The first day of April remains a time for laughter, surprise, and a little bit of good-natured deception — whether it’s a simple joke among friends or a corporate prank that goes viral. On this day, people tend to make fools out of their near and dear ones by pulling hilarious pranks on them. The spread and evolution of April Fools’ Day remains a mystery, today, April Fools’ Day is a global event. Pranks have been played by global corporations and brands around the world, using the start of April to embrace “prankvertising”. If you find yourself the target of a prank today, just remember to take it in good stride.
Jimmy Fallon or Jimmy Kimmel?
In 2022, late-night hosts Jimmy Fallon and Jimmy Kimmel surprised their live audience by switching on the show, across the country. Taking inspiration from ‘The Parent Trap’, Jimmy Fallon went over to Los Angeles for the ‘Jimmy Kimmel Live’ and Jimmy Kimmel was live in New York City for the ‘Tonight Show studio’. “This is something we’ve been planning for years, it was a top secret operation,” Kimmel said of the Jimmy-themed prank which they were planning since 2020. Jimmy Fallon had Guillermo Rodriguez for company while Jimmy Kimmel had the show’s sidekick and announcer Steve Higgins.
Tiger Shroff pranks
Akshay Kumar on set
In 2024, Tiger Shroff was shooting ‘Bade Miyan Chote Miyan’ with his co-star Akshay Kumar, who is known as the prankster of Bollywood. Tiger shared a video on Instagram, which begins with Tiger shaking a large bottle of soft drink before running off to play in the garden. When Akshay joins him, Tiger asks him to open the bottle. However, as soon as Akshay opens it, the fizzy beverage spills all over him, and Tiger and others burst out laughing.
The ‘Game of Thrones’ spoiler prank
While chatting on ‘The Tonight Show’, Maisie Williams plays Arya Stark in the TV series, ‘Game of Thrones’ seems to accidentally revealed that her character dies in the second episode of the final season. Then, it was big news as any small detail was a huge deal. She looked shocked and covered her mouth with her hands. The host Jimmy Fallon assures the visibly upset actress, telling her that they can re-film the segment but she then storms offstage, before the duo reveal that the whole scene was a big April Fool’s Day prank.
When spaghetti grew on trees
In 1957, The BBC aired a hoax report, ‘The Swiss Spaghetti Harvest’ claiming that Swiss farmers had successfully grown spaghetti trees on April Fools' Day. The segment showed farmers apparently picking spaghetti from trees and laying the strands out to dry. Austrian-born Panorama cameraman Charles de Jaeger, was behind the hoax and BBC reporter Richard Dimbleby was in on the joke. Viewers were so convinced that many called in, asking how they could grow their own spaghetti at home.