I hate April Fool's Day

I love pranks, but I hate April Fool's Day.  I feel like that's not as strange a stance as it probably sounds in a vacuum.

The reason I hate it is because every year without fail, people who aren't funny see it as their personal responsibilities get the better of a peer.  Here's the problem, though... more often than not, it isn't funny.  So this person has built up in their mind how awesome the thing they had planned is going to be, and since it isn't funny to anyone else when the cord is finally pulled it's met with, "Oh, so you're not really ___?"  Let's be honest, that blank is usually filled with the word "pregnant".  So at this point the prankster is the only one laughing.  Best case scenario, he or she has only tried to dupe one person, and there isn't a group of people standing around wishing they were somewhere else.  Do we as a society really need a day devoted to this kind of tomfoolery?

As I said, I love pranks.  Setting your roommate's clocks ahead?  Funny.  Leaving fake rodents or body parts in your office secretary's desk?  Funny.  Putting a bouillon cube in someone's shower head?  Hilarious!  If you want to do one of these things, just go for it.  You don't have to wait for the 91st day of the year.  In fact, doing it another day will make it even better, because no one will inherently suspect a prank is coming on June 16th.  And anyone who is that suspicious deserves to get gotten.  But if the only gags you can devise are either wholly unoriginal, or just plain unfunny, do us all a favor and leave it to the professionals.

I will admit that there are a few exceptions to my hatred of April Fool's Day.  I don't mind references to this, the mother of all non-holidays in ways that are either benign or call attention to how ridiculous it is.  I co-wrote a comic strip during my college days, and on April 1st the artist would put mustaches on one or several of the characters.  Today saw the release of a "Special Report" from a podcast to which I subscribe.  And as an unrepentant jerk, I'm a fan of the Liar's Day wiles of one John Gabriel.

I will leave you with a prank from the Office that always makes me laugh.  Who would expect this elaborate a prank at Christmas?  Not Dwight.  Well... maybe Dwight.  But he clearly deserves it.