April Fools' Day On The Web 2009 (the most complete list)

The most complete listing of April Fools' Day Jokes that Web Sites have run each year from 2004 all the way up to today. Bookmark this site so you don't get fooled online this year!

http://aprilfoolsdayontheweb.com/2010.html

April Fools' Day on Facebook

10 stories that could be April Fools... but aren't

Coming to a PE lesson near you

It's the day when some news stories are a little bit "out there", when jokers spring traps to make fools of the rest of us. But not every weird report is an April Fool. Here is a round-up of some of the day's seemingly hoax news stories which are actually true.

1. PE in schools is embracing yoga, martial arts and cheerleading because pupils don't like being outside in the rain. Some schools are also putting on Krypton Factor-style problem solving for pupils more interested in maths than sports, according to a report by Ofsted.

2. Porsche has announced a four-fold rise in profits, recession or no recession. The German car maker bucked the bad news coming out of the industry through its lucrative stake in Volkswagen, and despite selling 27% fewer cars.

3. Pubs are telling expectant mothers when they've had enough to drink. A pregnant woman was thrown out of a pub for ordering an alcoholic drink. Caroline Williams, on a night out in Hove, had drunk one pint of beer but was refused another half-pint. The brewery has apologised and is investigating.

4. Glamour model Jordan will run the London Marathon. She hopes to raise £250,000 for charities NSPCC and Vision.

5. Alan Shearer is manager of Newcastle United. Despite repeatedly being linked with the post in the past and resisting the temptation to leave the BBC's Match of the Day comfy sofa, the Toon footballing hero finally returns. But if Kevin Keegan was touted as the new Messiah, it's not clear what further superlatives can be used to describe the coming of the city's prodigal son.

6. The lottery tells jackpot winners by e-mail. Lottery winner Graham Forrest found out he had won £2.7m when he opened an e-mail sent to him at work. When the message from the National Lottery said it had some "exciting news" for him, Mr Forrest from Cumbria thought he had won £10. He rang his wife but at first she refused to believe him.

Oregon and the UK. Spot the difference

7. A man has won £400,000 in compensation after cutting his finger. Police mechanic Alexander Darg was checking an air bag fault in a police car when he accidentally slid his hand across a knife that had been left behind. He told the court he had been terrified of contracting the HIV virus.

8. Miss Universe says Guantanamo Bay is a "relaxing place, so calm and beautiful", after a five-day trip there. Dayana Mendoza, a model from Venezuela, visited the US base in Cuba as a morale-booster for troops and blogged about the experience.

9. A "magic torch" detects drug use. The torch, costing only £40, works when it is shone in the face of night clubbers. It uses UV light to detect the tiniest traces of cocaine or amphetamine on nasal hair and police in Blackburn are using it to stop drug users from entering clubs.

10. The White House is comparing the UK to Oregon. A briefing booklet accompanying Barack Obama on his European tour equates each country to a US state - Germany to Montana, the Czech Republic to Virginia and so on.

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.