The Avon Echo

by Heiabeal Ainom & Edward Crowe

No, They Aren’t

by Heiabeal Ainom

April Fools… haha, move on. 

       On April 1, 2018, my friend and I raked the internet for a fun lighthearted prank to play. We settled on funneling ranch into my brother’s toothpaste tube. But to our dismay, instead of a good laugh, I got grounded for throwing away a tube’s worth of toothpaste. Though I could have been smarter about it, I thought it was funny. It’s just a joke. 

April Fools’ Day can be traced back hundreds of years to France in 1582. That means that continuously, each year for 442 years, people have been playing friendly pranks on each other, and each year without fail, someone gets butt hurt over a friendly joke. 

From Sour Patch Kids growing up, to the classic whoopee cushion, April Fools’ Day jokes have been a fun way to laugh, and can be utilized to make people closer. If the joke isn’t completely insensitive, there is always a reason to laugh about it, if not after the initial shock. 

While there are some instances that have taken jokes a tad bit too far, like a Boston news anchor who reported live that a Massachusetts volcano had erupted, most are not worthy of being angry. 

A good April Fools’ Day joke gets both people laughing and can even be used to market a product. Companies that use April Fools’ Day, realize that getting people to laugh is a powerful tool and can be used to influence them. 

This year, companies like Duolingo staged a fake ice show; the wafer and creme divorced in Oreo; the Sour Patch Kids grew up, and more.

So why can’t we utilize laughter as well, to make our world happier and strengthen relationships.

We can continue to make people laugh, even beyond just April 1. Because truly, a day without laughter is a day wasted.

After all it’s just a joke.

The Killing Joke…Okay, Not That Far

by Edward Crowe

Everyone knows that April Fools’ is the time where people get to pull pranks that range from simple to elaborate. I think that April Fools’ pranks can be valuable, not only for their comedic value but also for how much work can be put into them. But what you don’t know is that, while these pranks can be harmless, there are ways in which they can be taken too far. 

Of course, the most obvious example of this are pranks that end up causing harm to the victim, especially on purpose. While those are important to bring up for an argument like this, I won’t discuss this in detail because most people probably agree that dangerous things aren’t acceptable. Instead, I want to discuss where the lines for what’s acceptable get a bit blurry. 

An example of this would be staging an event or occurrence that didn’t happen. Since the whole point of the prank is that the participant doesn’t know that it’s faked, the staging of a particularly serious situation can be dangerous because participants are likely going to react to the situation seriously, leading to an unwanted fallout that can harm all involved.

Let’s say for the sake of argument that you pulled a prank where you pretended to be attacked or something. Some people might be able to see through the prank, but others might not be able to see that, especially if the prank is realistic. The result is probably a more distraught reaction instead of the comedic one you strived to get.

Now of course, not all examples of this end up so badly. I doubt that anything particularly bad would happen if you staged like, a surprise test for chemistry. But, some may also make counterarguments about how this is an unlikely occurrence and that people can probably figure out that really isn’t a test.

These claims have some weight for them, but I think that even just the potential for something going wrong should at least be considered when planning out an April Fools’ prank, even if the chances of it happening are slim. 

So that’s how April Fools’ pranks can be taken too far. While you may see it that way, for some it might not be just a prank, bro…