Best of April Fool’s

April Fool’s Day is filled with pranks, goofs and gaffs. While it can seem childish, it is a worth-wild day to have fun with, even if it is at the expense of friends and family. It may not be a day rife with maturity and good decisions, but it is a day to celebrate one’s inner child.

As with most holidays, there is nothing wrong with not celebrating it, especially such a minor one. If it is a day one enjoys, here are some simple prank ideas that may help make the day all the more special.

The first set of pranks deals with computers.

Look, it is not cool to invade someone’s privacy or use their computer without their permission. If one does have easy and permissible access to a friend’s computer, there are a lot of amazing, yet simple, pranks that can really drive someone bonkers.

Chrome has multiple extensions that can make anyone’s April Fool’s Day really frustrating.
One of these is the extension called “nCage.” It changes almost every picture on virtually any website into a random image of the actor Nicholas Cage.

Another extension, “Block Site,” can give a prankster many ways to subject their friends and family to frustration. The extension allows the user to block any website. Not only does it allow the blocking of sites, but it also provides for the redirection to a predetermined web site. One could prevent Google and make it redirect to Yahoo search. Netflix, Hulu and YouTube can be made to redirect to Moodle if one wants to make a statement about their friend’s time management.

These pranks do not just revolve around the internet. It is simple to change the mouse icon to become the loading icon permanently. It is simple, but will really confuse someone.

Messing around with the desktop background is another great idea. Taking a screenshot of the desktop, hiding the toolbar and setting the screenshot as the background would frustrate anyone. Everything will look the same, but nothing will work.

Some pranks can be done on the hardware of a computer, as well. Clear tape over the sensor of a mouse will cause it not to work all that well. Simple and quick, but still effective. The tape trick can work on the ends of cables as well.

Phones offer a whole world of pranks. Of course, one needs access to another’s phone, which should never be done without permission.

Switching the names of contacts is a great prank that allows for some nuance. One can merely change “Mom” to “Dad” in their contacts, or vice versa. There are more creative ways to go, like switching the contact name for a friend’s significant other and their grandparents.

Changing the contacts’ pictures is another way to go here.

Predictive text also offers many options to mess with people. Having “no” change to “yes” is a classic prank. It is another prank that allows a lot of nuances.

Away from the digital world, there are many options for quick pranks.

Scattering uncooked macaroni under a toilet seat will make anyone freak out when they go to take their morning constitutional. It will sound like the whole toilet is breaking.

Moving someone’s possessions slightly over a few days is a classic choice. Similarly, one can rearrange objects to make the person seems like they are going insane.

One can mess with their friends without even putting forth an effort. If one is a known prankster, just the allusion of a prank on April Fool’s Day can drive some mad. The expectation of getting pranked is sometimes worse than the pranks themselves.

There are a few pranks that should be avoided. Fake pregnancy scares, break up and affairs are just cruel.
Pranks should be mostly harmless and in good nature. If the intention of the prank is to hurt someone, then it’s an awful prank. At that point, you are just using the day to be a bully.

April Fool’s Day, at its core, is about fun and harmless pranks. While elaborate pranks can be fun, sometimes the simplest ones can have the most hilarity. Even if one does not usually partake, a simple prank once every few years can be exciting. We all want to seem like adults, but a childish day of fun can remind us of the more easy-going side of life.