April Fools

One could debate the whole philosophy of April Fools Day.  One could explore the history of the day of pranks.  Or one could skip this whole third person introduction and get on to the fun stuff.

Sometimes it's fun ... sometimes it's not.  Sometimes it's deliberate ... and sometimes -- keep reading.

I remember this used to be quite an event in elementary school ... and tricks were only allowed until noon. (The same rule held for pinches on St. Patrick's Day for not wearing green).  The worst one I remember was one cold and snowy April 1st in Prince George, BC, back in the late 1960s when girls had to wear dresses at school, but could wear snow-pants or pants on the playground and to and from school.  I had arrived at school and wanted to change out of my snow-pants, but the custodian had decided to trick us by exchanging the signs on the Boys and Girls washrooms.  The girls washroom was full of boys, the boys washroom had girls in it, and boys popping in and out.  I was almost late because I couldn't figure out where to take off my outdoor pants.  And being late was some kind of cardinal sin in those days.

Now a person can go on the Internet and get thousands of ideas to prank family and friends on April 1st ... you barely have to have a devious imagination anymore.  Of course, my daughter changed her husband's birthday this year on Facebook to April 1st and posted a "selfie" pretending to be pregnant.  I had intended to put goggle eyes on all the containers in the refrigerator, but forgot.  However, the best prank was totally unintentional.

I had been warming up alfredo sauce in the microwave the other day, and it overflowed.  I wiped up what I could, then put a mug of water in the microwave to heat up, condense, and loosen the baked on sauce.  Naturally, I forgot to go back to the microwave after supper, so the mug of water stayed inside.

Hours later, my son had forgotten to drink his tea while it was hot, so he popped it in the microwave to warm for about 20 seconds.  When he re-opened the microwave, his blue mug of tea had miraculously changed to a clear mug of water.  The rotating base had gone around once or twice and a half turn more, and his mug was actually at the back.  But at first glance, he was very puzzled and I could hear the "what the --?" expressions clearly.

The best April Fools jokes are definitely the ones that you didn't even plan.  And especially when they happen a few days after April 1st!