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The first of April is long planned by some and long dreaded by others. We’ve collected some of the best April Fool’s jokes that are fun and easy for everyone to pull off
The five best April Fools’ jokes for the first day of the month
Whether you want to fib or prefer to play a prank on those around you with some planning, we have collected good options for you.
- The fake news article: Some acting is required for this prank. Think up a made-up headline in advance, ideally based on the “victim” of your April Fool’s joke. In the morning, sit down together at the breakfast table and pretend to read the newspaper. Now read aloud, dumbfounded, your made-up headline. If you want to put more work into it, you can write a complete newspaper article, read it out loud and then see the shock on your “victim’s” face.
- The salt-and-sugar swap: If you want to make an April Fool’s joke quickly and without much planning, you can swap the salt with the sugar at home or in the office. Quite a few people will wonder why their morning coffee at their desk is oversalted.
- Food colouring: Harmless and quickly done is the colouring of various foods. This is particularly easy with liquid foods such as milk, yoghurt or juice. The whole family is then surprised at the breakfast table. As a rule, the coloured drinks and food can still be consumed.
- The media swap: If you want to play a prank on a family member, you can swap media that is normally consumed by the person. For example, you can reprogramme the channel list of the TV. In the case of reading friends, you can drag the book cover of the current book onto another book and then place it back in its usual place. This way, the swap will not be noticed until you try to find the right page.
- The car damage: Write a message on a small piece of paper: “Sorry for the small damage to the car” and put the piece of paper under the windscreen wipers of your friend. Now you can wait and watch as he panics and checks his car for scratches.
April Joke: Here it finds its origin
The April Fool’s joke as such did not become widespread and established until the second half of the 19th century. However, the custom was already written down in 1618.
- In 1530, the Imperial Diet of Augsburg was supposed to direct the coinage. For organisational and time reasons, however, this did not happen, so that a so-called “Coinage Day” was announced for 1 April.
- However, the planned “Coin Day” did not take place on 1 April and many people and speculators lost money on that day and also had to endure the ridicule of other citizens.
- Theories also exist that April Fool’s Day can be traced back to the calendar reform under the French King Charles IX in 1564. He officially moved the beginning of the year to 1 January. Out of ignorance, the turn of the year was nevertheless celebrated at the end of March in some areas of France; these people are said to have been called “April Fools”.
