I was going to write a lede about Open Salon's pay wall is beginning on April 1st. However this was a very cheap way to wish you all an early April Fool's Day.
I think the ritual April Fool's Day pranks that used to occur at work are now relegated to twentieth century memories, along with rotary telephones, typewriters, korrect tape, and smoking at your desk.
It's no longer "appropriate" to pull April Fool's Day pranks at work. Employers and their Human Resources Departments (an oxymoron if I ever heard one) have zero tolerance for this type of workplace behavior.
Activities like changing the Men and Women signs on company Rest Rooms, issuing pink slips to entire departments, yelling after employees who innocently leave your office "AND STAY OUT!!!" just isn't as fun as it used to be.
I remember the days of leaving "while you were out" messages marked URGENT from people like Ella Funt or Leo DeLyons and the return phone number of the Bronx Zoo, or Benson's Wild Animal Park, only to have the hapless employee get "punked" when told you've just had an April Fool's joke played on you.
Other jokes included calling Funeral Homes and explaining that you were moving and wondered if they had any empty boxes they could let you have.
One enterprising high school student called the radio station where I worked early one April Fool's Day morning to say he was Principal Richards and that school was cancelled. When he failed to give the appropriate password, I put him on the air and got him to talk. The real Principal Richards was listening that morning, recognized the young man's voice and when the alleged perpetrator got to school and was summoned to the principal's office, the joke, apparently, was on him.
I always thought that the April Fool's Day pranks at work were relatively harmless and was a way to blow off steam. Today it just isn't acceptable behavior. I'm not sure if that's better or worse.
What were your favorite April Fool's Day pranks?
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Christine Macdonald
Dianne Schuch - Lindsey
Jacob Sugarman
V.Corso
Beth Ingalls
snarkychaser
Salon.com
Comments
Goes right over my head like water over a duck's back...
And I find myself laughing at myself with everyone else....
HUGGGGGGGGG
Though I'm not sure that an OS paywall would be such a bad idea, actually.
April Fools Day in Sunday could raise great possibilities for clergy.
But once (Victor's story reminded me of this) my supervisor left his car keys on his desk when he went to lunch. A co-worker went out, drove the man's car around to the below-level garage and parked it next to an old firetruck that was in storage there. Couldn't see the car at all unless you were right in front of it.
The guy spent almost a half hour having security drive him around, trying to find where he parked his car.
...and answer the phone with "How ta hell er ya!"
People would scream "Who is this...is this you?"
Stupid modern day economy!! PFFFFT!!!
jane -- That's pretty funny.
greenheron -- With Starbucks it isn't as funny.
Abrawang -- Now that is really politically incorrect.
Linda -- Funny story.
Maria -- That's evil, and that's why I admire you so much.
Mary -- The pay wall would eliminate spam.
Steve -- The possibilities for evangelicals is endless.
Sarah -- We had "kick me" signs...
Con -- My comeback in that situation would have been, how could a lawyer tell the difference. A funny lawyer is better than an unfunny lawyer.
Victor -- At prep school we put a Chevy Corvair inside a dorm lounge.
Sheila -- thanks
Cranky -- Those funny bankers...how embarrassing.
Bill -- Today that prank with the car would get you fired. I had my car shrink wrapped once. That was very funny.
John -- Wait until after Election Day.
Zuma -- that is hilarious.
CM -- You must be the world's oldest sophomore or is that semaphore?
Tink -- It wouldn't be funny today. At all.
CM -- Slapping your thing was funnier.