by Angie Schmitz

Last April Fools’ Day, Rhonda Mielke, the staff evening relief lead at McGlynn’s, was told by student managers that campus security was giving her a parking ticket. When she went outside to argue it, she found her car completely shrink-wrapped.

“They went all around the car, around the doors even,” Mielke said. “It took a long time to get it all off.”

On April 1, countless people are subjected to pranks. Some are minor, such as peanut butter under a car door handle. Some are well thought-out and take time, such as Mielke’s shrink-wrapped car.

People around the world have participated in the April Fools’ tradition for centuries. The exact origin is not known, but the closest estimate for the first April Fools’ was in 1582 in France, according to Wilstar.com.

The official calendar was altered from April 1 as the start of the year to January 1. Many people didn’t want to accept the change and were considered “fools” for not following the new protocol.

Over time, the tradition of pulling pranks developed in Europe and eventually crossed to the United States.

First-year Dylan Decker said he and his brother have fooled their mom multiple times with the same trick. They put Saran Wrap on the toilet seat and wait to hear her scream.

“She falls for it every time,” Decker said.

Since April Fools’ Day has been a long-standing tradition around the world, The Museum of Hoaxes has compiled a list of the Top 100 April Fools’ Day Hoaxes of All Time. The top prank occurred in 1957 on a British news show. The broadcast featured a story about the Swiss spaghetti harvest, and because of the mild winter, the harvest was booming. The segment even showed Swiss workers pulling strands of spaghetti off of trees.

After it was aired, viewers called the station to find out if it was true, and many asked if it were possible for them to grow a spaghetti tree of their own. To this question, the station said, “Place a sprig of spaghetti in a tin of tomato sauce and hope for the best.”

Besides her shrink-wrapped car, Mielke has dealt with other pranks from students working with her at McGlynn’s, such as being told that her car was hit by another CSB student. Does she have any plans for payback?

“Yeah, but I better hurry up before they graduate.”

 

 

Filed under: Lifestyle, Variety by Amy Zimmermann