Has anyone noticed that "prank" and "practical joke", which at one time didn't involve actual physical contact, has now become synonymous with smacks to the face or other forms of assault and battery.

I was watching a YouTube compilation of April Fool's "pranks" and almost every one featured someone getting hit with something. My idea of a prank would be the classic from several years ago in Alaska. Citizens noticed smoke billowing out of the top of what they had thought was a dormant volcano. On closer examination, they found the volcano was still inert but someone had thrown an abundance of auto tires into the crater and set them alight. Then he had (the account doesn't say how) written "April Fool" on the side of the mountain.

When I was a docent at the local zoo, April 1 was a day the receptionist hated. All day long people would call and ask for "Mr. Lyon" or for "Ellie Fant." Usually it was because someone had told them that person had called and they were trying to return the call. One day she kept count and stopped after 150 calls.

My own idea of a "prank" also involved the zoo. One of the keepers loved Fawlty Towers and had bought every John Cleese video available, including a really obscure film he had made (I can't recall the title). His wife, who also worked there, told me about the film and she prevailed on her husband to let me borrow it (on a VHS tape). He reluctantly agreed but impressed on me that nothing -- and he meant NOTHING -- should happen to the tape. I watched the film but when I brought it back I substituted an old VHS tape of mine in the film's box. Before I put it in the box, I yanked a handful of tape out and left it dangling. Then I waited till the keeper was in the break room with other keepers and handed it back, saying, "Sorry it got a bit damaged. Maybe you can repair it." He wanted to inflict the same damage on me that he assumed I'd done to his precious tape.

Anyone have any April Fool's stories that don't feature bodily injury to the victim?

When I worked in Oregon, I worked with a midget. NOT a dwarf, but a genuine midget. The service manager of the lawnmower repair shop where I worked had the midget get inside a box that a mower had been shipped in, then taped it shut, then told the shop "gopher" to unpack the "mower." He almost messed his pants when he opened the box and the midget jumped up.

None of mine ever do, Proof.

Probably my most memorable was telling my daughter that our local mall was going bankrupt. There had been some business problems with it, so that made it believable. My daughter called all her friends, far and wide, and I practically started a huge rumor!

However, the one that did me in with the same daughter(Catherine) was when I told her my friend had a little pug puppy that she couldn't keep, and I told my friend that Catherine would take it. My daughter works long hours so of course I knew she'd be irritated - and then I'd say, "April Fool!" Well, that blew up in my face. My daughter was over-joyed - again called all her friends, including one in Texas who raises pugs and who gave her advice. Catherine was so disappointed when I said "April Fool!" that I gave up April Fools jokes for a few years. Even her friends said, "Your mom did that?!!" Maybe I'll start again this year!

Here are a bunch from the HuffPost.

I was originally a radio operator in the Army. One joke was to send the newest recruit out to other departments asking for "Anti-Static Grease" for the radios.

Eventually I became company clerk and the joke of the day for those in the command section was to send a recruit on a useless mission. One day I asked "Smith" whether he had filed his masturbation papers. Naturally he had no idea he was supposed to, so I sent him back to the Supply Sergeant for the proper forms. As he headed back there I called the sergeant and let him in on the gag. For the rest of the day, Smith was sent on fruitless searches for the forms, which didn't exist. Every time he came into the office, which happened several times a day, I would berate him for not filing on time.
Through my window I could see the entire quadrangle and, glancing out, I saw Smith on the way to battalion headquarters. Just as he reached the building, the commanding officer came out. Smith approached him, saluted, and engaged in conversation. Nothing wrong with that -- but then he pointed toward my office. And the officer headed my way. Did he ask the CO about masturbation papers? Geoff's fellow worker and I shared the same dirty drawers at that moment. Luckily, it was ust Army business but I sweated for a while.

The president of our printing firm was leaving for another job and, since he was one of the few good managers we'd had, everyone attended a party for him. Along with another worker, I put together a "tribute" to him and at the end, we thanked him for being such a good sport at our roast. Then I said we actually had a nice gift for him, a finely-sculptured glass figurine from a well-known artist he liked. Joe then handed me a wrapped box but as I reached for it, he dropped it on the floor. Inside the box was a compartment rigged to break and drop marbles and stones onto several sheets of glass. The sound was unbelievable, especially since the entire crowd went dead silent for several seconds when it happened.

