April 01, 2013

Pranks A Lot


Our "goals" post for April will be up tomorrow, and that's when the Polar HRM winner from last months post will be announced. We're in the car today, traveling back from a fun and busy visit with friends and relatives in the SF bay area--too short, as we didn't get to visit many folks we'd have liked to!  On the other hand, even unplugging for a few days has gotten me hideously behind on all things internet.  (I may be a slacker, but at least I like to keep it fresh with new excuses every week for not getting sh-t done).

But anyway, even though I'm not really blogging today, I do feel it my duty to warn those like me, who are often cheerfully oblivious as to what day of any given month it might be... to perhaps take a look at a calendar or other time-measuring device of some sort.

I know I'm a party pooper, but I want you all to be wary in case you should encounter any pranks and practical jokes today.

Can I just say I am not a fan?

What the heck is so "practical" about practical jokes, anyway?  The only kind I like are of the Victimless, Innocent, Cute and Entertaining variety.  (Which I guess means I'm a big fan of VICE? Actually, that sounds about right.)

So sure, if someone wants to break into our place and clean it all up while we're gone and decorate it with balloons and banners and leave a weeks worth of wholesome home-cooked meals in the freezer and leave us scratching our heads as to who could have done such an audacious thing... rock on!

But the more common kind of prank, in which people are subjected to unpleasant experiences for the amusement of others, particularly when they are being ridiculed for all-too-human reactions they might have to encountering something unexpected? I hate those. 

 (I am already on record as being easily embarrassed.)

And yet, hmm, I felt like I had to have a funny prank picture at the top of this blog post...

Oops.

OK, so this moment of total hypocrisy has been brought to you by Cranky Fitness.  You're welcome!  

So have a great April 1st and be careful out there today!

Water Prank picture via Graphicshunt.com

36 comments:

  1. Agree completely re: pranks. Most are mean-spirited no matter what the pranker says. I have no love for Fool's Day "fun" for the most part, but I do love the famous spaghetti tree hoax.
    https://www.google.ca/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=web&cd=2&cad=rja&sqi=2&ved=0CDYQFjAB&url=http%3A%2F%2Fen.wikipedia.org%2Fwiki%2FSpaghetti_tree_hoax&ei=94BZUd69Lo_yiQLGvIHgBw&usg=AFQjCNEeR3VoLp72XA_k7MRJu4WCaZVG3A&sig2=BBGhEcgziYdgcOWhob40Ug
    I am sorry, but if there's a short way to link I do not know it.

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    1. The spaghetti trees were possibly THE timeless April Fool's gag! #8-D

      ...aaaand, the short way to link is:

      <a href="www.whatever.com">text you want to display</a>

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    2. Love that the uptight BBC was responsible! And thanks Shadowduck for link instruction, I can never remember it myself and will often go into my post editor just to create a comment link. Duh.

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  2. I love to laugh as much as, or possibly more, than the next person, but I'm not a fan of practical jokes that embarrass someone or expose their gullibility. (But I still laughed at the photo, which I guess makes me a hypocrite.)

    Safe travels!

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    1. Thanks Cammy and glad I'm not the only hypocrite!

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  3. Im soooo a hater o'the prank!!!!!

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  4. I am fine with doing something silly myself for other people's amusement. I would never deliberately prank another person, unless your family(there are scores that still may need to be settled there). I will laugh with abandon if you mess up in front of me so I'm no saint. Oh and I will tell everbody what happened unless you make me swear to remain silent.

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  5. Glad I'm not the prank hater!! It's probably cause I'm not creative enough to come up with anything really good!!
    Glad you had a little get-away!!

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    1. Thanks Kim, the get away was awesome! But then the coming back is too. How freakin' lucky am I?

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  6. I don't like pranks that make the prankee feel dumb. I guess I'm more of a joke enjoyer than a pranker. BTW, apparently I'm also a word makerupper, as there are lots of squiggly red lines in this comment.

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    1. Love your wordmakeruppery Shelly! And sometimes I think my LIFE is a series of red squiggly lines. :)

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  7. Most "pranks" are not funny, really. My uncle was a prank puller, and it was because inside he was mean spirited and nasty, but everyone acted like it was okay for him to do these things because of the excuse it was "just a joke."

