Tuesday, March 29, 2011

Pranksters


     Image by Danilo Rizzuti via freedigitalphoto.net

Another April Fool's Day is nearly here.
Will your friends endure a prank this year?
I think any holiday that's hundreds of years old
should have a few celebrants that do it up bold.
Of course, due to the yin yang of personal taste,
some don't appreciate humor being prank based.
I think litigation squashed most of the foolish fun
but wish more of the rich would try for a big one.

A read through the top one hundred hoaxes of all time,
shows that the best ones definitely aren't dreamed up on a dime.
The island The Guardian staff invented in 1977, San Serriffe,
must've taken many months to plan so cleverly and complete.
Though less was required for the 1957 Swiss Spaghetti Harvest,
these "news" stories still represent pure pranking at its best.
It's sad that these days people would most likely sue you,
otherwise, instead of this, I'd write a fake news story too!

I used to wonder why people got so upset about pranks,
but now know a few pranksters who may deserve spanks.
The first is Porky Bickar, who thought he should throw tires
into a volcano, scaring locals with non smoke and mirror pyres.
I also think it's mean to offer people a phony bargain deal.
Even I would have to call to learn if the deal was fake or real.
But by far the least funny I've heard of was from World War I,
when the French thought dropping a football bomb would be fun.

Laughing it off gets harder when pranksters prey on primal fears.
Most agree that only evil people laugh when creating others' tears.
So if you prank this year, try to make it a happy smiley one.
I can't wait to see what's next from the famous Richard Branson.
I hope more companies make fake ads with the truth in fine print
and that reporters again test the public's intelligence for a stint.
I say that as long as it's a witty test of intuition or observation
it's fair game for any prankster's April Fool's Day celebration.

© Rachel Hoyt 2011. All rights reserved.

This rhyme is being shared via One Shot Poetry,
who, incidently, just won an award... a Shorty!

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16 comments:

  1. Thanks for the info in verse form!

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  2. You know there is no word for gullible in the dictionary?

    A

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  3. smiles. i rather like april fools though not to make people cry...

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  4. @poemblaze - You're welcome! Rhyming makes history more fun for me. :)

    @Alejandro - I know there IS one... gullible. :)

    @Brian - Yes, I like pranks, but not the mean ones.

    @Elaine - Thanks! I'm glad you enjoyed it.

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  5. Love the dedication to April fools day ;) not keen on it myself but probably cause we cant really play any pranks in my job ;)

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  6. April first is always a fun day either in anticipation...or action, but always friendly and safe. Thanks for the post and links.

    BTW...the large package on your front porch tomorrow will be from me ;)

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  7. you are so clever!! A great idea for a blog and totally entertaining. Love it. (my latent yearnings for Dr. Suess and Shel
    Silverstein are temporarily appeased)

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  8. I love good harmless fun that make people laugh.....the best kind....no crying allowed LOL...As always...XOXOXO

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  9. Very creative. Not a big fan of April Fools myself.

    Lisa
    InspiredbyLisa

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  10. What a great post. Lots of fun to read, and I will look into the links. I also love the font you wrote this in.

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  11. you are so witty missy :)
    they must have different dictionaries Down Under because mine say gullible is an adjective with a definition as follows ( easily persuaded to believe something; credulous)
    Loving you Rachel
    Jessica

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  12. April 1st is my dad's birthday as well. Thanks for the info and I love the new look of your blog!

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  13. I have never been witty enough to come up with a clever prank to play on someone for April Fool's Day and most that were played on me were hurtful.
    The poem is put together so well and I really enjoyed it Rachel! Way to go:)

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  14. Very funny write. Better to be the prankster than the prankee. Also payback is hell. I'm getting old...I vaguely remember the spaghetti harvest.

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  15. @baldychaz - I'm glad you liked my dedication to April Fool's Day. It seems hard to find an appropriate time and place for a silly prank these days. It's no wonder they won't let you at work.

    @Ron - Uhm... I didn't get any package?! Just kidding. I knew you were pulling my leg for April Fool's. :)

    @Cheryl - I'm honored to have appeased your yearnings for Shel Silverstein and Dr. Seuss temporarily! :)

    @Bongo - Definitely no crying allowed! xoxo

    @Lisa - I'm glad you enjoyed the poem even though you don't enjoy pranks. :)

    @Meryl - I hope you enjoyed the links! I consider them the story behind the rhyme. :)

    @Jessica - Oh good. At least two of us have gullible in our dictionaries. LOL. xoxo

    @YogaSavy - Happy (belated) Birthday to your dad! Does he like to play pranks? Just curious. Hehe. So glad you like the new look of my blog! :)

    @Mary - It does take talent to come up with a funny, non-hurtful prank. I'm sorry you've been a victim of hurtful ones. I'm glad you enjoyed my rhyming warning against them! :)

    @versebender - So, you're saying the Spaghetti Harvest is a blast from your past! LOL. I'm honored to have an experienced April Fool reading my rhyme! :)

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Rhyming or not, I would like a lot to hear the thoughts my words brought...