From the famous Google Maps Pacman game to the infamous left-handed Whopper, companies will pull every trick in the book to generate those sweet social media clicks.
Gone are the days of April Fools being full of gag pies and shock buzzers, instead, we turn to our twitter feeds to look at companies’ product reveals only to type “OMG I WISH THIS WASN’T AN APRIL FOOLS’ JOKE!!!”
For kids, April Fools’ Day seems like it would be a great holiday — until they’re told that any pranks at school will result in them getting detention and any pranks towards their siblings will result in them getting grounded.
Everyone likes the idea of hilarious practical jokes, just so long as the joke doesn’t affect them personally.
The underlying problems with practical jokes doesn’t get to the core problem with April Fools’ Day though — it’s contradictory.
Pulling pranks is supposed to be a surprise. It’s your chance to catch someone off guard and get them to make a fool of themselves.
So why on earth would you attempt a hilarious prank on the one day that everyone expects to be pranked?
The existence of April Fools’ Day prevents any meaningful pranks from happening because everyone is on edge about pranks.
April Fools’ is a double-edged sword however, as any attempt to criticize or bemoan the holiday will result in you being branded as a “buzzkill” or “party pooper.”
I would love to see practical jokes make a return, but more importantly, when no one expects them, not because a date on a calendar told you that it’s time to be funny.
The next time you want to prank someone hard, do it on Christmas, because at least then it won’t be expected.
