Take things with a pinch of salt on April 1, during the morning at least.
April 1 means April Fools' Day. Expect pranks, tall tales, and attempts to kid you on.
If you are taking part this year, make sure to get your prank signed, sealed and delivered by noon. After 12 bells, the joke is on you, if you play it.
Pranks do not have to be brutal, sometimes it's the light-hearted ones that are best. But, after two years of lockdown with the same people, you might some revenge to exact. Below, we take a look at some of the April Fools' prank ideas sent to us by ChronicleLive readers.
Read more: How did April Fool's Day start?
Here are some of our favourite reader tales and memories of April Fools' Day
Over the years, readers have sent their April Fools' memories. Below are some of the highlights.
Alison Whitten of Newcastle said: "At a school I once taught the headteacher put up a "For Sale" board ... there were some rather anxious parents until they realised the date!"
Christine Duggan: "My son changed all my contacts on my phone to characters in Harry Potter during the night."
Jacqueline A Lee: "My mam said that school was closed as it had been snowing all night and the teacher couldn't get to work! But I have the last laugh as my mam was born the fool before 12pm on April 1, 1961."
Jo-Anne Elliott: "I pressed my foot on the scales behind my sister at Weight Watchers. The consultant got up to change the CD because she didn't know how to tell her she'd put on over a stone!"
Ken Black: "Sorry to inform you all that the NTC have pulled down St Mary's Lighthouse saying the island is more suited for luxury apartments! The good news is that Marcello has two vans there now! You are allowed to go nuts on April Fools' Day"
Scott Michael Andrews: "I wrote on my Facebook that Whitley Bay lighthouse had collapsed and people believed me!"
Liz Walker: "When I worked as a manager for Littlewoods clearance store, I sent in an April Fools order, eg 100 whippet coats with Brown Ale design, 500 robots trained to get beer from the fridge, 75 T-shirts with "I love Greggs" on, 100 sweatshirts with "Sunderland and Newcastle supporters are really friends." You get the drift and you wouldn't believe it, a clerk seriously phoned up to go through the order and I got a rollicking from the main man for wasting company resources and time (no sense of humour). My staff had a laugh though. Result."
Jeff Ball sent in to tell us about Cramlington Rockets RLFC's April Fools' joke on their website: "Cramlington Rockets are pleased to announce an agreement with Oscar winner Russell Crowe to take over the club." The article ends: "To find out more about the takeover, contact us or check the date of this article."
Kirsty Bradley: "I told my dad I was pregnant truly thinking he wouldn't believe. He ended up turning up at my house as he asked his boss if he could leave work because he received good news! I felt bad! I've given him five grandchildren though so I think I made up for that. I've never done an April Fool since."
Sara Atkinson: "When my son was about 13 or 14, he had a couple of friends staying over and they were going to a Newcastle match the next day that kicked off at about 1pm. I moved all the clocks forward to 12.30pm then ran in the bedroom saying they were gonna miss the match. They were gutted for about ten minutes before I caved in and told them!"
Steve Ellwood: "Years ago Tyne Tees TV News ran a story about a Newcastle guy who had trained his pigeons to fly backwards and sure enough they had the film footage to prove it. I was totally taken in and went to work the next day saying that it was marvellous - only to be reminded of the date. Of course it was just the film reversed. Daft or what."
Joe Turnbull: "I got a friend to ring my mam and say she was selected for competition on Metro Radio and would be given a question to win a trolley dash. She got the question wrong and swore. Good job it wasn't live!"
Margaret Nicholson: "Loved the one on the local radio station, they were looking to relocate the Angel of the North and listeners had to recommend sites. People thought it was for real."
Laura Reed of Newcastle: "I changed my birthday date on Facebook to the 1st of April and come 12pm I was the fool as Facebook wouldn't let me change it to my real birthday for a month. A lot of people fell for it, writing Happy Birthday messages on my Facebook wall all day."
April Fools' pranks to try in 2022
If you're looking for ideas for a prank to play today, consider these below. Remember, get it done before midday.
Caramel onions
This one takes a little time and effort but it's definitely worth the payoff. Peel some onions and stick a lollipop stick in the centre of the core. Then cover them with toffee so that they look like toffee apples. Leave to dry and then hand them out. Watch your friends and family members faces turn from joy to disgust and as they bite into the 'treat'.
Slippery door handles
If you haven't got a lot of time to set up an elaborate prank this is nice and simple and will still get a few laughs. All you need to do is put some Vaseline on a doorknob to make it extra slippery.
Insect lamps
We don't advise you pull this prank on someone who has a phobia of creepy crawlies. Get yourself some black card and a pencil. Then draw out some bugs - beetle and large spider shapes will work better for this because they're quite fat and are easier to draw.
Once you have your drawings cut them out and stick them on the inside of a lampshade. When your unsuspected victim turns it on they'll find a whole array of creepy crawlies lurking inside it. Yuk!
No TV today
Play a prank on your family members by placing a small piece of clear sellotape over the sensors on the TV box and remote control and watch everyone panic that there will be no TV!
