April Fool?

@KATRINKA (1624)
United States
March 27, 2007 3:16pm CST
April Fool's Day is only days away. Does anyone know how the holiday originated? Do you participate in practical jokes at any time? What are some of your best jokes? What are some that went haywire?
2 people like this
4 responses
@peaceful (3294)
• United States
29 Mar 07
I love a good practical joke and I have admittedly pulled off a "stunner" or two in my day... Most people who know me also know that I'm a great cook with a gourmet flair... I even read food styling websites and magazines, and I used to review restaurants for a living, I still do the Zagat thing, even now... In the restaurant business, there is something called "Display" or "Practice" food... it's made of plastic that's been artisticly cast and printed to create absolutely real-looking representations of cuisine from all over the world... Well, the evening before April Fool's day, ( Pre-Fool?) I was sharing a glass of fine Scotch whiskey with my Muse, who does have a sense of Humour, (despite the flaming arrows) who came up with this great idea... which, of course, I had to implement immediately, lest I recieve one of said flaming arrows in my "Money Maker", as it were... The next morning (April Fools day, for real), I took a bus ride downtown and paid a visit to my friend's restaurant supply store and proceeded to select the goods for my "April Fools" celebration dinner: There was "Roasted Stripped Bass Cutlets", "Thick New York Strip Steaks" accompanied by "Grilled Gold And Red Potatoes" with assorted "Diced Vegetables" and "Fruits"... My buddies ( We took turns cooking meals for each other and watching football every weekend) would never suspect what was gonna happen... Now, in order to pull off this prank properly, you have to actually cook the real meal, so that the air will be lush with all of the mouth watering scents of great cooking, when your intended "victims" enter your home... I prepared the exact "real" meal and placed it in the breakfast room, and set up the fake "meal" in the dining room,(beautifully, I might add)so the guys could see it from the living room when they arrived... My guests/"vics" came through the door looking hungry, as I had whetted their appetites with my invitational phone calls a couple of hours earlier and I poured each of them a warming shot of that excellent Scotch Whiskey, that I had mentioned earlier... this was to delay them in the living room, and whet those appetites even more... Finally, I couldn't hold out any longer and shouted a hearty "Let's Dig In!"... My buddies rushed to the dining room and took thier places at the table, each one seated before an excellently presented "meal"... I made a toast to them and downed my drink, and prepared to duck for cover! The look on their faces was one of total, well, the phrase "Dumb-Struck" comes to mind... Then I recieved an immediate enrichment in my collection of "descriptive invectives", and several assignments, that of course, would be physically impossible for any human being to perform... Oh, and not to mention, the bracing shower of cutlery and other tableware... But, after their laughter started to shake the walls, I was glad to have pulled this one off! :) I made ammends by serving my pals with the real meal and recieved compliments for it as well as the best practical joke, ever!:) This was a couple of years ago and we still laugh about it when we get together... I'm still watching my back, too! :)
1 person likes this
@KATRINKA (1624)
• United States
29 Mar 07
This is priceless. I love it. I wish I had done this one. Now that you've given me the idea...(manaical laugh)You are the master of pranks. I feel humbled before you (saying this in a Ben Stein voice). Thanks for making my day!
1 person likes this
@peaceful (3294)
• United States
30 Mar 07
"Peaceful" doesn't necessarily mean "Passive"! :) If one looks at a perfectly "Peaceful and Pastoral" scene from, say, Nature... you will find that as you become more familiar in your observations, that there is a whole heck of a lot going on! :)
@KATRINKA (1624)
• United States
29 Mar 07
P.S. With a name like "Peaceful" it is surprising that you are such a jokester.
@creematee (2810)
• United States
28 Mar 07
I had a boss once that told all his employees (there were about 6 of us) that the business was going bankrupt, and that we were all out of jobs. This didn't make any sense to us, as we were incredibly busy and signing new customers everyday. At the end of the work day, he said with a smile "your jobs are still intact. Happy April Fool's Day!" Then he did take us all out for drinks and dinner afterwards, because he felt so bad about it. He was a good guy, with a wierd sense of humor. :)
1 person likes this
@creematee (2810)
• United States
28 Mar 07
Oh Katrinka, I'm glad I'm not your "FRIEND" LOL!!! That is too funny!!
1 person likes this
@KATRINKA (1624)
• United States
28 Mar 07
That's a good one. Glad it turned out well, and that he was a nice guy who made up by treating you to drinks and dinner. Here's one I did: I worked in a real estate office as an administrative assistant. I created a fax cover sheet with a fake name of a company and agent. I even added a picture. On the cover sheet, it said there would be 5 total pages and a note to the targeted agent, "Here are the addendums you requested." I faxed it from one machine to another in the building, but knowing there would be a header stating the fax location, I had to tear it off. I crumpled the paper and attached a sticky, "sorry, paper jam," then put it in the agent's drawer. Later, he came to me and asked about it, did I see any more pages, etc? I played dumb. He said he would just have to call the agent. He called the number on the fax cover sheet on speaker phone and asked for the fictional agent. He was greeted with, "Hello, Hooters. This is Camille." It took him several questions to realize it was a prank. While Camille offered to help him in her raspy, sexy voice, the rest of us were doubled over laughing. The guy took it well, but he didn't suspect me of pulling the prank until I confessed.
1 person likes this
@KATRINKA (1624)
• United States
28 Mar 07
Oh. I also frequented a website that had free computer prank downloads and messed with people's computers. I don't suggest doing it unless you know the person won't go postal on you, and you know how to uninstall the programs.
1 person likes this
• United States
27 Mar 07
I have looked up April Fools origin many times because it is my birthdate and there are so many different versions of how it came to be. Some say it was because of calendar changes, others say it started during the reign of Constantine, who knows really. Many jokes have been played on me and I have played many on others. As a kid I always got pranks on me especially when they found out it was my birthday. One year someone gave me a present that had a box in a box in a box...you get the picture. Classic prank. There was actually a present in it just don't remember what it was. I vow that no one will get me this year. My husband will probably try because I'm planning a trip in about two weeks and I'm waiting for him to tell me there's something wrong and a reason I can't go. I'm two steps ahead of him. Anyway...Happy April Fooling!!!
@KATRINKA (1624)
• United States
27 Mar 07
How do you like having April Fools be your birthdate? I have known people to change plans because they would have fallen on April Fools. I don't think it's such a bad thing. Guess people are superstitious, like some are about Friday the 13th. It used to make me laugh how people would freak out over that. Hmm, I'm interested in finding out if your husband does try to play a trick on you regarding your trip. Let me know. I pull pranks a lot throughout the year, so it would be cliche for me to do one on AFD. :giggle; I like to pull pranks when no one is expecting it. But for some reason, even when a prank is pulled on me on AFD, I usually still fall for the joke. Do you ever watch shows like Punk'd? It's one of my guilty pleasures.
1 person likes this
@Asheka (107)
• Canada
27 Mar 07
I use to participate a lot when we were in public school. It use to be the simply stuff of whoopie cusions and telling a 'tragic' story and making everyone freak out and scream April Fools! Nothing big, though. I think it's rediculous and get extremely annoyed when people do it to me now, as I find it a useless day to bug people. My boyfriend once tried to convince me he 1) was moving like 6 hours away, and 2) he had been diagnosed with HIV...I knew both were lies as I practically lived at his house at this time, so just glared at him...He fooled a couple of our friends though.
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@KATRINKA (1624)
• United States
27 Mar 07
Your boyfriend's lie about having HIV is horrible and not even funny. I'd think twice about having a boyfriend like that.
1 person likes this