Let me confess something right up front and get it over with: I never think about April Fools Day until it's far too late to accomplish a prank with any epic qualities at all.
But if you're like that, too, then me being like that is, like, good news for you, because after years of being like that, I have accumulated, like, a list of not-entirely-horrible pranks that can almost be pulled off with, like, no prior setup...that you might almost like.
- Do you have a sprayer at your kitchen sink? Put a rubber band around it, so the next person to use the sink gets a refreshing surprise.
- Go to the closet and turn all your roommate's shirts inside out.
- Tell everyone you've changed your name to BattalionLeader and don't respond to anyone unless they call you that.
- Answer every question with "I don't know, but I'll check on it."
- Cover the toothpaste tube with canola oil.
- Best of all: Leave a note for your roommate/spouse/child wishing them a happy April Fools Day and assuring them that you have no intention to prank them. Then watch them spend the rest of the day worrying about when you're going to prank them.
Chubby Checker wasn't the only one dealing with weight issues in the 1960s...
The Good Cholesterol, the Bad Cholesterol, and the Bulgy - A big hit for Huge Montenegro from the movie of the same name
Wedding Cake Blues - This is why the group needed a 5th dimension to spread out into
I Heard It Through the Helpline - "I bet you're wonderin' how I knew / they made the door bigger so you'd fit through"
Happy Together - The musical story of the mating of peanut butter and chocolate to create Reese's Cups
Ice Cream Believer - "...and a homecoming queeeeeeen."♫♪
Runaround Sue - If you're training for a marathon...because...she's like...really...big...yeah, you got that one...
Wendy's - "Who's serving up those juicy cheeseburgers, wrapped in some paper, dripping with grease? Who's reaching out to hand you some french fries? Everyone knows it's Wendy's."
Mashed Potato Time - No almosting here. This is an actual 1962 hit by Dee Dee Sharp!
Save the Last Doughnut for Me - "Don't forget who's takin' you home, and in his kitchen you're gonna be..."
Will You Still Feed Me Tomorrow - A hit for the Shirelles, but written by Carole "Kingsize" King
Old El Paso - "Out in the West Texas town of El Paso, I fell in love with s Mexican sauce."
Sugar Shack - Again, this joke is for real and recorded by Jimmy Gilmer & the Fireballs in 1963.
Return to Blender - When your smoothie isn't quite smooth enough
Sugar Sugar - Theme song for the Association of Dental Hygienists
Hey JuJus - "Hey, JuJus, don't let me down. Take a boring movie and make it better..."
To Sirloin With Love - This one is a lulu.
Are You Hungry Tonight? - Elvis invites a friend over for grilled peanut butter and banana sandwiches
First, you need to know that my current LeadPastorPreacherGuy, DeeBee McWordNerd, has a son who used to play lead guitar in a Christian rock band that used to be wildly popular: Audio Adrenaline. #TrueTruth
Second, it's important for you to know that, since the demise of Audio Adrenaline, the aforementioned LeadGuitaristSon (LGS) has been busy doing studio work, touring, and making television appearances with several different musical artists, both faith-based and not-so-faith-based.
Third, sometimes, when LGS is home for a while in the Twin Cities, he gets hired to play in the worship band of a couple of the larger churches.
Now...I said all that so I can make this observation...
Sometimes the worship leaders of big churches think they're a little bigger than they really are.
And DeeBee McWordNerd has given me a couple examples involving LGS that not only prove my point, but make me chuckle.
Example 1:
During worship rehearsal, the church's video guy pulled LGS aside and asked if he could take off the jacket he was wearing: "The fabric really doesn't work well on camera."
I don't think LGS actually SAID anything, but he at least thought to himself, "That's funny, because it worked fine when I wore it on The Tonight Show the other day."
Example 2:
Worship Leader to LGS: I like what you're doing, but do you think you could play it a little more like what's on the record?
LGS to Worship Leader: This is exactly what I played on the record.
It's only appropriate for a decade that gave us Fats Domino to also be the source of some of the fattest songs ever recorded.
Peggy Stew - "I love you, Peggy Stew; your beef broth is rare and true"
Whole Lot of Milkshakes Goin' On - Sung by Jerry "Sarah" Lee Lewis
All I Have to Do Is DreamWhip - "When I want you on my pie, when my apple crisp is kinda dry, whenever I want to, all I have to do is DreeeeeeamWhip"
Smoke Gets In Your Baby Back Ribs - "They...asked me how I knew...how to barbecue..."
The Great Pretenderizer - No joke, this is sung by The Platters
Eat Up, Little Susie - The Everly Brothers channel a Jewish mother
Blueberry Pie Hill - "I found my thrill..."
The Batter of New Orleans - Jimmy Horton sings about Long John Silver's secret recipe
Love Me Tender - "Love me tender, love me rare, love me grilled or fried"
Sixteen Tons - "I weigh sixteen tons, and brother, you bet; a trip to the grocer just leaves me in debt"
(Let Me Be Your) Gummi Bear - A big hit for Elvis Pretzley
Mack the Butter Knife - "Oh the shark fin soup...isn't sweet, dear...but the dinner roll...is soft and hot"
Rock Around the Buffet - "When the clock strikes one, we'll walk right in, and fill our plates again and again"
First of all, what's the big deal with there being a state drink? Or a state ANYTHING, for that matter?
Do states get kickbacks from companies when they say a product of theirs is the "State Product of That Type"? You know, like selling naming rights for a sports stadium or something? If they name The Mighty Oak as their state tree, does someone send the legislators cases of acorns?
Maybe if they declared state diseases...we could cure some of the nasty stuff going around. "It's time to wipe out toenail fungus; the state disease of Florida!"
I ran across a list of state drinks, some of which were no surprise at all. The state drink of Florida is orange juice. Makes total sense, because they grow oranges there. California's state drink is wine. Again, this seems right because California produces so many alcoholics.
Being a native of Indiana, I was interested to find out what distinctive beverage my home state had claimed as its own. What with Johnny Appleseed being buried in Fort Wayne, I was pulling for apple cider.
There we were, right after Illinois and before Iowa. My eyes followed the dotted line over to...the word...water.
Water.
I mean...How lame can one state BE?!?
"Okay, everybody, before we get to that budget thingy, we need to nail down the issue of our state drink. So what's it gonna be, folks? What form of liquid refreshment is there that encapsulates the true character of our people...the strong backbone of what Indiana stands for?"
"Uhhh...how about...I don't know...water? We got plenty of that."
"Yeah, sure...whatever. That's fine. Is it time for lunch yet?"
I was feeling pretty bad about it all until I saw that the state drink of Nebraska is Kool-Aid.