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Wow - you are quite the practical joker! Mine aren't nearly this good (or bad, depending ).

I remember a radio talk show we used to listen to in the mornings reporting about the "zitson" plug that you can get at the local hardware store, and if you plug it into your TV, you'll be able to see the radio announcers on channel 1 of the TV. He really had people going with that one!

At the start of each class today I wrote on the board "Toady is Germany's National Day and out English Lesson will be in German". I then proceeded with all my usual greetings in German instead of English. much to the bemusement of my class before I explained - still in German - that today is the first of April and then wrote 1st April on the board. It took a while for them to all get it but when they did they thought it was pretty funny and I started the real lesson. (After explaining that it isn't German National Day)

Excellent!

My joke failed on my husband this morning. I said, "Now, honey, remember we have that big dinner tonight at my work. You'll have to meet me downtown and get all gussied up." He said I had him for a moment, but then he realized it was April Fool's Day.

One of my favorite April Fool's jokes involved the Science Digest (?). At the time, the zoo had naked mole rats, which inhabit deserts in Africa and spend all their lives in underground burrows. They live in communities like bees, with a queen who gives birth to all the other rats, all of whom cater to her. They are totally devoid of hair (except for little whiskers) since it is hot in the burrows. They can't come to the surface except at night, when it is cooler. Survival outside the burrow is impossible for them.

One day, the magazine had a column relating how scientists were surprised to find a burrowing colony of naked mole rats which had adapted to the cold and were living under the ice in the Antarctic. While the African version was not dangerous, the ice mole rats were attacking any warm-blooded creature that ventured into their vicinity.

This article caused any uproar, until people noticed the date on he magazine.

Many years ago, my brother received a letter with a formal letterhead in raised ink 9which was expensive then). It was from a Reverend Some Official Name, and read something like this:

Dear Brother:

Perhaps you have heard of me and my campaign to bring temperance to our country. As you know, drink is the evil that is bringing this nation to a decline which we must stop.

Every year, for the past twenty-five, I have traveled the country preaching on the evils of liquor. On these tours, I have been accompanied by Arthur Smith, a man of fine up-bringing and great wealth, but who succumbed to the lure of hard spirits at an early age. During my lectures I would point to Arthur, who would sit by my side staring vacantly at the audience with bloodshot eyes and drool slipping from the corner of his drooping lips. I would proclaim him a prime example of what imbibing bourbon and beer could do. Thanks to Arthur, my lectures were met with keen approval and approbation.

Unfortunately, last month poor Arthur died. A mutual friend has suggested that I contact you to see if you would like to take poor Arthur's place.

I doubt that too many can take advantage of this. It may require professional assistance, so be careful before beginning the project.

Very funny!

This may seem trivial to you but it is a matter of some concern to me. I don't want to seem obsessed about it, though my doctors constantly warn me that it becoming just such an obsession. It's not like it's dominating my life. I can go through the day without worrying about it too much (your definition of "too much" may vary). I really think labeling this as OCB is carrying it too far. Wait. I think it's time for my pills.

Ahhh! That's better.

On the internet, there is "dot.com" and "dot.net" and "dot.org." The first two are easy but how do you pronounce the last? Is it "orG" or "orJ"? For some reason, there's a PSA that uses the "j" variation and I wonder if it is right.

I always say (subvocally, anyway) "orG". After all, it's short for "orGanisation".

PSA? What do Prostate-Specific Antigens have to do with Org? Uhh, unless it's short for "Orgasm?"

I have become so against acronyms and initialisms that I don't use them anymore. I've decided to spell out most of them.

OMG. LMAO.

While recovering from my bad foot for the past year, I've spent some time checking out YouTube, which I never knew existed till recently. Since tomorrow is April Fool's Day, I thought I would mention that many of the so-called "pranks" on the internet are incredibly dangerous and thus not funny at all. For example, placing explosives near to the victim and endangering them. It appears that some element of harm is necessary (at least to the perpetrators) to engender humor. Why this is so escapes me.

I hope your April Fool's Day is funny without fatalities.

I just posted some in Community, and the one I liked was about someone falling down the stairs so I see what you mean.

This isn't an April Fool's joke but it might as well have been.

I like this response: "I is lawyer. You is lawyer. We is lawyers. Themis lawyers."

So funny, proof!