The Best April Fool’s Day Pranks

With April Fools’ Day happening this Wednesday, it’s time to prepare ourselves for the inevitable pranks that occur each April 1st. In order to help you stay on the right side of those pranks (as prank-ers, as opposed to prank-ees), we combed the Internet for some easy, sure fire prankster ideas.

First, let’s define what a “good” prank is, vs. a “bad” prank. Generally, a good prank is one that is clever, and fun for all involved. A bad prank is one that hurts someone, and gets you fired.

We found that Huffington Post, and Buzzfeed both came up with fine assortments of April Fools’ Day pranks.

However, both of these prank lists are full of the bad, as well as the good. For instance, several of the prank ideas feature the use of loud air horns. This is a very bad idea, since you never know when the pranked party may have a heart condition.

Startling someone with 120 decibels of sound is generally NOT a good idea.

The ones that involve tampering with food products look fun, but watch out: people who find mayonnaise in their “jelly donut” may react by gagging. This, too, can lead to dire health consequences.

We do very much recommend the “tape over the mouse sensor” prank, though. It’s easy, it’s fun – and no one gets hurt. Also, the “reverse soda can tab” prank looks harmless. The “cups in the hall” prank is both visually interesting and fun.

Goofy signs on the company bulletin board are fine – so long as they don’t risk humiliating someone. In other words, have fun with nonsensical announcements and the like, but don’t pick on any specific co-worker.

One area to avoid are “fools’ errands” involving the workplace. For instance, giving a co-worker false information about a client, and sending him/her out to a phony meeting, can lead to lost business, and lost jobs. Just don’t do it.

Now that we’ve sucked all the fun out of your April Fools’ Day, have at it and stay safe!