Top 10 April Fool Pranks

I was supposed to tell more about how to advertise on this blog today but with all the buzz in my head I forgot that yesterday was April 1st, also known as April Fools' Day. There were so many new pranks this year such that a very long Wikipedia entry is already made. Some people seem to have lots-of-time-on-their-hands (LOTOTH). Well, at least I can do a compilation of the most hilarious stuff out there for your enjoyment.. keeping the best stuff last!

Apple Computer was founded on April 1st, 1976. The Museum of Hoaxes tells us more about the history of this notable day and compiled a list of the best and the worst offline April Fools' hoaxes of all time according to their notoriety, absurdity and the number of people fooled. Whether you like it or not, this tradition is also widely celebrated on the Internet. There is an ever growing list of websites (currently 609) that tried to fool us yesterday on Urgo. Even Bloggers like The Tutor, Tyler Cruz, Matt Cutts, John Chow and David Wilkinson have all played their part. However, the most creative pranks came from the major dot com names and are a must see!

Top 10 April Fool Pranks 2007. I will start with Google because I'm assuming it was already seen by the majority, if not all, of Internet users (skip to number 8 if you have seen them already). Google adopted a light-hearted approach as usual (see previous pranks for 2000, 2002, 2004, 2005, 2006) but I think they were a bit more creative this year with Gmail Paper and Google TiSP.

10. Gmail Paper, a free printing service for any and all Gmail messages. MP3 and WAV files will not be printed.

9. Google TiSP, free in-home wireless broadband via fiber-optic cable strung through your local municipal sewage lines.

8. 404 Page. The Geek House surprised its users by giving a 404 error page but with a twist. The browsers miracelously swapped: you get IE's 404 page in Firefox, and vice versa.

7. Tattoo Your Toddler is "the world's first tattoo studio designed specifically for kids." A complete website created just for yesterday. However, from the comments left on the post, this seems to have caught quite a few people off-guard.

6. NASA posted a picture of the "First Space Quidditch Match" on their Astronomy Picture of the Day website. For those who don't read the books of J.K. Rowling, Quidditch is a fictitious wizarding sport played on broomsticks.

5. Tin-foil hat. Blizzard announced a new "Tinfoil Hat" schematic that would be available to World of Warcraft players in-game. It provides the wearer with added protection against mind control and other befuddlements.

4. New gadgets. Internet retailer Iwoot.com advertised several "high-tech" products, such as wireless "Ear" Phones, a RoboGirlfriend, "Memory Stick" and a Blue Tooth Brush.

3. Random Crap. Another Internet retailer Woot.com offered its most popular item, Random Crap, for sale at one million one dollars. "Even though the quantity for this sale is limited to one, you'll still get three craps."

2. ThinkGeek's frontpage featured many fake items for sale, such as an 8-bit tie, a Wii remote helmet, and "inhalable caffine stixs" amongst other items. The page also features an iPhone which they state as they are now shipping. However, what was originally intended as a joke quickly turned into reality as people sent them thousands of e-mails asking for it. The tie is now going into production!