April Fools Pranks: Ideas, Rules & The Prank Awards

April Fools' Day falls on 1 April. The best pranks are set up the night before, target someone who will enjoy it, and cost nobody any money or blood. Below: ideas sorted by how much effort they take, the etiquette that keeps you out of trouble, and our annual Prank Awards.

No setup at all

Pranks you can pull in under a minute with something already in your pocket.

  • Hide a sound. The single highest ratio of effort to suffering. Bleepin' Battery ($12.99) makes the low-battery smoke alarm chirp that no human being has ever successfully located. Frickin' Cricket ($12.99) does the insect version. Meow Hear This ($12.99) convinces a household there is a cat in the walls.
  • Autocorrect sabotage. Add a text replacement on someone's unlocked phone so a common word expands into something ridiculous.
  • The optical mouse sticker. A small piece of tape over the sensor. Ancient, still works.
  • Reverse the day. Do nothing at all on 1 April, then prank them on the 2nd when their guard is down.

A little setup

Fifteen minutes and one prop.

  • Fake poop, strategically placed. Fact: 100% of people find poop upsetting. S#!t Just Got Real ($10.99) is realistic enough that the prankster gets to be the hero who picks it up.
  • The chocolate box that isn't. Casa de CacaO ($24.99) looks like an expensive gift right up until the lid comes off.
  • The car. Full Moon window cling ($11.99) puts a bare backside in the rear window, visible to everyone except the driver. Removable bumper stickers ($11.99) can go unnoticed for days.
  • The bookshelf swap. Prank book jacket covers ($17.99) over their actual reading, then let them take it on a train.

Fully committed

You have the evening free and something to prove.

  • Someone in the bathroom. Inflatable Squatting Andy ($24.99), deployed behind a door that opens inward. Man Akin ($36.99) works in a dark corner or a passenger seat.
  • Tin foil everything. An entire desk, cubicle or kitchen. Expensive without a Costco membership, unbeatable in photographs.
  • The custom sound. Annoise ($14.99) records your own audio, which means you can plant your own voice somewhere it has no business being.
  • The long con. Move one object slightly every day for a fortnight. Never mention it. This is the only prank on this page that has ever made someone question their own mind.

Prank etiquette: how not to ruin it

There are no written rules for pranking, so here are ours. The full version is in Prank Etiquette.

  1. Pick the right target. Someone who will enjoy it, and who you would happily get into a prank war with. Some people have genuinely weak hearts. Know which ones.
  2. No damage to people or property. If your prank can end in a repair bill or a hospital visit, it is not a prank, it is an incident.
  3. Nothing racist, sexist or homophobic. Punching down is not witty and it is not funny.
  4. Plan the ending. Know how you will reveal it, and be ready to abort early if it stops being funny for the other person.
  5. Never at work without reading the room. A prank that gets someone disciplined is a prank that failed.

The Prank Awards

Every year, on 1 April, the entire internet attempts a prank at once. Most are bad. A few are magnificent. Somebody should be keeping score, so we do.

The Brand & Internet Awards

We judge the year's public April Fools stunts. Nobody has to enter, and nobody gets to lobby us.

  • Best in Show — the prank of the year, full stop
  • Best Commitment to the Bit — for the stunt that went absurdly far past the point of sense
  • Worst Idea, Bravely Executed — not a compliment, but not entirely an insult either
  • The Ratio — the prank that most spectacularly failed to read the room

The People's Awards

Your pranks. Nominate your own, or someone else's.

  • Best Domestic Prank — housemates, partners, family
  • Best Office Prank — with your job intact afterwards
  • Longest Con — for pranks measured in weeks

How to enter

[Entries for 2027 open in March. Details, deadline and prizes to be confirmed — check back or follow @fundeliveryus.]

Previous winners

[This section fills up from 2027 onward.]

Frequently asked

When is April Fools' Day? 1 April, every year. Tradition holds that pranks stop at midday, though almost nobody observes this.

Where did it come from? Nobody knows for certain. The most cited theory is the 16th-century switch from the Julian to the Gregorian calendar, which moved the new year from late March to 1 January. People who kept celebrating in spring were mocked as fools. Historians consider this unproven, which is fitting for a holiday built on things that aren't true.

What makes a prank good rather than mean? The target laughs too, eventually. If the only person enjoying it is you, it was not a prank.

How far in advance should I plan? Anything involving a prop needs it in hand by 30 March. Shipping does not care about your comedy.

Got a gift exchange instead? See our white elephant rules and gift guide.