Life

5 April Fools' Day Pranks From Your Own Kitchen

by Sara Levine

In case you're in denial that March is almost over and the year is flying by too fast, here's a friendly reminder that April Fools' Day is in two days. If that sent you into a panic because you haven't planned any pranks for your friends, look no further than Paste's 5 April Fools' Day Pranks Straight From Your Kitchen video. Odds are, you have most of the stuff in the video on hand, and if you don't, all it takes is a quick trip to the grocery store — rather than, say, a trip to your local joke/novelty items store (if those even exist outside of made-for-TV movies), or a trip to Costco to buy industrial-sized saran wrap in order to saran wrap your roommate's entire bedroom.

Of all the DIY pranks out there, food pranks are definitely some of the easiest to pull off, especially if you work in an office-type environment. I would bet that your coworkers won't remember what day it is and will just be happy that you're offering them free food, like the kind little angel you are. After they realize it was all a ruse, you might be the office outcast for a week, but it will probably be worth it. Bonus points if you take a video of their reactions.

So here are a few of Paste's ideas for a couple of quick and easy food pranks (full video at the bottom), because there's no better way to tell someone you care about them than to prank them with gross-tasting food. Right?

1. Toothpaste Oreo

An oldie but a goodie. Your friends will be so excited to bite into the Oreos, and all their hopes will be dashed once they get a mouthful of toothpaste instead. Hilarious! Bonus points if you lick the cream off instead of just peeling it off. That's truly evil.

2. Mayonnaise-filled donuts

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This one is so mean: you buy a dozen Boston creme donuts and squeeze out all the cream. Then you fill the insides with mayo. Paste recommends executing this prank "Russian-roulette style" and filling only half the donuts, that way half of your office will think the other half is crazy, and I have to agree. Physical discomfort and mind games? What more could you want in a successful prank?

3. "Chocolate chip cookies"

These look like delicious chocolate chip cookies, but in reality they're anything but. These are actually box mashed potatoes with black beans, baked in the oven for 20 minutes. So bad, but such a good prank. What is it about dessert foods that just automatically makes for a good prank?

These are all great ideas, but if you don't want to bake, even for April Fools, I've come up with a couple of other DIY jokes you can put together at home that don't involve food.

1. Saran wrap the toilet seat.

We tried this in my days at camp, but it didn't work because our counselor wasn't born the day before. But the idea behind i is, you saran wrap the toilet bowl under the seat and so when your victim goes to pee, it splashes up and hits them back. Gross? Yes. Effective? (Potentially, if done the right way) also yes.

2. Change a couple of the contacts in your friend's phone

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There are obviously many approaches you can take, but my two personal favorites are swapping a few names around (hilarity will ensue when she accidentally texts her dad, thinking it's one of her friends), or changing all the names to code names, like different Batman characters, and watching as she tries to unscramble them all. Muahaha, genius!

3. Set the clocks back 15 minutes early

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You have to commit to changing all the clocks, because if you even forget one (like the oven!) your whole plot will be foiled. But if you do it right you can watch as your housemates scramble to get to work on time. And as an extra bonus, you'll actually make them early to work, because who said all pranks have to be mean-spirited?

Good luck in all your pranking endeavors, and check out the full Paste video below for more food-related tricks.

Images: Paste Magazine / Youtube (2); Laura Ritchie / Flickr; Getty Images (2)