9 Massachusetts April Fool’s Pranks That Were Good, Bad and Ugly!
Ah, April Fool’s Day – the one day of the year where we can act like complete fools and get away with it.
It’s a day where we can play pranks on our friends and family and laugh at their expense. But let’s be real here – April Fool’s Day pranks can be pretty foolish themselves.
In fact, there were 9 Massachusetts April Fool’s Pranks that were good, bad and ugly!
Before we get to those, let’s talk about some classic April Fool’s pranks and why some of them are super lame.
Like putting salt in the sugar bowl.
Sure, it might be funny to watch someone’s face contort in disgust when they take a sip of their coffee, but really, who has time for that? I mean, we’re all busy people with important things to do, like going to work or scrolling through Instagram.
Who wants to waste precious minutes cleaning up the mess that this prank creates?
And the old “fake spider in a box” trick?
Come on, people. We’re living in the 21st century.
We have access to virtual reality and AI technology that can simulate any kind of creepy crawly we want. Why go through the trouble of finding a real spider and trapping it in a box when we can just create a realistic simulation on our phone? Not only is it more humane, but it’s also a lot less messy.
Then there’s the classic prank of pretending to be sick or injured. This one is just plain cruel.
It’s bad enough that we have to deal with real illnesses and injuries, but to fake them for the sake of a prank is just wrong. Not to mention, it can cause unnecessary panic and stress for the people around us.
Also, don’t tell people you are pregnant. Just don’t.
By design, April Fool’s Day pranks can be pretty foolish. They can be messy, cruel, and downright unnecessary. So let’s all agree to tone down the foolishness this year and stick to pranks that are harmless and actually funny.
And if you do decide to play a prank, just remember – what goes around comes around.
Now here are 9 Massachusetts April Fool’s Pranks That Were Good, Bad and Ugly!
1. Disney Buys MIT
9 Massachusetts April Fool’s Pranks That Were Good, Bad and Ugly!
In 1998, hackers took over the university’s home page and released this stunning news:
“Walt Disney Corporation to Acquire MIT for $6.9 Billion.”
The hackers even created a fake press release.
The campus would now be in Orlando.
The School of Engineering would become the School of Imagineering. (This sounds legit.)
The biology department would genetically engineer creatures for Disney’s Animal Kingdom theme park. (Fun!)
MIT president (then) Charles Vest would have a new title: Executive Vice President of Nerd Education. (That was tip off, we suppose).2. Blue Hill is About to Erupt!
On April 1, 1980, WNAC in Boston reported that the 635-foot Great Blue Hill in Canton/Milton was erupting. They even sold it with clips of lava from Mount St. Helen’s.PYSCHOS!
They even used edited clips from President Carter and Massachusetts Governor Ed King.
Even though reporter Jan Harrison held up a card that read “April Fools!” at the end of the report, people went NUTS. Some fled their homes. The next day, the producer was fired.
3. Mayor Menino's Surprise Demise
In 1998 WAAF radio hosts Gregg “Opie” Hughes and Anthony Cumia were canned after they told their listeners Mayor Tom Menino died in a car crash in Florida. Menino was LIVID, as you can imagine. And so were a lot of other people.
You can hear it here:
4. A Boston University Professor Fools the World!
In 1983, Boston University history professor Joseph Boskin told an Associated Press reporter in 1983 that “the Roman emperor Constantine started the April 1 tradition by appointing a jester named Kugel to rule for a day.” Why?
“The AP reporter asked Boskin about the origins and history of April Fools’ Day. “I said, ‘I don’t know anything about the holiday, and I really can’t be of help to you,’” Boskin recalls. “The reporter said, ‘Don’t be so modest.’ When the reporter kept pushing, Boskin says, “I created a story.”
It wasn’t true. But AP published it anyway. And it went, well, viral.
5. Tom Brady Retires?
Tom Brady’s first tweet was a prank. No one was laughing.
I'm retiring. In my spare time, I'll be tweeting #LFG
— Tom Brady (@TomBrady) April 1, 20196. Rick-Rolled
Drivers along the Mass. Pike were Rick Rolled on April Fools’ Day prank.
Cute, harmless. My kind of prank.
You just got #rickrolled, Boston!
— GBH (@GBH) April 1, 2021
"Happy April Fools' Day!"
— #GBHMural 😉 pic.twitter.com/kx1woKY2iD7. Snow Way?
According to the Boston Globe, back in 2012, the City of Malden’s official home page “instructed residents to bag up their leftover snow — trash collectors will pick up one sack per week.”8. Where's Whitey?
In 2007, The Berlin Daily Sun in New Hampshire reported that Whitey Bulger was found holed up in New Hampshire’s Heavenly Acres trailer park.
I think we all knew there was something pranky happening when they reported that the only thing that made him come out of the standoff was FBI agents blasting Barry Manilow songs.
9. Nantucket Runs on Dunkin'?
Heaven forbid the Nantucket elite be forced to endure the coffee of the working man. This classic prank probably had the residents on the horn with their realtors for a quick sell!