April Fools’ Day. Some of us may be a bit more fortunate than others when it comes to becoming the butt of someone’s prank, but many of us have at least one amusing memory tied to April 1. Even corporate entities get in on the joke and trick their customers! For example, Taco Bell announced they were buying the Liberty Bell with the purpose of changing its name to the Taco Liberty Bell in 1996. Most people do smaller pranks though, like a shaving cream pie or covering a car in post it notes.

What many people don’t know about this holiday is where it came from. There are a few theories thrown around by historians, one such being based on when France switched to the Gregorian calendar. The previous calendar was the Julian calendar, and its year started with the coming of spring around April 1. People who were behind on the change were referred to as “April Fools,” and were often pranked. One joke was that paper fish were placed on their backs, in order to symbolize them being easily caught fish. Another event believed to be involved with April Fools’ is Hilaria, a festival of Ancient Rome. The members of the Cult of Cybele would dress up and make fun of other citizens at the end of March. (History.com)

There’s still other things where an argument could be made about its influence over the modern day April 1, but the most important thing to keep in mind is to have fun. It is a day for harmless jokes, so don’t go around causing major inconveniences for people. If your prank could hurt someone physically, don’t do it. If your prank could harm someone emotionally, don’t do it. If you would be upset in the case that the joke was played on you, you shouldn’t do it to someone else. Both parties should be laughing by the end of it, otherwise you are just being annoying.

Below is an example recipe for a prank:

Ingredients:

Human sized stuffed bear

Unwitting participant

Equipment:

Scissors

Yourself

Method

1. Cut open the bear with the scissors and take out most of the stuffing so that you could fit inside.
2. Cut out eye holes so that you can see out of it while you wear it.
3. Set up the bear in a location where someone will see it and investigate such a large teddy bear. Optionally, set it up as a gift to a specific person you wish to prank, or wear it in a collection of stuffed animals so that people won’t find it odd in the first place.
4. When someone comes up to the bear, suddenly become animated in order to surprise them.