Today marks April Fools’ Day and if anything, it feels like the world has pulled one huge prank back at us for all the bullying and mistreatment we, as humans, are guilty of.
April Fools’ Day: When did it all start?
On 1 April people often execute soft pranks on friends and family. It makes for great entertainment when it is done in good heart and for laughs.
The history of this day is convoluted with many references for when the phrase ‘April Fools’ was first used.
Some point to 1582 when France switched to the Julian calendar. Others associate the holiday with customs practised for hundreds of years in the United Kingdom.
Please don’t make COVID-19 jokes and pranks
The one truth in all of this is that this day of observance, done respectfully, is a great way to induce doses of laughter at a time where the world is in quarantine due to the coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak.
This time around, people will be mindful of making insensitive jokes. The world is in war with an unseen enemy, a pathogen that has already infected 750 890 and claimed 36 405 lives.
We all need a little bit of laughter and this day can bring much-needed relief and some sense of normalcy in these unprecedented times.
How the world is spending April Fools’ Day
We dug into different social media platforms to find some of the best jokes and pranks that have been pulled so far. Due to the sensitive nature of our current reality, we have refrained from sharing any jokes and pranks about COVID-19.
Check out our best picks and you can check them out below.
“There is nothing in the world so irresistibly contagious as laughter and good humour.” – Charles Dickens, A Christmas Carol.
Happy April Fools’ Day