Article created by: Gabija Palšytė

While its origins aren’t exactly clear, people have been pranking folks on April 1st since at least the middle ages. For example, here is an account of people going into the tower of London to “see the lions being washed” in 1698 that was the direct result of a prank. But in this day and age, people are so overprepared that they might not even realize that not everything is an attempt to fool them.

Someone asked “What real and serious story/event did you believe was a prank (because it's April 1st)?” and people shared their examples. So get comfortable as you scroll through, upvote your favorites and add your own experiences to the comments section below.

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#1

Smiling woman outdoors in a green shirt, with eyes closed, enjoying a moment; evokes real events mistaken for pranks. My mom has been sober for 9 years, but she announced her sobriety on April 1st. No one believed her. Happy Sober-versary, mom!

anon , Matthias Cooper Report

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    #2

    A surprised man and woman greet each other in a narrow alley, evoking a mistaken prank scenario. My long term girlfriend broke up with me on April first.

    Not only did I initially think it was a joke, but then all my friends thought it was a joke and I went a full week+ of nobody being supportive because they all thought I committed hard to the bit.

    Badloss , RDNE Stock project Report

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    #3

    Snow-covered street with trees and lamps, resembling an April Fools' prank due to its unexpected weather conditions. Boston. 1997. "We're getting 2 feet of snow Tuesday. You probably won't have class."

    "Hah. Hah. Hah. April Fools."

    We got two feet of snow.

    DrDebG , Filip Bunkens Report

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    #4

    Doctor performing ultrasound on pregnant woman, checking for twins. 5 years ago today my wife and I went to an ultrasound where they told us she was carrying twins. We were in shock but at least we could see the ultrasound. The phone calls to our family later that day were a bit tricky.

    Krell47 , Getty Images Report

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    #5

    Pregnant woman holding her belly, a real event mistaken for a prank. My friend is born on April 1st. He was telling me that when his mom's water broke, his dad didn't actually believe her and thought she just spilt water on the ground.

    A_GuyThatDoesStuff , freestocks.org Report

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    #6

    A woman in a modern office setting, reviewing paperwork beside a laptop, associated with real events mistaken for pranks. My friend turned in her two weeks noticed on April 1. HR didn’t believe her until much later.

    isladesangre , Getty Images Report

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    #7

    A border collie looking up with a playful expression, showcasing their bright eyes and sticking out its tongue. Our family dog was hit by a car on April 1st. My dad saw it happen and came inside to tell us, I instantly started crying and my brother didn't believe him, my dad kept telling him to stop and to shut up cause he was laughing and saying no way.

    Jordanlf3208 , Helena Lopes Report

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    #8

    Woman looking at sleeping man, both in bed, related to real events mistaken for pranks. One April 1st a few years ago my wife woke up ont with Bell's Palsy ( half of her face was partially paralyzed and dropping) due to an infection. It took me way longer than it should have to believe her that she wasn't totally faking it as a prank. I played it off until she cried. Not my proudest moment.

    invasiveorgan , Kampus Production Report

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    #9

    A person in a denim jacket and red sunglasses holding a microphone on stage, mistaken for an April Fool's prank. Mitch Hedberg’s death was announced on April 1st even though he passed on March 29th and I thought he was pranking his fans. RIP, man.

    tenpercentofnothing , Conan O'Brien Report

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    #10

    Pregnant woman in a maroon dress, softly lit, touching her belly, embodying unexpected twin pregnancy surprise. Obligatory "not me but..."

    So my mom's birthday is April 1st and on her 40th birthday all of her friends threw her a surprise party at a very nice restaurant. About halfway through dinner my mom and dad stand up to make an announcement -- she was pregnant! No one believed them but nineteen years later here I am!

    rllyuncomfy , freestocks Report

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    #11

    Hands holding with focus on engagement ring, symbolizing a real-life event not an April fool's prank. My 17 year old friend telling me she got engaged while she was visiting overseas. We were still in high school. Kept saying “I’m not falling for it it’s April fools I’m not falling for it” even though she showed the ring. Didn’t believe until she showed me the 1000 pictures of the engagement.

    anon , Elegant Images Report

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    See Also on Bored Panda
    #12

    Man looking puzzled at a laptop, resting head on hand by a table, reflecting on real events mistaken for April 1st pranks. Today at work our internet connection broke down. Initially I thought it was a prank but in retrospect I doubt a large company would cut off an entire floor of employees from work for 1.5 hours especially considering we're the IT helpdesk.

    YoungDiscord , Nataliya Vaitkevich Report

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    #13

    Person in prison cell, wearing orange jumpsuit, leaning on bars. I didn't just hear the story but I've called my parents from jail on April 1st after I got arrested. Didn't make this any easier..

    anon , RDNE Stock project Report

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    #14

    Hands holding several hundred-dollar bills, suggesting surprising real events related to money. My dad called to tell me he had just won the Reader’s Digest sweepstakes. Two months later we were all in the company headquarters watching my parents accept a comically oversized novelty check for the first installment (it paid out over 30 years).

    dirkdastardly , Alexander Mils Report

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    #15

    Person removing a ring, possibly symbolizing a personal decision or life change, mistaken for an April Fools' prank. A friend of mine announced she was divorcing her husband on April 1st.

    ZekeD , cottonbro studio Report

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    #16

    A woman in black sits with her hand on her forehead, appearing distressed, in a dimly-lit room. That my grandmother was dead, because her mother also died on April 1st.

    dietlemontv , Pavel Danilyuk Report

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    #17

    People shaking hands over a laptop at a desk, mistaken for an April 1st prank event. My boss was a well known joker in a company where we made April Fool’s pranks an art.

    He announced a well-liked colleague was leaving.

    After the fact, my boss told me he should’ve waited one more day before sending the email announcement as most people still didn’t believe that the colleague was leaving.

    ProductOwner , fauxels Report

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    #18

    Woman in a striped shirt sits pensively on a couch, possibly reacting to surprising news about twins. One time my dad's girlfriend started drinking water and used the fake-choke on me. She was on the ground rolling in laughter, and as a result, started actually choking.

    mari_da_blob , Getty Images Report

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    #19

    Shattered car windshield with broken glass suggests a surprising real event mistaken for an April Fools’ prank. I used to work in a deli in a grocery store. We were right next to the bakery and I got to know the people over there pretty well. There was this guy, we'll call him Ben. Ben had a lot of tattoos and played guitar in a band and was a pretty chill dude overall. I came into work on April first and one of my friends told me that Ben was in a car accident last night and had passed away. I thought no way, he was totally the type of person to make a joke like that on April fool's day, but it turned out to be true. It was really surreal that he was just gone. He was only 23 years old. My favorite memory of him was one night he was closing and didn't have much to do. They had two burnt loaves of bread, so he pulled the insides out and cut them to fit around his feet. He walked over to us and said, "look guys, I made loafers!" He was a great guy.

    Eagle555557 , Artyom Kulakov Report

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    #20

    Hand on chest in a striped shirt, resembling a surprised reaction, related to real events mistaken for pranks. My prankster Uncle Tim died of a massive heart attack in his front yard.

    Wolfknightofthe , Fellipe Ditadi Report

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