Does April Fools' Day (or the mere thought of it) strike fear in your heart? Do memories of walking into your aluminum foil-covered office still haunt you at the end of every March?
Or, do you spend 364 days of the year plotting the mother of all pranks against your co-workers?
Whichever side you fall on, 32 percent of workers say they have either initiated or been on the receiving end of an April Fools' Day prank at work, according to CareerBuilder.com's annual April Fools' Day survey.
"Pranking at work can be risky business," says Rosemary Haefner, vice president of human resources at CareerBuilder.com.
"When determining whether a prank is a good idea on April Fools' Day, employees should consider the worst case scenario of their joke. Will his or her joke simply result in a laugh from fellow co-workers? Or could anybody, including you, lose their job?"
While faking a resignation, gluing office supplies to the desk and covering someone's cube in aluminum foil are among the most common office pranks, here are 10 of the most memorable jaunts from this year's survey:
1. Placed a pair of pants and shoes inside the only toilet stall in a men's room to make it appear someone was using the stall. It sat there for hours until someone called security to check if the person had died.
2. Sent a fake love note to a co-worker from another co-worker.
3. All the women in office individually spoke to the president, confiding that she is pregnant. By noon, he 'knew' that all of his female workers were pregnant and he could not tell anyone because each asked for confidentially.
4. Called electric company, used a co-worker's name and told them he was moving so the electricity got turned off at the co-worker's house.
5. Filled the vending soda machine with cans of beer.
6. Rigged the boss' chair to drop suddenly during a staff meeting.
7. Placed a sign on the restroom door that read, "The company ran out of toilet tissue; please use your own resources."
8. Paged a co-worker over the loud speaker claiming the CEO was looking for him. The worker went into the CEOs office and the CEO didn't know who he was or why he was there.
9. Shrink-wrapped everything in a co-worker's cubicle.
10. Put a 'house for sale' ad in the newspaper regarding a co-worker's home.
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Here are some more:
Tuesday is April 1, a day on which we look over our shoulders, open drawers slowly and eat nothing we haven't prepared ourselves.
April Fool's Day fulfills some odd human desire to see others embarrassed, befuddled or just plain humiliated. Pranks range from the innocent and fun to the dark and mean.
The best pranks are harmless, well-crafted and malice-free. It's best when the prankster can laugh and the victim can laugh (while plotting revenge, of course).
So have a seat right here on this cushion and enjoy 10 of PDQ's favorite pranks for 2008, gleaned and adapted from the new book "The Pocket Guide to Mischief" by Bart King and the wonderful minds at AprilFoolZone.com.
The fake ad
Place a classified ad that offers an unbelievable deal, something like "Tribe-Yankees box seats FACE VALUE!" "Nintendo Wii, new in package, $50," or "free full-body massage." Then use your friend's phone number in the ad. He or she will spend the next week answering literally hundreds of phone calls from all sorts of unseemly folks.
The break-in
Borrow the keys to your victim's car. Next, put some clear glass bottles in a plastic bag and carefully break the glass. Open your victim's car, roll down the driver's side window all the way and place a few of the larger pieces of broken glass on the seat, along with a brick. Set up a camcorder to forever capture your victim's reaction.
Air-sickness snack
Before your next flight, prepare a simple yogurt-and-fruit salad and put it in a zip-lock bag. Once in the air, discreetly put the wholesome snack into an air-sickness bag. Now it's your time to shine. Pretend like you're getting sick into the bag. Then, with all the passengers watching, grab a fork, say "Yum-MEE!" and eat your fruit salad.
Lunchtime
Enjoy half of a peanut-butter-and-jelly sandwich for breakfast. Take the remainder of the sandwich, wrap it securely in some plastic wrap and then head to work early. Bury your wrapped food in your co-worker's garbage can (careful to keep it clean). Around noon, walk over to your co-worker's cubicle and ask, "You got anything good in your trash can?" As your victim looks on in stunned silence, rifle through the rubbish, pull out the sandwich and dig in.
Tug o' war
Perfect for dorms where the hallway doors open inward. At about 7 a.m. one Saturday morning, tie one end of a rope to a doorknob, tie the other end to the doorknob directly across the hall, leaving about two inches of slack. Knock loudly on both doors. Sit back and watch the residents of the two rooms try to open their doors.
But you look so young!
Next time you're out to eat with a friend, slip away to the restroom. While you're gone, tell your server that it's your friend's birthday, adding 10 years, of course. Ask the staff to bring over a dessert and sing, including the age in the song.
Look at all the crazy people
Tape magnets to the bottom of a coffee mug and attach to the roof of your wife's car. As she drives in to work, she'll be amazed at all the people frantically waving and pointing at her.
So juvenile, so funny
On your co-worker's desk, leave the written message: "Harry Lyon called. He says it's urgent. Call him immediately." Include the phone number of an out-of-state zoo.
You may already be a winner
This is cruel. Early Wednesday morning, take note of the winning Mega Millions numbers from the night before. Rush out and buy a ticket with those numbers. Return home in time for breakfast. Put the ticket on the table and ask your husband to check the paper to see if you won last night's drawing. Soon, he'll be crying tears of joy. Break the news to him before he calls in to tell off his boss.
The fake-out
Tell your spouse to watch out, that you're planning the best and most embarrassing April Fool's prank ever. Act strangely tonight, Tuesday morning and all day. Then, of course, do nothing.
PDQ's Top 10 oldest and lamest pranks (attempt them and subject yourself to ridicule)
Glue a quarter on the floor.
Tie someone's shoelaces together.
Turn on and crank up your mom's car radio, wipers and heat.
Set all clocks an hour ahead.
Put a rubber band on the sink sprayer.
Replace Oreo filling with toothpaste.
Remove the labels on all the canned goods in the house.
Make some pinholes in a plastic cup.
Sew the legs of someone's jeans shut.
The evil troika: doggy doo-doo, a paper bag and matches.
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