I don’t like April Fools.

I don’t like April Fools, mostly because I can’t really tell when people are joking.

Someone showed me the school paper today and it said that Burt Reynolds’ son was enrolled for the fall semester.  Having no reason not to believe it, I said, “Hmm, that’s cool I guess, he’ll probably be popular,” totally not thinking about the fact that it probably wasn’t real, even though the obviously fake photoshop of Burt Reynolds standing in front of the school was right on the front page.  Totally didn’t get it.

Then I read today that Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg will be hosting Saturday Night Live.  That’s unusual, but interesting, I said to myself.  Totally didn’t get it.

You know why I don’t get these things?  Because they’re not funny.  They don’t make me go, “ohhh, you got me!  Good one!”  A joke needs a punchline, and a prank needs relevance.

The purpose of April Fools, I guess, is to be able to point at someone and laugh at their gullibility, in other words making them feel like a fool.   And a person’s gullibility is measured by how easily they take something completely absurd to be the truth.  Mark Zuckerberg hosting SNL is a strange piece of news, but not out of the realm of possibility.

Work harder, April Foolers!

10 Best April Fools Gags (there are only 9 listed, which is apparently the April Fools joke…. ?)
Top 10 April Fools Pranks for Nerds (most of the ones in the comment section are funnier)

Lost tried to do an April Fools today, too.  It only works if you’re one of the strangely obsessive internet-prowling Lost fans (like myself).  Someone apparently “found” the last two pages of script for this season, where a female cast member dies in Jack’s arms as a man (presumably Jack’s father) is watching via a satellite.

Happy April Fools!  If you’re pulling pranks, at least make them good!