There are some holidays that are spiritual, some that give you days off from school or work, and some where you decorate and dress up. But when it comes to April Fool’s Day, there’s nothing to it but pure fun!
April Fool's is a day where pranksters rule. It's always on the first of April, and when it comes around, half the news you hear may actually be fake. No matter what culture or faith you subscribe to, everybody loves a good Fool. It's a day when you can play jokes and gags on anybody you want!
And therein lies the rub. You have to be a little on guard on April Fool's Day. Potential pranksters are everywhere! You can't take April Fool's Day lying down, especially if you sleep on a Lull. That gel-infused memory foam will have you absolutely knocked out, which means you’ll be left vulnerable for a sleep prank. The easiest April Fool is one that's sound asleep, and if that's you, beware. With a Lull mattress, you'll fall asleep so well that before you know it, the joke will be on you.
But, we all need sleep, so what to do? Simple. We advise that this year, be the hunter, not the hunted. The gagster, not the gagged. The prankster, not the Fool.
Yes friends, we think it’s time to take the fool by the horns and become the fooler, so to speak. To help you do that, we’ve put together some suggestions of pranks you can play on your sleeping loved ones. (Hey, all this sleep knowledge isn’t for nothing!) It’s a great way to get your laugh on, release some stress, and hopefully do the same for your friends and family too.
But First, How the Heck Did April Fool’s Day Become a Thing?
So, where did April Fool’s Day come from? Nobody really knows for sure! No foolin’. In fact, not only doesn’t anybody know for certain where April Fool’s Day comes from, but even the correct spelling and punctuation of April Fool’s Day is kind of in dispute! In the interest of “knowing the enemy” though, let’s do this: here are three published April Fool’s Day origin stories. One is actually a famous April Fool’s Day gag. Pick the ones you think are true, then see if your guess was right below.
1. It’s a prank played on others when Christians changed their calendar: Yeah, we said that April Fool’s Day is a non-spiritual holiday, but it didn’t start out that way. In fact, the first April Fool’s Day in the year 1582 came from the people that gave us the calendar that made it 1582 – the early Christians. It happened when Pope Gregory XIII switched the early Christians over to a new calendar that put New Year’s on January 1st. This replaced the old Julian calendar that was created by Roman leader Julius Caesar, but some didn’t go along with the change. As a result, the holdouts were “fools” for celebrating New Year’s on April 1st. In time, people played pranks on them too, making them “April Fools.”
2. It celebrates when a court jester became king for a day: A professor at Boston University named Joseph Boskin discovered a little known historical fact from the time of Roman Emperor Constantine. Court jesters argued to “Constantine the Great” that they could do a better job ruling the empire than he could, so he called their bluff. He actually made a jester - or “fool” - of Rome into its ruler for a day! Among the rules, the jester came up with was a day to celebrate jokesters every April 1st. The tradition stuck, and it ultimately became April Fool’s Day.
3. It comes from other humorous and fun holidays celebrated around this time: Hindus celebrate a holiday at the end of March called Holi. One of the Jews’ holier holidays celebrated around this time is Purim, and the Romans used to have one called Hilaria. All three involve jokes or fun, so the various cultures’ ideas were passed around the world. The idea of fun holidays stuck, so the non-religious April Fool’s Day became a thing for everybody.
So, if you guessed that #2 was the fake April Fool’s Day story, you guessed right! Professor Boskin made the whole Constantine story up and leaked it to the Associated Press. Don’t feel too bad though. It took the Press weeks to figure out they’d been fooled! Told you to beware that fake news is everywhere on April Fool’s Day.
Prepare Your Victim
So now that we know what all the tomfoolery is about, it’s time to get down to the business of fooling. As we said, the best victim is one that’s sound asleep, because as you’ll see, they really need to be in that REM phase in order to play a good April Fool’s Day prank on them. If you currently sleep on a Lull mattress, beware. It’s pretty easy to fall into a deep, sound sleep, so you’re a potential victim if you don’t watch out. If you’ve got one, in fact, getting a friend to try it out might be the perfect way to get them defenseless enough to prank. If not, getting one for them as a gift might be a good idea, and appease some of their anger afterward. Here’s why:
Motion Transfer: Lull mattresses redirect any motion in the bed – so well that any pair sleeping can move about without disturbing one other! If you’re pranking your bedmate, this is perfect! They’re a sleeping duck. You’ll be able to do any ridiculous thing to them and they won’t even notice. You just have to make sure to get yourself awake to play the prank!
