rounds on social media. I mean, I don’t really need my hopes raised only to crush them, all for the sake of a joke or fan-casting. Other pranks, such as finding fake spiders in my backpack or whipped cream on my face upon waking up, felt more like Halloween scares and camp pranks. Another prank that’s overstayed its welcome is the swapping of salt and sugar. I suppose there’s a little “okay, haha, you got me” for two seconds, but much of what follows is just the scraping salt off of normally sweet foods and vice versa.
I’d say that April Fools’ Day is mostly a giant yawn or eye roll. But in rare instances, I think that it can include some tasteful and unique moments, as long as target audiences and safety are considered.
