April Fool’s
I was never much of a prankster on April Fool’s Day. Don’t get me wrong, I enjoy a practical joke as much as the next person. Its just that April first sneaks up on me so quickly, and good practical jokes come in one of two ways: they are either carefully planned out to perfection, or they just fall into your lap in a way that could not have been planned and unfold perfectly by coincidence. I was never very good at creating practical joke plots just for the sake of the first of April but for those that can pull it off, I have some advice.
Through marriage last year, I inherited a family full of April Fool’s jokesters and I wanted to provide some practical advice that may prevent a fun joke from turning into major legal trouble.
According to the law, if you intend your actions, you are responsible for the consequences, regardless of whether you intended or could have foreseen those consequences. If your joke does not go as planned, you may be responsible for damage to personal property or injury to a person.
My advice is to save your practical jokes for your close friends and family members at home and opt not to participate in April Fool’s jokes at work. If you save your pranks for home, you will avoid the potential for getting fired and from having to continue to work with someone that doesn’t think you are funny. Things are more likely to go awry when there are many people involved and the more people involved, the more humiliated the subject will feel. If something does go wrong, your friends and family members will be more forgiving and will be less humiliated.
If you do choose to participate at work, do not set up scenarios where someone could get hurt or property could get damaged. Most importantly, consider all possible consequences of your actions. By doing so, you can avoid becoming a fool of April Fool’s.
