Fooling the world

Tomorrow marks the annual holiday I hold in high reverence. Maybe because the name is one that I can identify with, maybe just because I'm a smartass who like a good laugh. Whichever way you slice it you can be sure the world at large will be enjoying/dreading April Fools Day. While many bloggers will claim to quit the game for good, only to recant later in the day, other people like to take it much farther. April Fools Day is not just for mental kids and internet geeks either. Over the years there have been some fantastic pranks that I remember and others that I have only read about, but would have loved to have been a part of.

Topping the list for me has to be the BBC's classic prank "The Swiss Spaghetti Harvest" which video can be viewed with realplayer here. A broadcast on their Panorama show documented that annual harvest of Swiss spaghetti trees who had yielded an unusually good crop as the result of a good growing season. The resulting flood of phone calls to the BBC offices regarding the cultivation of spaghetti trees was legendary. The station had to finally admit that there were no such thing as spaghetti trees and that it was all just a gag.

Back in 1996 there was a print ad for Taco Bell that claimed the Liberty Bell had been purchased to alleviate national debt and was henceforth to be known as the Taco Liberty Bell. Points go to the White house contact at the time who had responded to the inquiry by stating that the Lincoln Monument had been sold to Ford and would now be known as the Lincoln-Mercury Monument.

We had fun last year at our work. The bulk of our product comes from overseas on intermodal containers, and earlier in the year we had been crippled by a strike by the staff at the dockyards in Vancouver who refused to unload anything until their demands had been met. Our contact at the docks was brought onboard and an official strike notice on their letterhead had been faxed to the boss. I helped the boss get even by retaliating against the sales rep that spearheaded it all. Using simple tactics like nail polish on the battery terminals of his remote control we rendered his stereo "broken" for much of the day, enjoying the futile attempts at replacement of said batteries which involved a trip to the store.

It isn't just large agencies that can go to great lengths for their pranks though. Individuals can put as much effort into their works as the big boys. Take the Jodster for example. His efforts last year involving a dessert and a stapler confirmed the fears of many that television can be a bad influence on viewers.

There were many others that will last until the end of time, but the glory days seem to be fading. People seem to be letting the April Fools day tradition die off. Woe to the public at large if this can fade away like all the other holidays that seem to have lost significance over the years. Tomorrow morning, ladies and gentlemen, I need you to go out and pull at least one prank. Even if it isn't huge, it will be an effort to reclaim the day by the fools that we all yearn to be. If you aren't up for trying to think of something you can email me with your intended victim and I can help you plan out some simple action. While you're thinking over your options you can answer a simple question for me. What was your favourite prank? It can be anything from something that was done to you to something that you have pulled on others.

Tomorrow morning, let the Fools Rule!!

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I PITY THE FOOL WHO DON'T PULL A PRANK!!