The Five Best Pranks Ever Filmed and Posted to YouTube

April Fools' Day isn't just about the assclown in your office. Here's video proof that real trickery can be pulled off.

PLUS: Our all-new interview with the greatest prankster of all time

By Daniel Murphy

Devised by the Irish as retaliation against English imperial rule, the first April Fool's Day prank on record occurred in 1770 when an Irish peasant persuaded his entire village to tithe the English in pence, making it impossible for the tax collectors to carry the load.* Since then, April Fool's Day has celebrated society's troublemakers -- the Alan Abels, the Harold T. Stones, and now the thousands of people who have uploaded their own pranks to YouTube for the world to enjoy. Luckily, you don't have to comb through them for inspiration -- we already did.

#5. The Maze Game Prank

It's happened to everyone -- you're in your office, minding your own business, when a co-worker approaches holding a video camera promising you that they've just forwarded you the best game. And now? You have to play it, while they videotape you. The next thing you know you're bleeding from the head. Foolish, indeed.

#4. Best Buy Improv

Remember the last time you were in Best Buy, overpaying for not exactly what you wanted because you were too impatient to buy it online? And then you got home and realized that that sales guy "Chad," who was positive you needed an SD card and not a flash card, sold you the wrong fucking card? And you spent the rest of the night thinking of some way to exact unholy, perfectly legal revenge? These guys did exactly that, dressing up as Best Buy employees, flooding the store, and causing complete chaos.

#3. The Fake Car Accident

Sometimes pranks play on people's innate phobias, such as crashing, burning and dying in a heap of twisted metal. This, combined with the element of surprise, creates the authenticity one looks for in a playful gag. Speaking of authenticity, nothing is more real than urinating one's pants after bachelor party. So much for dry humor.

#2. The Mailbox Gag

Seeing this, you could argue the entire Cold War was a well-executed practical joke that went right over America's head. But what else do you expect in a land where vodka costs less than water? This clip is Benny Hill meets Pulp Fiction. It's Mr. Bean starring in a snuff film. Wait for the ending and you'll see the kind of prank Nietzsche would pull if he wasn't so goddamned self-involved.

#1. The Mutated Rat Man

If the success of the prank is gauged by the reaction of the victim, then this hoax should be canonized in the annals of history. It should have its own Wikipedia page, and the searches "ratman," "perfect joke" and "frailty of the human soul" should all point to it. It should be dubbed in languages far and wide. For generations to come, when children reach the age of reason and ask their parents, "Why are we here?" moms and dads everywhere should sit their child down and show them this.

* -- This is exactly the type of lie one encounters on April Fool's Day.