Today is April 1^st, 2010.  Is Clay Aiken still in Southern California?  Is he playing pranks on his friends??  Of course we do not know where he is and that is fine.  However, I am sure he is with loved ones and having a fun day.  Somehow, pranks and Clay Aiken seem to go together.

April Fools Day, sometimes called All Fools Day, is a day of unknown origin. Yet, most of the western world knows this is a day set aside for good hearted pranks, hoaxes, gags, and giggles. It is a day that the gullible, well…watch out!

Pranks performed on April Fool’s Day range from the simple, (such as saying, “Your shoe’s untied!), to the elaborate. Setting a roommate’s alarm clock back an hour is a common gag. Whatever the prank, the trickster usually ends it by yelling to his victim, “April Fool!”

April Fool’s Day is a “for-fun-only” observance. Nobody is expected to buy gifts or to take their “significant other” out to eat in a fancy restaurant. Nobody gets off work or school. It’s simply a fun little holiday, but a holiday on which one must remain forever vigilant, for he may be the next April Fool!

There is actually a website that lists the top 100 April Fool’s Day Hoaxes.  Here are two on the list that are really crazy.

HOAXES

The Left-Handed Whopper

1998: Burger King published a full page advertisement in USA Today announcing the introduction of a new item to their menu: a “Left-Handed Whopper” specially designed for the 32 million left-handed Americans. According to the advertisement, the new whopper included the same ingredients as the original Whopper (lettuce, tomato, hamburger patty, etc.), but all the condiments were rotated 180 degrees for the benefit of their left-handed customers. The following day Burger King issued a follow-up release revealing that although the Left-Handed Whopper was a hoax, thousands of customers had gone into restaurants to request the new sandwich. Simultaneously, according to the press release, “many others requested their own ‘right handed’ version.”

Big Ben Goes Digital (1980)

The British Broadcasting Corp. reported that Big Ben was going to be given a digital readout. It received a huge response from listeners protesting the change. The BBC Japanese service also announced that the clock hands would be sold to the first four listeners to contact them, and one Japanese seaman in the mid-Atlantic immediately radioed in a bid.

You Know What They Say About Fools…

• It’s better to keep your mouth shut and be thought a fool than to open it and leave no doubt. —Mark Twain
• However big the fool, there is always a bigger fool to admire him. — Nicolas Boileau-Despréaux
• The ultimate result of shielding men from the effects of folly, is to fill the world with fools. — Herbert Spencer
• Sometimes one likes foolish people for their folly, better than wise people for their wisdom. — Elizabeth Gaskell
• Looking foolish does the spirit good. — John Updike
• Let us be thankful for the fools. But for them the rest of us could not succeed. — Mark Twain
• A fool sees not the same tree that a wise man sees. — William Blake
• A fool must now and then be right by chance. — Cowper
• It is better to be a fool than to be dead. — Stevenson
• The first of April is the day we remember what we are the other 364 days of the year. — Mark Twain

For those of you who have little ones at home, I found a cute “Hoax” recipe for kids.

Foolish Cupcakes

Cupcake Ingredients

Makes 12 cupcakes

1 pound lean ground beef or ground turkey

½ cup seasoned bread crumbs

1 cup Monterey Jack cheese, grated

3 Tablespoon ketchup

1 egg, beaten

½ teaspoon salt

Pepper to taste

Potato Frosting

3 cups mashed potatoes

Assorted food colorings

Directions
Heat the oven to 375 degrees. Line 12 muffin tin cups with foil bake cups.

1. In a large bowl, mix together all of the meat loaf ingredients until well combined. Divide the mixture evenly among the lined cups (the liners should be about three quarters full).

2. Place the filled muffin tins on cookie sheets and bake the cupcakes for about 15 minutes or until cooked through.

3. Divide the mashed potatoes among three small bowls and stir a few drops of food coloring into each batch to create blue, yellow, and pink pastel frostings. Spread a generous dollop on each cupcake.

From:          http://barbarabeerykidscooking.wordpress.com/author/barbarabeerykidscooking/

Since the word “FOOL” has been use a lot in this article, it is appropriate to have the correct music.  I hope you enjoy the following video.  There is NOTHING foolish about this!

“What Kind Of Fool Am I?