April Fool’s day is a holiday dreaded by some and embraced by many people- whether they like it or not. 2020 and 2021 have felt like jokes to many of us in themselves. Here are some of the best April Fools pranks we saw this year plus some background on why the holiday is even celebrated anyway.

It is said by historians that April Fool’s began in 1582 when France switched its calendars. Changing from a Julian calendar to a Gregorian one, this change moved the New Year from April 1st to January 1st where it is today. People who didn’t realize this had changed and continued to celebrate the New Year in April were known as “April Fools”. This event evolved into the modern silly holiday we know today. 

This year many companies participated in the fun. Language education company DuoLingo launched “DuoLingo Rolls”. This was toilet paper that was supposed to have different language phrases on it to help one learn language in the restroom. The company even created a fake website to sell the prank. 

From pizzas to vegetarian meat substitutes, there is no doubt that the cauliflower products are trending right now. But did this movement carry over into candy, too? That’s what Green Giant and Peeps wanted you to think when they created a partnership for the sake of April Fools. The two announced their collaboration on limited edition “Cauliflower Peeps” much to the shock of the public. The marshmallow candy flavored like a vegetable turned out to be a prank, but the collaboration between two unlikely allies will not soon be forgotten. 

Food-related pranks seemed to be very common this April Fools day. Chosen Foods, a company that makes avocado based dressings and mayonnaise announced they would be adding another product to their lineup- Avocado toothpaste! From Hass avocados the fake website promised that the savory flavored toothpaste would help freshen breath. 

The Canadian Space agency pranked the public into the premise that they had solved one of the world’s most frustrating mysteries. They tweeted an altered photo of a bunch of socks on Mars stating that this was where all of the socks that get lost in the dryer go- to Mars. This prank brought attention to Canada’s Perseverance rover, a Mars vehicle that does exist but not to find missing socks. 

No matter if you fell for these pranks or not, April Fools can bring lots of fun to people all across the world. Hopefully this article inspired you to prank peers or family this time next year, or maybe it will make you more wary of impending jokes.