Watch Out For Easter Pranks — Sunday Is April Fools' Day

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While April Fools’ Day is always fun, this year promises to be even more so. That’s because, for the first time in 62 years, the fun holiday coincides with Easter. This means your chocolate egg may turn out to be a real one, or the plastic ones you worked so hard to find may be filled with frozen peas or, even worse, broccoli!

The origin of this fun tradition, observed annually on April 1, is unclear. Some believe it started in 1852 when the world transitioned from the Julian calendar, which commenced the new year in April, to the currently used Gregorian calendar. Others speculate the holiday began as a way to welcome spring. Regardless of how it came about, April Fools’ Day is not just celebrated by individuals, but also corporations who get into the spirit with elaborate hoaxes that keep people fooled for days! Here are some of our favorites.

Soda Soak by SodaStream

Sparkling water machine-maker SodaStream got into the spirit early this year, with a very believable commercial starring “Game of Thrones" actor Hafþór Júlíus Björnsson. The video, released on YouTube on March 28, 2018, introduces the company’s newest product — SodaSoak — which adds bubbles to your bath water and even includes scented bath oils that promise to have you smelling like your favorite fruit.

BBC Introduces Interp-Brit

The usually staid British Broadcasting Company (BBC) is famous for its ability to come up with incredibly realistic pranks. One of the most believable ones was in 2008, when they announced the discovery of flying Adélie penguins in Antarctica. This year, the television company has partnered with ITV's BritBox to release a video player that can instantly switch all dialogue to have American accents to help those that have a hard time understanding British pronunciations.

Virgin Airline’s “Flap Energy” Dreambird 1417

Sir Richard Branson, the founder of the Virgin Group, always conjures up an incredible hoax. In 2017, he revealed that Virgin Airlines had managed to pull off an engineering miracle with a plane that was entirely powered by the wind energy harnessed by its bird-like, flapping wings!

Burger King’s Whopper Toothpaste

News of toothpaste that tastes like Burger King’s signature whopper sandwich was music to the ears of the fast-food chain’s fans. Alas, the 2017 video, released a few weeks before April Fools’ Day, was too good to be true and turned out to be just a prank.

Chegg Osmosis Learning Pillow

American online textbook rental company Chegg, unveiled a memory foam learning pillow that transfers knowledge into the brain while the person sleeps. All he/she has to do is place the required textbook(s) underneath while snoozing. While that would have been every student’s dream, it was of course just a clever prank for 2017 April Fools’ Day.

Happy April Fools’ Day!

Resources: virgin.com.bbc.co.uk, theverge.com, theslate.com

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