My mom was the Queen of April Fool’s Day jokes. And I think I was one of her biggest fools.
With seven children, my mother had a built-in quorum of victims. She was the master.
- Her jokes were always believable
- That made them practically fool-proof
- Her best tactic was getting you just as you rolled out of bed
MOM: “Oh, Cathy, what is that all over your pajamas?”
ME: “What?” looking down at my pajamas
MOM: “April Fool’s!”
Oh, she was good.
5 Favorite April Fool’s Day Jokes
In honor of the great tradition of my Mom, here are some of the jokes I remember hearing about. These are random – just the ones this baby boomer brain remembers.
#1 – Ring in the Laughter
Taco Bell’s little joke was definitely a favorite. The restaurant chain took out a full-page ad in several newspapers, announcing it had purchased the Liberty Bell. The ad stated the historic treasure would be renamed the Taco Bell Liberty Bell.
The company wasn’t prepared for the huge outcry. That’s one of the funny things about these jokes. I am sure the marketing team at Taco Bell were sure everyone would know they were joking – not everyone did. Hysterical!
#2 – He’s Baaack
A radio show on National Public Radio (NPR) announced that former president, Richard Nixon, was running again for the presidency. They even used comedian, Rich Little, to impersonate President Nixon.
You may have to be a baby boomer, like me, to remember Rich Little. He is one of the greatest impersonators of all time. He did a killer Nixon. As you might expect, NPR listeners flooded the station with outrage. The station ‘fessed up in the afternoon program, admitting it was an April Fool’s Day joke. Gotcha!
#3 – Is That Far Left?
Not to be outdone by Taco Bell, Burger King took out their own full-page ad. It announced that the home of the Whopper had created a left-handed Whopper. You know – to support all the left-handed people in our right-handed world.
One would think after the Liberty Bell joke, everyone would know this was a joke. People actually traveled to their local Burger King and requested the new left-handed Whopper. No word on whether they used their right or left hand to slap their head when they found out it was a joke.
#4 – Haven’t I Seen You Before?
You know how you see someone “out of place” and it confuses your brain. Okay, maybe that’s just me. What I mean is if you see someone every week at church, and then you run into them at a concert, for a few minutes, you can’t place them. They’re not where they are supposed to be. That same feeling occurred for comic strip readers.
Several big-time comic strip creators, like Scott Adams of Dilbert fame, had their characters showing up in different comic strips. Readers must have thought the world had come to an end. Holy mix-up, Batman!
#5-A Bit Off Course
When I was living in San Diego, there was an April Fool’s Day joke initiated by a radio station. Radio stations are some of the best sources of the jokes.
A local D.J. at KGB (the original home of the San Diego Chicken – a bit of trivia – very, very old trivia), announced that the space shuttle Discovery was scheduled to land at a very small, local airport in San Diego, Montgomery Field. He reported the shuttle had been diverted from its usual Edwards Air Force base landing.
You can imagine what happened. Thousands of morning commuters jammed the highways to get to Montgomery Field. Who wouldn’t want to see the landing of the Discovery? The only people who didn’t find it the least bit funny were the police. They threatened to bill the radio station for the manpower needed to deal with the joke. I’m not sure if that ever happened. April Fool’s!
Your Turn
Despite playing the fool, I love April Fool’s Day. As long as the jokes are not cruel, it’s good to laugh at ourselves.
It’s your turn – share some of your favorite April Fool’s Day jokes. I appreciate you stopping by – no fooling.
Live…Laugh…Love
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My village used to feature an April fool every year. There would be palm trees and sand on the mini roundabout (an island). Aliens hanging from street lights. Traffic cones everywhere along the paths, fake quicksand, washing lines in the main street with interesting underwear.
All this was prepared in the middle of the night. It’s a mystery who did it but I suspect it was a local fire station. Sadly, it doesn’t happen any more.
How fun! The mystery of who did it is part of the fun. I just love when there are harmless jokes that make us smile. Halloween is my favorite holiday. I guess it’s that little kid inside all of us.
Thanks for stopping by, Marty, and sharing such a fun story.
I always wanted to play a joke on someone but I’m so bad. I always start laughing and ruin everything, LOL
I know what you mean, Diana. I do the same thing. I can’t keep the stupid smirk off my face. It’s a dead give-away. Thanks for stopping by, Diana, and sharing in the fun.
Cathy, these are great! I remember the Rich Little bit. 🙂 And Taco Bell – brilliant! These are the kinds of jokes I enjoy – they poke fun and give you the opportunity to “discover” the joke on your own.
I loved the Taco Bell one, too. Maybe because this was my Mom’s specialty, but I usually knew pretty quickly that they were April Fool’s Day jokes – unless I was just rolling out of bed and the brain cells hadn’t kicked in. 🙂
Thanks for stopping by, Lori.
Thank you for reminding me that today is April Fools Day. You probably saved me from falling for a few pranks at work. When my daughter was about 12 years old she April Fooled us. My late husband and I woke up to the alarm clock going off at 3:00 A.M. Dan looked at me and burst out laughing. Someone had drawn a mustache and beard on me as we slept. Our bedroom was filled with streamers of toilet paper. Still laughing we got out of bed and stepped on a sheet of bubble wrap and as we reached for the door handle we were met with a handful of Vaseline and when we sat on the toilet seat, again, Vaseline. My daughter is 26 years old now but we still laugh about her April Fool’s Day pranks.
That is hysterical, Suzi! My Mom never went that far, but she got me every year because every year I forgot it was April Fool’s Day. Thanks for stopping by, Suzi, and sharing a great story that had me laughing out loud. 😀
Great fun! My Dad used to play April Fools Day jokes on us all the time when we were growing up, but for the life of me I can’t remember any of the jokes– I think most of them were groaners!! He lives over seas now and I would have to ask him if he remembers any of them, thanks for triggering the idea, I will see if he does remember any of them!
Hi Holly-glad I could bring a smile at happy memories. If you do find out, come on back and share a joke or two. Thanks for stopping by, Holly!
One April Fool’s day at work, we decided to play a little prank on the MDs we worked with. Each one was left a missed call message and directed to call a Dr L. E. Funt. They all fell for it … it was hilarious! The phone number they called? It was the Cleveland Zoo. Fortunately, the folks at the Zoo were very good sports.
Thanks for this post Cathy, and thanks for bringing back the fun! 🙂
P.S. Are you still sitting @ the computer in your jammies? Wish your Mom a very happy April Fool’s from me.
LOL, Kim! That’s hysterical. You reminded me of some other April Fool’s Day pranks. I worked for a global consulting firm. They had some of the best pranksters in the world. There was one Consultant who had a particularly challenging client. The staff copied that client’s photo and pasted it all over the consultant’s office-I mean ALL over.
She picked up the phone, there was a small cut-out of her client’s picture. She signed on to her computer, the wallpaper was the client’s picture. She pulled open a drawer-more pictures. It was one of the funniest things I ever witnessed.
Thanks for sharing your story, Kim, and I will pass on your best wishes to Mom. My jammies may have changed over the years, but not Mom’s sense of fun. 🙂
Great story Cathy…so funny, it makes me laugh out loud! It would make for a good episode of The Office!
There you go, Kim. Let’s sell it and find a way to profit from all this fun & frivolity. 🙂