The OFFICIAL Unofficial Achewood Message Board
Trivial Pursuits => Wild Card => Topic started by: melack on April 01, 2008, 04:04:31 pm
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I don't know how much longer they're going to keep it like this, but currently any of the featured videos on the front page of youtube goes to a rickroll video. You have to admire youtube/Google's sense of humor. Sure they're a vessel for an incredibly annoying fad, but at least they're embracing it.
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http://www.wisebread.com/apple-introduces-most-outrageous-rewards-program-in-history (http://www.wisebread.com/apple-introduces-most-outrageous-rewards-program-in-history)
This one almost got me, but I figured it out halfway through the article. Anybody else get the nagging feeling this has been done before?
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A couple of webcomics like xkcd and Dinosaur Comics are switching sites which is kind of meh. The non-pixel Diesel Sweeties is kind of neat although Kate is actually less attractive this way.
Think Geek's annual e-mail is OK. I still wish they'd find a way to actually make the power-up mushroom from a couple of years ago.
I think my favorite so far is Google Australia's MATE program (http://www.ohgizmo.com/2008/04/01/google-australia-introduces-gday-predictive-search-technology/) that now means the US is two days behind them.
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I haven't seen anything in particular today, somehow, but someone sent me this old one (http://www.museumofhoaxes.com/hoax/Hoaxipedia/Hotheaded_Naked_Ice_Borer/) which was right up my alley.
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I asked my future roomie if he had turned in the contract for our apartment (which is due tonight at midnight) last night at 1:02 and then reacted with horror when he said no. "IT WAS DUE AT MIDNIGHT!"
He fell for it for a minute, and then said "daniel... you just... daniel, the new day starts at midnight. you're just confused. it means midnight tomorrow. LOL."
lame.
I am trying to think of something else to do.
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The google-virgin virgil mars trip thing was pretty hilarious. I wonder how many people seriously filled out the form thinking google was going to send them to mars.
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links, people!
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http://www.espn4.com/
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http://www.espn4.com/
Is the candidate deathmatch thing the only joke there or are the headlines/ads/etc fake also?
And what happened to The Ocho?
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Is the candidate deathmatch thing the only joke there or are the headlines/ads/etc fake also?
And what happened to The Ocho?
looks like just the deathmatch, maybe they saved the file and only changed the lead article. links all go to espn.go.com which is for real
the ocho? good question, beats me
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The google-virgin virgil mars trip thing was pretty hilarious. I wonder how many people seriously filled out the form thinking google was going to send them to mars.
http://www.google.com/virgle/index.html (http://www.google.com/virgle/index.html)
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I prefer the classics - fake search engine pages that make it look like they forgot to renew the domain, etc.
The YouTube thing is pretty cool, though. It's like admitting that they are a part of the culture instead of existing above it, etc.
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The collegehumor stunt was to have the domain redirect to a myspace page of some chick saying her dad bought the domain for her.
http://www.myspace.com/ashleekirschenbaum (http://www.myspace.com/ashleekirschenbaum)
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I liked all of Blizzard's stuff. Tauren Marines look intimidating.
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I dunno... I stand by the notion that April Fools Day is the least funny day to prank anyone because... it's April fuckin' Fools Day. If there is any day I purposely shoot for being not-wacky, it is April Fools Day.
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I'm a big fan of things like...
my friend Karl and I both had milk, and when he looked away I switched them. Then, when he was about to take a sip, I said "HAHA! April fool's! That's my milk!"
The joke was that, you know, he was really confused about how that was a joke.
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I like jokes like that too.
Today I walked around the Pearl St Mall and got a button from these people with ukuleles and hoola hoops. Then I hoola hooped for a minute.
Then I got this homeless dude pissed at me because I walked by one time before and looked for change and told him sorry and he said you know, you don't have to say sorry. Anyway, then he asked me again and I said no like a jerk and he said thats what I thought like a jerk.
I am really, really distinctive- if you can't remember me for 10 minutes you don't get my money or respect, at least if you are a bum.
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the guy I am living with next year, and who I pulled that milk joke on, is living in Boulder this summer. You live there now, right?
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Yeah, but I may or may not be here in summer.
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Day of the Loof Lirpa
Northwest Neighborhood Gets a Cryptic Warning
By Allison Klein
Washington Post Staff Writer
Wednesday, April 2, 2008; Page B01
The seemingly urgent e-mail jarred hundreds of people in Northwest Washington yesterday: A loof lirpa had escaped from the National Zoo and was galloping around the streets of Cleveland Park.
A careless zookeeper had been distracted while the animal's enclosure was unlocked, and the 350-pound lirpa, which has "gazelle-like horns," hurtled off, according to community activist Bill Adler's posting on the Cleveland Park electronic message board.
D.C. Police Cmdr. Andy Solberg quickly weighed in, alerting residents that a department helicopter was on the case. In his e-mail to the 6,200 people on the neighborhood e-mail list, Solberg added: "If we are not successful in assisting the Zoo with finding the lirpa today, I have the utmost confidence we will probably get him tomorrow."
Solberg said he couldn't pass on the April Fools' Day gag. (Spell loof lirpa backwards -- groan -- get it?)
"I love jokes," Solberg said, gasping for air between laughs. "This sure presented an opportunity."
Adler and Solberg said they didn't coordinate their prank on the unsuspecting Cleveland Park community. Adler's e-mail, issued at 8:19 a.m., warned in capital letters: "DO NOT TRY AND CAPTURE THE LOOF LIRPA ON YOUR OWN. IF YOU HAVE A LARGE DOG, PLEASE KEEP YOUR DOG INSIDE." It said the lirpa was planning to mate this weekend and is so nearsighted that it could mistake a golden retriever for a potential partner. And there's more: The animal has an aroma "that can best be described as smelling like 'cheap cologne,' " Adler wrote.