Perfect Temperature: Research has shown that 69 degrees is ideal for sleep, and that’s what a Lull mattress will put your victim at, all night. The last two stages of sleep are where people sleep most deeply, so you want your victim to get there fast. A high-quality mattress like Lull’s will do the trick, and in fact, can be a lure if you need your victim to try yours out, too. If they have back pain or insomnia, you can show them how a new Lull mattress will help them sleep. Then you can prove it by playing the best April Fool’s Day prank of their life! The mixed messages may tick off someone with serious insomnia though, so again, pick your victim wisely. But if you’ve got a sleeping sucker, a Lull mattress will do it.
Pressure Relief: And of course, you don’t want your victim to struggle to get to sleep in the first place. If they have back pain, the 1.5” layer of premium memory foam will lull them right to sleep, setting them up for your April Fool’s fun.
Perfect Pranks to Play This April Fool’s Day!
Once you’ve got a victim or victims in mind and properly prepared them for pranking, it’s time to go to work. Here are some of our favorite April Fool’s Day ideas to ensure you’ll be the one laughing April Fool’s Day morning. Enjoy!
1. Panic Room: A college favorite, but one you have to be careful to clean up after, you can rig your room to send your roommate into a panic. Carefully glue their phone to a solid object (but making sure you have super glue remover) while they sleep. Loosen the room’s doorknobs so that they fall off. Or alternatively, push something heavy in front of the door. Use tape that won’t leave a mark, or again, super glue but with the remover to glue their blinds shut or curtains to the sill, so they can’t open. Wait ‘til your victim is fast asleep, and then use your phone or the internet to simulate a fire alarm. Set it off, and watch them scramble to escape.
2. Hair Today, Fool Tomorrow: Another old favorite, this one is best served on your most vain victims. Basically, all you do is get some hair extensions of the same color as your victim’s hair. Then cut a length off that approximately matches the length of their bangs and sprinkle it all over their pillow as they sleep. When they wake up and it looks like somebody cut their hair while they were sleeping? April Fool!
3. The Hang-over: We’ve told you all about bedding before, and now it’s time to put that knowledge to good use. If your victim uses a top sheet, spread coat hangers all over their mattress, right underneath it. It will drive them crazy, especially if it’s late when they’re trying to get to bed! Better still, if they have a duvet, fill it with hangers. In a puffy one it’s harder to notice, and if they’re really tired, it will take them a minute to realize something’s wrong. Then watch them lose it when they realize what’s up!
4. The White Rabbit: Fans of Alice in Wonderland will appreciate this one. Having just gotten through Daylight Saving Time, why not put your clock moving skills to work? When your victim’s completely out, move their clocks forward an hour or two. By clocks, we mean everything – their watch, every clock in the house, even their car’s clock. This will make them think they’re really late, causing a mad dash to get where they need to! Then time how long it takes for them to realize what you’ve done. Great for your most punctual / organized April Foolees.
5. Wrap it Up: Here’s where the motion transfer comes in most handy. An old classic, wrapping your victim up in saran wrap while they sleep is another hilarious way to send your April Fool into a frenzy. Simply get a long roll of quality saran wrap, and while they’re snoozing, secure them to the bed, and then laugh like a loon when they struggle to escape the next day!
Make Sure Your Last Laugh Isn’t Your Last Laugh
On a serious note, we’d like to stress the importance of choosing your victims wisely this April Fool’s Day. One of the reasons we focus on pranks you can play on sleeping victims is because we assume you’re kind of close to them if you have that kind of access. Your friends and loved ones, in other words, are victims that will likely forgive you for any prank you play. Even then though, if you’re in a troubled relationship, maybe tread lightly in pranking your significant other. If you’ve got a buddy that is overly sensitive or doesn’t have that kind of sense of humor, lay off. And definitely don’t prank anybody that has power over you like a boss or a supervisor!
Remember, April Fool’s Day is supposed to be fun. And most importantly, payback is a you-know-what. If you get them good, be ready for retaliation.