it's easy to believe somebody's been lying to me

So on April Fool's Day I love seeing what "tricks" the websites have come up with. i've seen some pretty good ones in the past, but this year most sites left stuff to be desired. My sister believes google's trick every single year. I don't think i've ever not gotten a call or something from her gushing about the cool new thing google has. But not today.

It's not just the sites, though. Most of the "April Fool's humor" I saw/heard today was anything but humorous. Transparent "jokes" that are not in the least bit funny have been popping up everywhere.

"we have a pop quiz in class today" says the professor who is having the most difficult time keeping a straight face. really? not that i would've studied but... "April Fools!" oh haha witty professor, for about half a second you made me think about the fact that i don't study for anything you give us. you are a funny one.

"my computer died yesterday when i had a really big project due" says the random dude who started to speak to me on the bus. you could hear the tears in his voice, so i must give him credit for his performance. "oh" is my polite reply, followed by a silent diatribe in my head. i do not know you random stranger. why would i care the least bit that your computer died? is it because we are on the same bus? is that a form of bonding to you? I go back to listening to my iPod. "I was just kidding... april fools you know" he says half an hour later as we are getting off the bus. "oh" is my polite response. should i laugh now? was that supposed to be funny? did you think i would suddenly start caring if you let the joke sit there for half an hour? perhaps you should have saved that one for a professor, or friend, or someone who at least knew who you were.

i was eating dinner and the table next to me bursts into laughter. someone had asked for a coke and had recieved a diet instead. another knee-slapping april fools trick. college campuses just breed hilarity these days.

but i started this by talking about websites... here are a few of the oh so funny tricks i found online today.

mugglenet, a harry potter fansite, usually has some pretty good tricks. so after a year of not visiting the site, i went to see what they would have. they're apparently downsizing because of the recession.

youtube had turned their site upside down for the day.

google created the best AI out there. "Cadie" has transcended even the comprehension of her creators.

gmail had started an auto-reply program. you don't have to miss out on any more of those spam-tastic opportunities. the nigerian prince wants your bank account to send you 25 million dollars but you don't have time to reply?? dont worry, gmail will now send him the information for you! along with ssn, mother's maiden name, birthday, and whatnot.

while i must admit a couple of these were pretty clever, i've seen a lot funnier ones.

UPDATE: here's a list of all the internet pranks.

*One Thing Leads to Another - Steven Strait