So how do people really feel about April Fools’ Day pranks?
- Seems there’s a pretty equal divide between people who find them annoying and people who find them amusing.
- According to a YouGov poll, 45% of respondents found them amusing and 47% said they were annoying.
- Those under the age of 30 were more likely to find pranks funny – 50% liked them vs. 40% who found them annoying.
- And men under 30 were the most likely to appreciate April Fools' Day jokes -- with 60% saying they were amusing vs. 35% who found them irritating.
About a third of all workers try to play an April Fool's Day prank on a co-worker every April 1st. Here is a list of some "good clean fun" office pranks that won't get you fired or otherwise outcast.
- Put "Out of service" on all the toilet cubicle doors. Watch all of your colleagues run around. To add to the banter, put signs on the elevator doors as well.
- Sneeze.Do you have a germaphobe that works with you? This one is a classic. A co-worker pretends to sneeze and sprays water into the air making it look like a cloud of flying germs is landing all over your desk.
The Museum of Hoaxes in San Diego has published a list of the greatest April Fool's Day pranks ever pulled off. The museum based its list on notoriety, absurdity, and the number of people the prank fooled. Here are the highlights --
- 1996 - Taco Bell announces it bought the naming rights of the Liberty Bell in Philadelphia, with the plans to rename it the Liberty Taco Bell. Citizens called up the fast food company to complain.
- 1992 - National Public Radio ran a mock commercial saying Richard Nixon was running for president. A phony commercial stated, "I didn't do anything wrong, and I won't do it again."
- 1998 - Burger King announces the left-handed Whopper, made specifically for south-paws. Burger King said people actually came in ordering both righty and lefty whoppers.