There’s nothing more embarrassing than falling prey to a prank, especially if you make a melodramatic spectacle of yourself. It doesn’t help that April Fool’s falls on a Wednesday this year, meaning you’ll have to keep your back up both at home and at work. Don’t be the dunce who winds up crying hysterically when the PowerPoint presentation you prepared suddenly turns into what appears to be a slideshow of images of you Photoshopped into a furries convention. Your coworkers are behind it.
The good news is, you only have to make it until noon, when April Fool’s officially ends. To help you avoid being the victim of your office’s resident Ashton Kutcher, our friends at Virgin Mobile have turned their homepage into a public service announcement for Canadians seeking guidance to conquer their own gullibility from now until April 1.
The Virgin Mobile tip sheet shows Canadians how to be “fool proof” and includes reminders to not fall asleep (yup, that means pulling an all-nighter with not even an hour of shut-eye), eating canned foods only, and wearing protective eyewear. They take it so seriously they’ve even created a cool public awareness video and prepped a checklist to make sure you don’t forget anything. Scroll to bottom when you’re ready to put these into use. Make sure to practice prank avoidance!
Our Vv Magazine editorial team also decided to help out by sharing our wildest April Fool’s Day stories along with the lessons we gleaned from either being the prankster or the unsuspecting target. Here are our craziest April Fool’s pranks & tips to avoid being duped…
Nicki, Publisher & Editor-in-Chief
Craziest Prank: The biggest and baddest prank I’ve ever played is telling my boyfriend I was pregnant and letting him live with that thought for a couple of hours — oh-so mean… haha. Let’s just say he was both disappointed and relieved when I wished him a Happy April Fool’s Day!
Take-Away Tip: How could he have guessed it was a prank? Only if he remembered it was April Fool’s Day – so my biggest tip is: put a Google alert in your calendar now. No, seriously. Do it.
Vicki Hogarth, Managing Editor
Four years ago, I was in rehab for April Fool’s, which sounds like a punchline just stated as a simple fact (I was there for St. Patrick’s Day too, for added irony). One of my fellow patients announced that he’d broken the window to the shed that functioned as our only gym. We must have seemed moderately disappointed because he immediately yelled, “April Fool’s!” It was a nice light moment right before he broke down in tears because he realized he was still so good at deceiving people. I comforted him by telling him it was just a bad joke.
Take-Away Tip: If you’re going to pull a prank, make sure it’s backfire-proof. Don’t dupe your boss if you can’t take what’s comin’ for you in the job review. Also, making sure you can take a joke is key because you will get yours eventually. Don’t mess with karma.
Philip Mak, Fashion Editor
Craziest Prank: Last year, Vicki Hogarth and I sent out baby shower invitations celebrating the arrival of our man-baby, a 41-year-old CEO of his very own Fortune 500 company — a true modern family! We’re actually now considering it as an actual lifestyle option. What, is your baby a self-made multi-millionaire?
Take-Away Tip: April Fool’s Day lets you secretly test out people’s reactions to news you might actually be considering as a real-life possibility. It’s the ultimate way to get sincere answers to “hypothetical” questions from your friends and family.
Azra Hirji, Associate Editor
Craziest Prank: For April Fool’s Day, when I was hella lot younger, I pretended to be my twin. I don’t have a twin. In fact, I don’t have any siblings. A handful of my friends were gullible enough to fall for it. The twin act only lasted for an hour or so — I got tired of keeping up with it. I definitely had fun pretending to be a more exotic version of myself. #onlychildsyndrome
Take-Away Prank Tip: Never miss an exciting opportunity to test out your acting skills. The Oscars might be subjective when it comes to grading performances, but on April Fool’s Day, either you’re convincing or you’re not.
Lauren O’Brien, Writer
Craziest Prank: When I was a teenager, one of my best friends told me that she was pregnant. Through tears, she said that she was going to drop out of school to raise her baby. I was speechless. She let the prank continue until we got to school, where someone finally pointed out to me that it was April Fool’s Day.
Take-Away Tip: Announcing a fake pregnancy is an April Fool’s Day classic and it can often traumatize the person at the butt of the womb joke. This year, dupe the pregnancy prankster by having a dramatic reaction prepared. When you hear the fake news, pretend to get emotional and say, “I’m sorry — I’m happy for you, I am. It’s just that I found out I can never have children.” Mean? Sure. Not funny? Not at all! But it’ll make sure you’re never played for a fool again.
Isabel Chalmers, Writer
Craziest April Fool’s Prank: When I was a kid, my dad hid a walkie talkie under my pillow and made ghost noises into it. Of course, I thought it was a real ghost and screamed and cried. Traumatic, but also hilarious.
Take-Away Tip: Wake up early — like Chuck Norris early — and wait. That way you can be on guard for even the paperboy. The way he recklessly throws those papers — he’s clearly not to be trusted.
Alida Di Placido, Writer
Craziest April Fool’s Prank: I’ve never pranked or been pranked on April Fool’s but, when I was 15, one of my best friends told her parents she had eloped with her boyfriend. After her mom started to cry and her dad’s face turned all red, she announced it was an April Fool’s joke and that she had just gotten a tattoo instead.
Take-Away Tip: April Fool’s pranks are a great way to ease the blow of actual news you’ve been meaning to share with someone. Two birds, one gag.
Jessica Vomiero, Writer
When I was a kid, I taped chalk to the bottom of my classroom’s blackboard eraser. Every time my teacher used it, she’d end up making an even bigger mess. It gave my class a good laugh, but 10-year-olds are an easy crowd to please.
Take-Away Tip: Pranking authority figures on April Fool’s Day is a therapeutic way to release pent up resentment that you’ve been harbouring for the last 12 months under the guise of a joke. It’s only passive-aggressive if it’s not funny.
Scared? No worries – Virgin Mobile’s got your back. Check out their public service awareness video and checklist:
VIRGIN MOBILE PRACTICE PRANK PREVENTION CHECKLIST
At Home Check List:
- Watch and memorize Home Alone 1 & 2
- Wear protective equipment including but not limited to bubble wrap, pillows, or Snuggies
- Bubble wrap everything for added protection
- Make all food yourself and don’t leave any anything unattended (best to stick with canned items, no surprises in there)
- Carry toilet paper, lotion, hand sanitizer and a change of clothes with you at all times
At Work Check List:
- Look for air horns and Whoopie Cushions under chairs or behind doors
- Check the toilet seat for cling wrap
- Actually, just check all surfaces for cling wrap
- Watch for buckets over doorways
- Constantly inventory all furniture and belongings
- Be suspicious of all coworkers
Do you have any good prank stories or tips to avoid being the laughing stock of the office? Let us know in the comments below or tweet us @ViewtheVibe.
* This is a sponsored post by Virgin Mobile