Four April Fools Pranks Not to Play at the Office (And Two You Can)

Four April Fools Pranks Not to Play at the Office (And Two You Can) Jim and Dwights prank war on The Office was hilarious, but playing their practical jokes in real life can backfire horribly. Here are four infamous pranks that you should avoid when it comes to April Fools Day (and in general). At Londons City Hall, cheeky employees sent their vacationing coworker an emergency deadline dated April 1st. They assumed hed notice the date and get the joke right away, but instead he panicked and began to experience heart palpitations. According to The Museum of Hoaxes, Finally he collapsed from the stress and had to take leave from work. As he was recovering he realized it just wasnt worth risking his health to finish the report, so he filed for early retirement. When someone explained the joke, he sued the city for damages.Weve seen several iterations of this one, but they all involve a keyboard, a pa cket of seeds, and about two weeks of careful watering. Turning your coworkers keyboard into a planter may seem like a fun idea, but its time consuming, messy, and unless you supply your own decoy keyboard, you may be in deep trouble for destroying company property. See also encasing office supplies in Jell-o or completely wrapping a coworkers cube in tin foil or plastic wrap.At Dave Syferd Partners in Seattle, employees pranked the creative director of their advertising firm by cleaning out his office while he was on vacation and moving his stuff to a small cubicle. On his return he assumed that hed been demoted from partner of the firm to lowly cube dweller. According to Katie Robertson, Instead of allowing the company to demote him, Kindred decided to drive to Canada and become a park ranger. He eventually returned to his old joband officeafter his coworkers confessed.Any pranks that involve calling the cops are not only a bad idea but also illegal, as this Waffle House employee discovered last year. Pulling fire alarms and calling in bomb threats fall into the same category. While not illegal, we recommend you avoid inciting all of your coworkers to pretend to call in sick on the first or jokingly handing in your resignation. Depending on your bosss sense of humor, you may find yourself out of a job for real.So what can you do on the next April Fools Day? Here are a couple of pranks we think youll likeAs grammar geeks, were particularly fond of this one Open the settings of a coworkers untended Gmail or Facebook account and change the display language. Its a relatively easy fixthey can just switch the display back to Englishbut theyll be really confused as they try to figure out whats going on. Facebook features a particularly bizarre upside-down English setting.Another great grammar-based prank is to open Words proofreading options and change the AutoCorrect settings to replace a commonly typed absolut with something silly. If theyre careful proofreaders , theyll catch it right away, but just in case, you might want to point out the mistake before they send out a memo where the bosss name is replaced with Cheese Dude or Big Moose.Remember, the goal of April Fools Day is to bring a little whimsy and laughter to other peoples lives. Mean-spirited pranks intended to humiliate or frighten your victims are never a good idea.Have fun out there