April Fool's Day

Is there a special day for jokes and tricks in your country? Do you like playing tricks on people? If you're ever in the UK on April 1st, you'd better watch out!

When and what is April Fool’s Day?

April Fool’s Day is on April 1st. It‘s the custom in the UK to play a trick or a joke on someone on this day. If the person falls for the joke then they are called an ‘April Fool’. In fact it’s only half a day because April Fool’s Day finishes at midday. No more jokes after lunchtime, please!

What kind of tricks do people play?

Here are some April Fool’s tricks from around the world:

• In the 90s Burger King published an advert in the magazine USA Today offering new ‘Left-handed Whoppas’ for the 32 million left-handed Americans! Thousands of customers ordered the new burger in the restaurants!
• A zoo in Japan said that they had a giant penguin that was 165cm tall and weighed 80 kilograms! In fact it was a man dressed up in a penguin suit.
• Last year in the UK a children’s news programme said that scientists had invented a ‘Brain Band’. It was a coloured head band that you put on your head and it helped to make you more intelligent! In an on-line poll, 47% of the children who heard the news wanted to buy a ‘brain band’!
• In 1949 a radio presenter in New Zealand told listeners that there were millions of wasps coming to invade. He told viewers to wear their socks over their trousers and to put honey on their doors. Millions of listeners believed him!
• In 1976 a very famous British astronomer told radio listeners that at 9.47am the earth was going to experience a feeling of less gravity. He said that Jupiter and Pluto would cross and if listeners jumped in the air at exactly 9.47am they would feel the sensation of having no gravity! Hundreds of listeners phoned the radio to say they had jumped and floated in the air!
• Ikea announced that the shop had launched a dog highchair (highchairs are usually for babies!) named 'HUNDSTOL' (Swedish for dog chair). Google 'IKEA dog high chair' for more details.
• The free London newspaper, The Metro, came up with a novel idea to deal with the problem of litter on the underground (unfortunately it was only a joke). They said that the newspaper was now edible – ‘the only paper that you can eat after reading’.
• A British newspaper announced that Portugal had 'sold' Cristiano Ronaldo, the footballer, to Spain for €160million. Why? To try to clear its national debt. It was a joke of course.

Do people actually like April Fool’s Day?

We asked some Brits this question. This is what they said:

I love April Fool’s Day. It can be really good fun. I love playing tricks on people and I don’t mind if people play tricks on me. It’s one day of the year you can be really silly and have a laugh and it’s okay. You have to be quite sensible for the other 364 days of the year, so I look forward to April 1st.

Malisa

I don’t like April Fool’s Day. It makes me a bit nervous. I keep thinking someone is about to play a trick on me. When twelve o’clock passes I feel quite relieved that it’s finished for another year!

Johnny

When I was at school April Fool’s Day was always good fun. We played tricks on each other and sometimes on the teacher. In fact, one year one of the boys at school put a bucket of water on top of the door and when the chemistry teacher came in he got very wet! It was funny, but the boy got in big trouble!

Phil

April Fool’s Day is a great idea. It’s easy to forget the actual date and I always believe everything I read in the newspapers or watch on the TV news. I usually believe the big national hoaxes and it always makes me laugh afterwards. It’s good to remind us that maybe we shouldn’t always believe everything we hear in the news.

Louise

April Fool’s Day is fun when you’re young. I remember putting a plastic fried egg on my dad’s plate for breakfast as a trick. He decided to cut it up and pretend to eat it! Now I think some of the tricks are a bit silly and people can be a bit cruel playing tricks on their ‘friends’!

Clare

I hate April Fool’s Day. Last year people at work changed the sugar for salt so we all put salt in our coffee! Then some joker in the office decided he wanted a day off and he did something to the computers so they wouldn’t work. It just wasn’t funny! I had lots to do and we all had to stop working and solve the problem.

Mark

So watch out this year on April 1st!

Read the text about April Fool’s Day then do these exercises to check your understanding. 

1. Check your understanding: true or false 

Circle True or False for these sentences. 

1. April Fool’s Day is on April 13.                                          True          False 
2. You can play tricks on people all day on April Fool’s Day.   True          False 
3. An April Fool is a person who plays a joke on someone after midday.    True          False 
4. The media (TV, radio, newspapers, etc.) and international companies invent stories to trick people on April Fool’s Day.                                                True          False 
5. People play tricks on their friends and family on April 1st.     True          False 
6. Most people don’t like April Fool’s Day.                              True          False 

2. Check your understanding: gap fill 

Complete the gaps with a word from the box. 

planets burgers insects paper 

penguin invention sports person dogs 

1. A fast-food chain advertised _______________ for left-handed people. 
2. A man pretended to be an extra large _______________ at a Japanese zoo. 
3. A TV programme told children about an _______________ which can make you more intelligent. 
4. Radio listeners were worried about _______________ in New Zealand. 
5. An astronomer said that the position of the _______________ would change gravity. 
6. A shop told customers about a special piece of furniture for _______________. 
7. A London newspaper told readers that their news was printed on edible _______________. 
8. The British media said that Portugal sold a top _______________ to solve the country’s financial problems.

3. Check your understanding: matching 

Match the expressions (1-8) with the correct definition (a-h) and write a – h next to the number 1 – 8. 

1…….. really good fun                                                a. have a lot of problems 

2…….. I don’t mind                                                    b. to not go to work 

3…….. have a laugh                                                    c. not be serious 

4…….. I keep thinking                                                d. very entertaining 

5…….. get in big trouble                                             e. it’s not a problem for me 

6…….. national hoax                                                   f. not very intelligent 

7…….. a bit silly                                                         g. a joke or trick on the entire country 

8…….. a day off                                                         h. I worry 

Do you have a day similar to April Fool’s Day in your country? 

When is it? Is it on the same day as April Fool’s Day? 

What kind of tricks and jokes do people like to play on each other? 

Can you remember any funny jokes or tricks from the past? 

Can you think of a good trick or joke to play on someone next year? 

Answers to April Fool’s Day exercises. 

1. Check your understanding: true or false

1. False 
2. False 
3. False 
4. True 
5. True 
6. False 

2. Check your understanding: gap fill 

1. burgers 
2. penguin 
3. invention 
4. insects 
5. planets 
6. dogs 
7. paper 
8. sports person 

3. Check your understanding: matching 

1. d 
2. e 
3. c 
4. h 
5. a 
6. g 
7. f 
8. b