April fools

Written by Hannah Carr | Research Volunteer | TBYM UK

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April fools day is recognised in many countries across the globe as a day for playing practical jokes on friends and family, it usually takes place on the 1st of April each year and has a long history, reportedly reaching back to the middle ages, although the actual place/date/reason for its origin is not fully known (Britannica, 2025). But humour and laughter (by association) have been a part of human behaviour patterns for thousands of years, and whilst the research in this area is still evolving it is generally believed that humor continued to develop in humans due its many benefits, such as; eliciting a pleasurable and positive emotional state, navigating complex social situations and boosting immunity (Polimeni and Reiss, 2006). 

It is unclear how popular April Fools jokes remain today as often jokes are carried out between family members and friends and therefore not regularly reported on (Smith, 2009). Jokes can come in many forms and varieties but some popular ones include;

• ‘Made you look’ jokes - i.e. ‘your shoes are untied’

• Food shocks - e.g. swapping salt for sugar 

• Tall stories - e.g. ‘you’ll never believe what I saw…’ 

Practical jokes can also come in more elaborate forms, with lot’s of big companies regularly taking part in April Fools pranks, such as; 

• Google advertising a Google Play for Pets (Google Play, 2017)

• McDonalds announcing it was launching a new range of footwear - Big McNugget Boots (Zelden-O’neil, 2023)

• Hello Fresh launching a Unicorn Box option to please toddlers (Belam, 2019). 

Even the media like to get involved with many outlets reporting made-up news stories on the 1st of April each year, some memorable ones include;

• The BBC claiming you could grow and harvest a pasta plant (BBC, 2024) 

• Yorkshire Evening Post teamed up with Yorkshire Water to advertise ‘Diet Tap Water’ (Manchester Evening News, 2014).  

• Sports Illustrated reported to have found a baseball player who could throw a baseball at 168mph (History Collection, 2019) 

It’s traditional in most cases for the practical joker to announce the joke in some way to the recipient, often saying phrases like ‘April Fools’ so the recipient is not left in any doubt about whether the information is true or that a joke was played. 

Positive and Negative Impacts

Using humour or carrying out a practical joke can have both positive and negative impacts on wellbeing and the variables involved in ensuring we ‘find something funny’ are vast and can differ dramatically from person to person and certainly from culture to culture. 

On the surface April Fools day is a time to have some light-hearted fun by playing a practical joke on those around you, in fact historians often link this tradition to the ancient roman festival Hilaria, which translates to joyful (History, 2017). The mental health benefits of having a good laugh are well documented, such as relieving stress, tension, anxiety, and depression (Jiang et al, 2020). Research also shows that when we use humor in a benign (non-threatening) way with the aim to create fun/happy atmospheres, we can strengthen our connections with others, thereby increasing our own sense of well-being and likely that of others too (Martin et al, 2003). 

However, research also shows there is another side to using humor that can have a negative impact on our wellbeing. When humor is used to put-down, harshly ridicule or manipulate others, this could result in significant damage to our important relationships, leaving the instigator of the joke feeling alienated and the recipient feeling uneasy or attacked (Jiang et al, 2020). 

Additionally, whilst April fool’s stories run by the media often provide audiences with some light entertainment, it can also mean that real/factual stories that happen on April the 1st might not be taken seriously to the detriment of people involved. Or the opposite might occur where members of the public take the joke seriously and become distressed or panic, which can damage the trust of their readership. For example, in 1949, when a Radio DJ in New Zealand, reported a mile-wide wasp swarm was heading for the city of Auckland (Smith, 2009). 

Croner-i (2018) have also reported that practical jokes in the workplace can lead to not only physical and mental distress for those involved, but also fines for both the employer and the employee. 

April fools day can be a time to have fun and strengthen our connections with those around us, leading to a shared sense of well-being. However, care should be taken when carrying out practical jokes, as there is also the possibility that they could damage our relationships instead and unfortunately there are no set rules for ensuring a practical joke is received with the same good intent that it was delivered with.