It's that time of year again, when pranks are supposed to betaken lightly and everyone celebrates the art of the practicaljoke. It's April Fools' Day.
Sophomore engineering major Mark Grizzard said he hasn't plannedany April Fools' pranks this year but fondly remembers one hepulled last year.
"It was nearing 1 a.m. and my roommate had just got in,"Grizzard said. "He is a vegetarian, and I had a great April Fools'joke to play on him.
"I told him I had been putting much thought in my diet andchoices the past few days and was considering becoming avegetarian. He became pretty excited and started pulling all thisinformation off the Internet about making the switch to avegetarian lifestyle and the benefits of it.
"During all of this, I let him go on about how glad he was aboutme making the switch. I led him on for a few more minutes and thenasked him what day it was. He stood there for a second, frowned andthen went to be."
Grizzard hasn't always been the instigator of pranks. He saidhe's been the butt of many practical jokes. "My favorite prankplayed on me was something my mother did when I was in middleschool," Grizzard said.
"She woke me up on a Saturday morning, giving me a nicebreakfast of Pop Tarts and milk. The phone rings and my motheranswered it.
"When she got off the phone, she told me that I had to go toschool to make up for a snow day and that I had to hurry because Iwas already late.
"I rushed to get ready for school, and just as I was walking outthe door, I saw my father walk in from the garage carrying a cellphone. They got me good."
The origins of April Fools' Day can be traced back to 1582, whenthe Gregorian calendar was introduced. New Year's was originallycelebrated in eight days, starting March 25 and ending April 1. TheGregorian calendar switched New Year's to Jan. 1.
News of the calendar change traveled slowly, so many areascontinued to celebrate the New Year on April 1. Many people refusedto make the switch by the time they got the news and were labeledfools because of it.
Those who continued celebrating the New Year on April 1 wereoften the subjects of practical jokes, which eventually evolvedinto today's tradition of prank playing.
Sophomore Daniel Bradford, international business major, said hehas an April Fools' prank planned this year.
"I know a guy who is really into this Nintendo game called'Monster Party.' He talks about it non-stop.
"I happen to have a power glove, a type of controller you put onyour hand to play the game. My friends and I are going to make apromotional video to get him hyped up about buying my powerglove.
"It's a really good prank if you know the guy. Many pranks myfriends and I do are inside jokes and only funny to us."
Bradford said it's hard for him to keep track of all the prankshe and his friends have played.
"A long time ago, some friends of mine went to a Web site thatsends out promotional supplies," Bradford said. "We told them thatwe were a Kroger and needed 500 posters. We gave them our friend'saddress -- he ends up getting 500 posters about peanuts."
| Mark Grizzard | Daniel Bradford |
