OPINION: April foolery

I love a good practical joke and I came by this trait naturally.

For years my family has been involved or suspected in a number of pranks, gags and hoaxes which have been going on for years.
Our latest elaborate joke involved a canned Chinese dinner, Snowflake Promotions (not real), courier service from Toronto, a Yule log, a family wedding and a loaded gift basket.

It fizzled out a couple years ago in a bizarre rototiller incident but we remember that decade fondly and sometimes we still crave that Chinese food.

But until the next prank comes along we look forward to April 1 when we can still surprise and embarrass an unsuspecting fool or two.

My first official April 1 pranking  occurred when one of my best friends at school (at least I thought he was) told me my fly was open.

When I looked down to check and discovered everything was still secure he shouted out, “April Fool” and laughed at my embarrassment.
It took years to settle the score but then, in Grade 3 I think, I finally got back at that supposed friend with the classic, “Your shoelace is untied.”

The rest is history – foolish, foolish history.

The origins of this quaint custom are shrouded in mystery but setting aside an entire day for harmless jokes and fun is a universal practice.

Some trace it back to the Roman holiday of Hilaria or the medieval Feast of Fools – others cite the foolish reformation of the Georgian calendar in 1582.

In France, victims are called April fish in reference to the young, easily caught fish in the rivers at this time of year.

In England all joking ceases promptly at noon and anyone caught pranking later in the day is considered a fool themselves – it just isn’t cricket.

British TV brought April Fools into the mainstream in 1957 by tricking viewers with a nature show about pasta growing in a spaghetti orchard.

Until then nobody even suspected it grew on trees – meatballs are still of unknown origin.

In Sweden in 1962 an April 1 broadcast convinced thousands that they could convert their TV sets to colour by stretching a nylon stocking over the screen.

In 2008 our country was surprised by an announcement from the Canadian Mint that the five dollar bill would be replaced by a three dollar coin called the threenie.

Just a week ago last Tuesday the Samuel Adams brewery announced a new beer, carbonated with helium and called HeliYum – a light-headed and high-pitched brew.

For one day only (April 1) anyone purchasing Mutant Ninja Turtles Lego blocks could have them delivered to their door on the back of an actual turtle – shipping times vary.

Dominos Pizza has a new ordering option – the Edibox upgrade will have your pie delivered in a box made entirely of pizza dough.
And because you eat the box, it’s filling but not land filling – extra dipping sauce is recommended.

The new Twitter Helmet is a device that envelops your entire head and allows you to tweet by making a pecking motion with the attached beak.

Tic Tac has developed a new container that doesn’t shake and doesn’t rattle so people can’t hear your mints and you don’t have to share.

April 1, 2014 saw the release of the cardboard car, LuluLemon spray-on yoga pants and pigeons with micro-routers strapped to their backs (universal Fly-fi).

April Fools Day restores my faith in mankind – as long as we continue to laugh at ourselves and poke fun at each other with no harm intended, there may be hope for us yet.