Rick Rolling

Guide Note:Rick Rolling is an Internet prank whereby users are enticed to click on a misleading link, only to have it direct them to Rick Astley's music video for the 1987 hit, "Never Gonna Give You Up." Rick Rolling is a variation on a similar Internet prank called Duckrolling, in which a picture of a duck on wheels is substituted or disguised as a link to a news item or popular celebrity. Rick Rolling has since become a major Internet Meme, and the basis for numerous pranks, hoaxes and April Fools' Day jokes.

Fast Facts:

1. The MySpace profile of HeatherPixie88 often leads to a Rick Roll
2. Astley said that he won't produce a remix version of the song, but wouldn't mind if other artists did

Rick Astley Response: "It's a bit strange anyway, to be honest, to have videos of when you were a young guy out on the internet, do you know what I mean? I'm 42 years old now, so it's a little bit weird anyway. But it's funny. It makes me laugh -- I'm sure it really annoys a lot of other people -- but it's made me laugh occasionally."

Notable Rick Rolls:

1. On April 1, 2008, all the videos on the front page of YouTube redirected to the Astley video.
2. Also on April Fools' Day 2008, the Mahalo Daily podcast featuring Veronica Belmont Rick Rolled their audience.
3. In February 2008, the anti-Scientology group, Anonymous, Rick Rolled The Church of Scientology by playing the song loudly during their Project Chanology protests.