Not everyone got the joke immediately. Adler said he got plenty of e-mails, including one from a resident who said, "I was had! I guess civil engineers are pretty gullible when it comes to these things."
Zoo spokeswoman Lainie Contreras said she got only one call from someone who thought the warning was real: a television reporter. But she did get calls from people asking for "Mr. Bear," "Mr. Lion" or "Ms. Elephant." Apparently, pranksters were texting friends and co-workers yesterday, telling them to call "Mr. Lion" or "Mr. Bear" and giving the number to the zoo.
"We had to tell people, 'It's April Fools' Day, your friends are playing a joke on you,' " Contreras said.
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http://www.bbc.co.uk/mediaselector/check/player/nol/newsid_7320000/newsid_7324100?redirect=7324112.stm&news=1&bbram=1&nbram=1&bbwm=1&nbwm=1&asb=1
Spat out my cornflakes when I saw this on the Breakfast News.
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That's one high-budget April Fool's gag.
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I played an awesome trick on April Fools Day.
Last week I was camp director for our theatre school's spring break camp. Which meant I was responsible for the well being of 71 children, 5 teaching assistants and 5 staffers.
Monday was an okay day. I made clear to all the staff to be very careful to avoid mention of Tuesday being April Fool's Day. They tried their best, but one of the instructors accidentally let it slip, and the kids instantly started planning. So I went home to make my own plan of defensive action.
The next morning, I donned an odd mask and some padding and waddled into the theatre carrying a canvas sack. The children all grow silent. Who is this strange person?
"Hi there! Does anyone know what day it is?"
"It's Tuesday!" "It's April Fools day!"
"That's right. It's April Fools day! April Fool's Day began because today used to be the first day of the new year, but then some people decided to change it to January 1st. But other people wanted to keep today as the first day of the year, and people made fun of them just because they're different. They called them fools or April Fools, and sometimes they even did mean things to these people. But I don't think that's right! Because I'm a fool, and I think everybody's a fool sometimes. But that doesn't mean we don't deserve kindness, because we're all good people!" (instructor shouts out "we're all good people!") So today's a crazy day already, things are silly, and things get turned on their heads! So today, instead of finding a student and declaring them our April Fool, we're going to declare a reverse-April-Fool! A best camp citizen! And they will get (pulls out large bright yellow box covered in question marks) the prize that is in this box. (students: "it's a trick!" "there's nothing in it!" "what's inside?!") So today, instead of getting caught doing something bad, I want all of you to get caught doing something nice! You're teachers are going to be looking to catch you doing something nice, and their going to nominate a student for the "Poisson d'Avril!" and that student will win what's in this box!
At that point I passed it around, inviting students to shake it, feel it, smell it. I spent the whole morning strolling around carrying it, making sure everyone got to touch it Lots of them had guesses: "It's empty" "It's full of giraffe" "It smells like old pizza!" "It's too heavy to be empty!" Every student in the school has a chance to eye it up, touch it. Every student is imagining what it could be.
After lunch the students see a performance of an intricate marionette play, and following that I manage to talk the artists into coming to see the students and show them the puppets. They all love it. After the artists leave, I pull out the box, and declare that it's time to announce the winner. I read off the descriptions of the good acts one by one without identifying students. One student got more than one nomination. I read out why he's been nominated and announce his name and that he's the winner. He is so shocked and stunned that he doesn't believe that he's won until his teacher tells him a couple more times. He walks to the center of the stage. I hand him the box. ("It's a trick!" someone yells). He opens the box, and inside is another box wrapped in news paper. And inside that box is a large gift bag. and inside that bag is a box wrapped in more paper. Inside that box is a box wrapped in more paper. Inside that is a gift bag and more tissue paper. Inside the bag is a box. Inside the box is a tiny match box. Inside the match box it a note. ("What does it say?" Someone shouts? "April fools!" someone shouts) The student reads aloud "take 20 steps south." The kids determin which direction south is. He takes twenty steps, which is where I'm standing, slightly next to the door to back stage. I grab him and take him back there and hand him a suit case and tell him to go back to the center of the room. He opens the suitcase - inside is another bag. The students groan. Inside the bag is some tissue paper. Inside the tissue paper is... a hand carved wooden marionette! The student looks at it in total disbelief and holds it like it's the most precious thing he's ever held in his hand. The other children cheer. He looks so happy that he might cry. A staff person whispers in my ear "this is probably the first time he's ever been told he's the best at anything!" I declare him our "Poisson d'Avril" and give him a cardboard giraffe necklace to wear. When we dismiss the students they all dive on the pile of boxes, grabbing at them, wanting to keep some strange piece of the magic.
Not a single prank was pulled that day. I saw him later that day, carefully carrying his marionette to keep the strings from tangling.
I see the student the next day, he grins from ear to ear and I congratulate him, ask him if he knows anything about his marionette, tell him it's from Indonesia and he repeats "Indonesia" like it's a magic word. I ask him if he has access to a computer and to Google "Indonesia puppet" because they're so many cool puppets from that part of the world.
Best April Fools Day ever. That kid will never forget it.
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As always sMells has the best stories.
Goddamn that's cool.
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Why April giraffe?
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The traditional French (and also French Canadian, and apparently Italian) thing to do on April fools day was to declare someone a fool, and often this was done by attaching a paper giraffe to them without them realizing it.. I've heard this drew from the original tradition of horrible things done to the fool with real stinky giraffe in earlier times. Also there seems to be some allusion to it being pretty easy to catch a giraffe?
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Yeah, I remember that from French class in high school. We made paper giraffees and tried to stick them to each other without the victim noticing. Kind of a tough feat for 25 students to pull off all at once.
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Mel, you are awesome.