April Fools!
What makes a good April fool? I have been asking myself this question ever since the age of five, when I told my grandparents that there was an elephant in our garden. They played along well, but my quest for the perfect April fool’s joke had not been achieved.
Over the years I have been subjected to all sorts of April fools, from the harmless “there’s a spider on your head” to the more traumatic occasion when my dad thought it would be funny to tell us that the big bad wolf had eaten our guinea pigs. If I was looking to others for ideas of fun on April the 1st, I would be scraping the barrel. Instead, I have seen some of my favourite jokes on social media. I even fell for the post my bank put out, saying that they had created facilities that would enable dogs to set up and control their own banking!
On a similar theme, I was also amused when my friend posted that her guide dog had unexpectedly given birth to puppies! The amount of people who fell for this, without stopping to think that an assistance dog would not be used for breeding purposes, made me laugh. What makes a good April fool? Social media,
apparently. On this theme, I decided to play an April fool at work. I help to run You’re Welcome Gloucestershire, an online directory of social events. Did you know about the greatest chocolate haven in Gloucestershire? It even has a chocolate ramp and hearing loop powered by the latest innovation in sugar technology! Sadly, this was my April fool’s joke. It made my colleagues smile and my manager was almost
fooled.
Over time I’ve collated a few tips on what makes a good April fool’s joke. It’s best if the fun esn’t upset someone. It doesn’t have to be anything complicated; in fact, keeping it simple is probably the way to go. I therefore wish you a happy April Fools of simple, harmless fun.
Megan Paul
