April already? Surely, you jest
For a very tame way to celebrate April Fools' Day, make a jester pencil.
THE FUNNIEST April Fools' pranks are those that could possibly be true and are told by people you expect to tell the truth.
An April Fools' joke played by a fast-food restaurant was funny and a very successful advertising gambit.
On April 1, 1996, Taco Bell took out a full-page advertisement in six leading newspapers, including the Inquirer, and announced that it had purchased the Liberty Bell to "reduce the country's debt." The company said the bell would split its time between Philadelphia and Taco Bell headquarters in California.
Renaming it the Taco Liberty Bell may have sounded outrageous, but thousands of people believed the advertisement and protested the move.
White House press secretary Mike McCurry responded that not only did the federal government sell one of our country's most sacred symbols, it was also selling the Lincoln Memorial to Ford Motor Co. to be renamed the Lincoln-Mercury Memorial.
The prank, listed as one of the top 10 hoaxes of all time by Entrepreneur magazine, was revealed to be a joke at noon that day.
The mother of then-CEO John Martin is given credit for the idea, which cost about $300,000, but generated an estimated $25 million in free publicity. Sales increased more than half a million dollars for the first week in April.
Taco Bell donated $50,000 toward the upkeep of the Liberty Bell.
Although some people may have been taken in by the joke, no one was really hurt. Any joke that ends up hurting another's feelings is never funny.
For a very tame way to celebrate April Fools' Day, make a jester pencil topper with instructions I found at ph.ly/jester.
Supplies you will need
* Pencil
* 1 1/2-inch plastic foam ball
* 2 chenille stems
* 2 small wiggle eyes
* Scrap of felt
* Very small pom-poms in different colors
* Red marking pen
* White craft glue
How to make it
Insert the rubber end of the pencil into the ball so it fits snugly. Add a drop of glue to hold if necessary. Glue on eyes and a mini pom-pom for a nose. Draw on a mouth with a red marker.
Wrap the chenille stems in a spiral from the base of the ball down the length of the pencil.
Cut out a 2-inch circle of felt. Cut it from one side to the center. Glue small pom-poms around the outside of the circle. Glue it in a cone shape to the top of the clown for a hat. Glue a pom-pom to the point on the top of the hat.
Cut another 2-inch circle of felt to make a collar, and make a cut to the center. Cut a zigzag on the outside edge. Glue mini pom-poms to the edge of the collar, and glue the sides together and to the pencil. Let dry.