April Fools' Day is on April 1st of every year. It is a tradition on this day to pull pranks and jokes on as many people as possible. Anyone who is successfully pranked is said to be an "April Fool". The more creative and original your pranks are, the more likely they are to be successful. Not only do individuals pull pranks, but companies are known to have fun on the day as well. Beware of any extraordinary news you hear on this day, as everything from TV shows, news shows, newspapers, and company websites are capable of pulling pranks.

Common corporate pranks to watch for are renaming of websites or companies, as demonstrated by Reddit in 2009. On the day of April 1st, Reddit, a popular website for news and interesting link, relaunched their site as "Reddigg", stating that they had teamed up with Digg, a similar website in direct competition with Reddit. The prank went as far as to include a complete website redesign almost identical to Digg's design. Though this fooled some, the prank was revealed by the end of the day, and Reddit reverted to it's original design. http://www.pcworld.com/article/162367/top_10_april_fools_day_fake_news_items.html

Other common pranks are extraordinary news. Perhaps one of the most famous example of this was the Wisconsin State Capitol Building Collapse in 1933. Newspapers that day featured images of the wrecked building, which was said to have been caused by "mysterious explosions" at 7:30AM that morning. http://www.museumofhoaxes.com/hoax/Hoaxipedia/April_Fools_Day_-_1933/ Although it was stated that no one was harmed, and the report concluded with the words "April Fools", many citizens were left upset, and felt the joke was carried too far.

2009 pranks ranged from a Car and Driver report that President Obama ordered GM and Chrysler out of NASCAR, to the Swiss Tourism Board promoting Association of Swiss Mountain Cleaners service.Time: Fake Pandas! And Other April Fools' Day Hoaxes (April 1, 2009)

This is a list of pranks that are great for an individual or small group to carry out. They do not require many special materials, skill, or large amounts of money, making them easy and quick for anyone to set up.

Claiming Scientific Discoveries

With many recent scientific discoveries and experiments, including Ice on the Moon and the Large Hadron Collider at CERN, 2010 is the perfect time to use scientific discoveries as the basis of an April Fools' Day prank. The more outrageous the better, but keep facts realistic enough to be believable.

The Classics

There are many April Fools' Day pranks that will continue to please and succeed year after year. Some great examples include:

• Plastic wrap over the toilet seat - Place plastic wrap over the toilet, below the lid. Anyone who uses it is in for a surprise!
• Hiding items - Hide an item that would be used normally and often doesn't move. For example, if your target makes coffee every day, remove all of the sugar from the kitchen. Claim that you have no idea what happened to it.
• Water filled paper cups - Place a large number of paper or Styrofoam cups side by side in rows on the target's floor. Use a stapler to attach the cups together on 4 sides. Use a jug or pitcher to fill each cup completely with water so that it's about to overflow. Because the cups are attached, your target won't be able to remove them to empty, and will be forced to tediously drink or siphon off the water from each and every cup.
• Non-functional computer mouse - If your target user an optical or laser mouse, place a small piece of tape carefully over the detector. The less-visible, the better, so consider other ways to cover the sensor. Your target will take a few minutes to determine why their mouse has suddenly stopped functioning.
• Claim an accident has happened - Call your target and explain to them that you've gotten in a very unusual accident, such as getting stuck in a tree while trying to save a cat, and you need their help.
• Store-bought pranks - Many store bough pranks are not only cheap, but easy to use. This includes things like exploding golf balls, untearable toilet paper, candies that dye your mouth, or toothpaste that tastes like soap. These can often be found at party or gift shops.

• The origins of April Fools' Day are unknown but many countries and cultures have a day when people play pranks on each other. In the United States April Fools' Day is celebrated annually for the entire day on April 1. However, other countries only celebrate until noon and anyone who plays a joke after noon is called an "April Fool". If someone plays a joke after noon they may be taunted with the chant, "April Fool is gone and past, You're the biggest fool at last"MB: Behind the Pranks (March 31, 2009)

• Poland, Scotland and Denmark avoid any type of serious activities and in France, April 1st is known as Poisson d'Avril (April Fish). According to tradition, "French children tape a picture of a fish on the back of their schoolmates, then cry out Poisson d'Avril"MB: Behind the Pranks (March 31, 2009)