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    1. I'm with you messymimi, I often think there is a lot of unacknowledged aggression behind pranks, yet those of us who object are considered the spoilsports. Harumph!

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  8. Today has a more special meaning for me. It happens to be my 13th wedding anniversary! Yes, we are fools in love. :D

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    1. Crap, was offline and missed it but happy belated anniversary!

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  9. Since one of the many theories about why April 1st is April Fools day resonates to several aspects of my personality, I celebrate it! NOT the practical jokes part (don't like them either).

    It's the New Year redux part that I glom onto.

    Story has it that - in France - (love anything french, so that part is good for me) they used to celebrate the New Year on April 1st. Then, it got changed to Jan. 1st (kind of like the whole daylight savings time thing, but for a whole 'holiday').

    There were, bien sur!, some stubborn french folk who insisted on continuing to celebrate New Years on April 1st and they were labeled the April Fools.

    Well - count me in! Any chance I have to start over again is something about which I am completely enthusiastic.
    So - Happy April Fools day and vive la difference!!

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    1. Wow, I like your April Fools Day much better anon! I think I shall be a French Fool from now on and take advantage of a new chance for fresh starts.

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  10. Well, I have to admit it was kind of funny when, in college, some boys came into our dorm when we weren't home and covered our toilet base in clear plastic wrap before putting the seat down. You'd be surprised how unnoticeable something like that is until it's too late!

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    1. I always wondered if that actually worked Lyn! Fortunately while I've heard of it, I've never been a victim. Ick!

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  11. I'm a fan of the "Huh?! ... Ohhhhhhhhh!" sort of pranks, but I really don't like the more mean-spirited "jokes".

    Since I was the only one who had to get up and leave the house early today, I was planning to prank the girls by setting all the clocks in the house three hours fast (that would have discombobulated them for as long as it took them to look at their phones or switch on their computers). In the end it didn't happen 'cos ... um ... I forgot. That's what getting up at 5:15 does to you - makes you the biggest fool of the lot! #8-)

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    1. Oooh, that was sneaky Shadowduck... and even better that you turned the joke on yourself!

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  12. I don't mind pranks as long as they're not hurtful or humiliating. Creativity with those restrictions in mind amuse me but I'm not clever enough to think of any pranks, myself.

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    1. I bet you'd be a GREAT prankster Hilary if you had a more antisocial streak. I don't know why I think punning and pranking could be related...

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  13. The picture reminds me of a not-April-Fool's prank my grandmother played. She was a Grown Woman, Old Enough to Know Better, when she was attending a summer school for teachers (she'd been teaching for several years at this point) staying in a dorm that had no screens on the windows (an odd thing for the deep South) when one day she had gone up to her room on the second floor to get a drink of water. She was standing by the window drinking it, when a group of strangers came around the corner, under her window, and she gave in to an irresistible urge to pour the water out the window on them. She flattened herself against the wall beside the window and listened to the commotion. (This would have been about 1914--ladies in large hats and long skirts.) She told us this story when she was in her eighties, and said she was so ashamed of herself, but it still made her laugh.

    Mary Anne in Kentucky

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    1. This is such an awesome anecdote Mary Anne, it kinda makes me rethink my anti-prank stance, or at least I want to create a 1914 large hat exception clause.

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    2. This was so not like my grandmother, a kind and considerate woman, that I was going to say it was probably the meanest thing she'd ever done in her life, but I remembered how many younger brothers she had....

      Mary Anne in Kentucky

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  14. I seriously hate April fools so much.

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  15. Yep, I agree. I don't like April Fool's Day. It's not nice to make people feel foolish.

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  16. Thanks for posting -- totally agree with the above commenter; most pranks are mean-spirited. Not a fan.

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  17. With all the strange stories out there today, you can't tell the truths from the pranks without a score card!

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  18. Not a fan of those mean pranks at the expense of others for sure BUT the one you described about your place - I will take that! :) I need some major internet slacking - burning out! :)

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  19. Not a fan of mean pranks but the one by Virgin for glass bottomed planes was excellent. That got everyone because it was PLAUSIBLE... just. :)

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  20. I have to admit I really do get irritated when being pranked. I just can't stand to laugh when I am the victim.

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