April Fools Pranks

April Fools pranks are a fun and often harmless way of saying "gotcha!" every April 1st. Many of these pranks truly are funny, as the made-you-look moment of a prank well done highlights the gullibility of even the smartest and most paranoid friend on April Fool's Day.

Some April Fools pranks, however, can cross a line, causing serious injury or even death. Therefore, discriminate between pranks on April 1st that are meant to entertain and excite, and the ones that could end up injuring someone you simply wanted to make laugh. Following are some popular April Fools pranks, and why you should avoid giving in to them at all costs.

April Fools Pranks to Avoid

A perennial favorite of April foolers everywhere, putting a tack in the teacher's chair and watching her scream or squirm can seem like fun. However, doing so might cause serious damage to your teacher.

A tack in her chair, or anyone else's for that matter, might puncture her skin, causing a serious laceration. The tack that you use to prank someone in such a mean way will not be sanitary, and could cause infection or tetanus. Although everyone is used to cutting themselves from time to time, such serious diseases can result in a person going to the hospital or even dying. Plus, you also don't want to risk getting expelled from school over such an unnecessary joke.

Vaseline on the Windshield

Putting tiny globs of Vaseline on a friend's windshield is another popular prank on the April Fool's holiday. When your friend attempts to remove these globs of gunk by turning on his windshield wipers, they quickly spread to cover the entire windshield. This prank can result in a car accident which will hurt your friend and other people on the road.

Other Mean Pranks

Do not play mean jokes on April Fool's day. A fake breakup or death notification will cause so much pain and heartache that you're likely to lose a friend, and the person pranked may even go out and do something drastic before you are able to tell them you're only fooling with them.

Pranks to Try

Not all April Fools Day pranks are necessarily harmful. Making someone do a double take out a window or in a room is good for a quick laugh, and chances are your friend will laugh along with you.

For example, insisting that you've been seeing Elvis for the past couple of weeks and hiring an Elvis impersonator to make an appearance at the end of the day could be very funny. Preparation, ingenuity and cleverness are the crux of such a joke, and the humor does not come from a gut reaction or another person's pain. Poke holes in a disposable cup and ask your friend to get you a drink of water - all he will lose is a dry pair of pants for an hour or so. Remove the mouse ball from a buddy's computer mouse at the office, and put an April Fool's note on the bottom of it. Anything you can do that will not result in the harm or discomfort of another person is fair game.

Planning

When you plan out your April Fool's Day practical jokes, take a few things into consideration. First, what is the intended result? If you're trying to hurt someone, even if only mildly, you should not be pranking people at all. A true friend wants to laugh with, not at, others.

Ask yourself if there's even the possibility that a friend will end up hurt or his property damaged. There's usually a way around such jokes, and you should be able to come up with a harmless practical joke that will elicit laughter without the potentially costly side-effects. For example, instead of putting sugar in a friend's gas tank, put it on or around his gas tank. He'll be afraid to drive, but his car will not be harmed as a result.

Finally, stay away from any jokes that might cause emotional hurt or distress. People act differently when they think a loved one has been hurt, or their relationship is ending, and they might act on impulse before you get the chance to yell April Fools.