As the month of March was coming to a close our elementary-aged imaginations would begin concocting what type of April Fool's Day prank we could perpetrate on our teacher. We thought we were so clever as we hurried into the classroom and had everyone switch sweats or sit backwards, or crawl under our desks and hide. We attempted to sit so quietly keeping a straight face--not realizing it was our teacher doing the better acting job feigning surprise and delight at our little prank.
One of the great media hoaxes was masterminded by the BBC when they reported on April 1, 1957 that Switzerland was experiencing a bumper spaghetti harvest due to favorable weather and the elimination of the "spaghetti weevil." After seeing video footage of people plucking strands of pasta from tall trees, viewers began calling the network to find out how they could begin growing their own pasta trees.
Some of the best-known April 1st pranks in recent years were mounted by advertising agencies. Taco Bell ran a full-page ad in the New York Times announcing it had purchased the Liberty Bell and was about to rename it the "Taco Liberty Bell." Burger King saw a brief spike in sales after announcing the rollout of its left-handed Whopper supposedly designed so that condiments would drip from the right side of the burger rather than the left. Some franchises reported customers coming in asking when the right-handed Whopper would be created. Virgin Atlantic announced the production of a glass bottomed airplane, while closer to home West Jet famously unveiled its "Furry Family Program" allowing pets to fly alongside their owners in seats in the cabin.
Hoaxes and pranks of this nature can furrow some brows and raise some questions when the unsuspecting listener or reader forgets it's April 1st. Once discovered, it is a great opportunity to laugh--whether you were taken in or not--because finding humor in community with others is a special thing. Laughing brings us together in a way that is different from other emotional experiences. The connections may not be as deep as when we share pain, special achievements or milestone celebrations, but then again they might be, because there is something totally delightful about finding humor in common with those around us. Find a family, a group of friends or team of co-workers who know how to laugh together and you will find people who like being with one another and find added enjoyment in whatever activity they are doing. That is, when the intent of the humor is to create innocent and exuberant laughter. Sadly, there are also instances when hurtful sarcasm or inside jokes can wound deeply, since being made fun of, laughed at or ridiculed is a hurtful experience that is not easy to recover from.
How many uncomfortable situations have we found ourselves in when we have been expected to join in with the laughter but the humor didn't sit well because it came at someone else's expense? We empower children to refuse to be a bystander in a bullying situation but how often do we play along and join in the crowd by not standing up to distasteful, degrading humor?
Some make this their stock in trade earning a handsome living by demeaning entire races, genders or belief systems. As long as their is an audience for this type of humor it will continue. But that's where we get our say. No comedian can play to empty halls. No company can continue without product sales. No comedy show gets renewed without an audience. No coworker gets a laugh without someone buying in. It's up to us. We get to decide what passes for funny in our offices, in our locker rooms, in our meeting rooms, in our living rooms, or on our computers and smartphones. We get to establish the bar by which jokes and pranks are judged. The greater our demand for respect and class, the higher the bar will be by which anything is deemed funny.
Having a good sense of humor is a desired quality in a friend, a partner, and the person who sits next to us whether at the office or on a committee. Laughing together is a tension release and an endorphin pumping boost. We all feel better after a good laugh. Let's just make sure that laugh leaves a check mark in the plus column of character and credibility and doesn't come at the expense of someone else's heart or humanity. That's my outlook.
