Thursday today and this year’s April Fools’ Day just passed. Did you pool any pranks to your friends or colleagues? Did anyone fool you?
I was lucky enough not to be fooled by anyone this year, but for 4 days now I’m counting on painkillers to move around the house because my back is killing me. Not much of a luck, right? I think I should focus more on changing my working habits and try to sit even less.
According to CBS News, 75% of Americans said they wouldn’t play a prank this year. Thank God April Fools’ didn’t “die” this year as one could think, and the online community had many reasons to laugh -or to be fooled.
Anyone working in a tech company can verify that to them April Fools’ is like Christmas! And usually their pranks are in the top 10 every year.
Of course, Google -who has earned the title of the ‘prankmaster’ of the tech world- exceeded our expectations once again, and in my opinion is in the first place with Google Maps division’s new job opening: Pokemon Master. For anyone who updated their Google Maps app, there was a little game inside where pokemons where hidden all over the world and participants had to “catch em all” until April 2nd.
Other divisions, like YouTube, Gmail and Google+, played their own pranks as well. If you checked your Gmail you probably saw a popup introducing Shelfie, the new Gmail feature, while YouTube announced this year’s upcoming viral video trends.
Google’s Pokemon Master
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Twitter announced the “Twitter Helmet”, a wearable device with which users will be able to tweet through a “pecking” head motion.
Reddit, on the other hand, introduced “Headdit”:
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Microsoft couldn’t be left out of the “party”. Bing subscribers received a newsletter in which they learned about Bing’s newest features: Bing Dogglz and Bing Pet Translator.
And what about “fake” articles that have nothing to do with tech companies like the ones we mentioned above?
I believe everyone heard about the chickens in Suffolk, UK, that lay square eggs, right? ITV secured an interview with the farmer.
One of the funny stories that went viral was one from the Sun, according to which, the Queen drills for gas in the grounds of Buckingham Palace.
Toronto Sun has an article with the 10 best April Fools’ jokes. It made me smile many times while reading it, I had to share it. In addition, it includes some of my own favourites, like The Guardian’s article (and video) claiming that Scotland would switch to driving on the right if it gains independence.
“ If something sounds too outrageous to be true, it’s a good idea to check the calendar. April Fool’s Day brought out the usual array of odd, offbeat and outlandish stories designed to expose the gullible and make suckers of us all, though some of the jokes were so blatant, they were not likely to fool anyone. Here are some of the best: …… “
Here’s the link to Toronto Sun’s article: “The 10 best April Fool’s Day pranks”
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What about you?
Did you see anything funny online this April Fools’ Day?
Did you play pranks to your friends? Did anyone pull a prank on you?
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