Psst. Hey. We see you planning for April Fools’ Day. We know you’re looking to slip a whoopee cushion under the CEO’s butt before that big business meeting. Hilarious. Truly. But—and hear me out—maybe humiliating the person who can fire you is not the best way to spend the first day of April.
In the office, there’s a fine line between funny and annoying. That’s why we’ve drawn up this list of simple, harmless pranks that cost next to nothing.
Make ‘wrong’ candy
Color can affect our perception of food in subtle ways. Your colleagues likely associate certain colors with certain flavors, so turn those assumptions on their head by making hard candy with an unexpected flavor that doesn’t match the color.
Of course, since you’re going to be playing with food for most of these pranks, it’s important to be aware of any food allergies your friends or colleagues may have. These jokes can be fun, but not if you send someone diving for their EpiPen.
What you’ll need:
- Sugar
- Water
- Food coloring
- Flavoring
- Saucepan
- Mixing spoon
- Candy thermometer or another heat-resistant digital thermometer
- Greased baking sheet
First, melt up to two cups of sugar and the same amount of water in a saucepan on the stove over medium heat. This could take a while, but using larger amounts of sugar or rushing the heating process could ruin the candy. Bring the mixture to a boil, stirring occasionally, until it reaches 300-310 degrees Fahrenheit, known as the “hard crack” stage.
Once it hits that point, take the pan off the heat and quickly stir in the food coloring and flavoring. Then, pour the sugar onto the greased baking sheet. Once the sugar hardens, break it up, bring it to work, and watch the surprise as your green cherry and blue apple candy disappears.
The talking banana
This prank takes advantage of the fact that bananas are gassy. The gas in question is ethylene, a compound that helps fruits ripen. If a banana receives even the slightest bump, ethylene will brown the bruised area much faster than the rest of the fruit. That means you can use a banana to send a message.
What you’ll need:
- A banana
- A toothpick
Using the toothpick or another similarly sharp object, lightly score the skin of a ripening banana. Maybe your office has communal bananas, or maybe you’ve brought one from home, but don’t rummage through coworkers lunches in search of the yellow fruit. The office fridge is a sacred place. When your message is complete, let the banana ripen somewhere visible and someone should eventually notice the food is “talking” to them. This is also ideal for passive-aggressive notes about not replying to emails.
Hide an apple in an orange
Why compare apples and oranges when you can fuse them both together?
What you’ll need:
- An apple
- A slightly larger orange
- A knife
- A spoon
To pull this off, slice an “x” in the top of the orange and ease the flaps open, pulling out the orange flesh with your fingers or a spoon while leaving the peel intact. Then, slide the empty rind over the apple and close the flaps. The fructose in the peel should keep everything stuck together and looking like a normal orange.
For maximum effect, offer the Frankenstein fruit to a friend as a thoughtful gift. If you want to stay hands-off, though, you can leave an entire bowl of “oranges” in a common area.
‘Dog’ biscuits
Much like the “wrong” candy prank, this one preys on our assumptions. Dog biscuits can resemble cookies meant for humans, and it’s easy to find dog biscuit molds online. Much like the color of our food, its shape is an important part of the eating process. Serving someone a square pie, for example, can throw a wrench in their brain’s machinery.
What you’ll need:
- Cookie dough
- Dog biscuit mold
This one’s pretty easy. Bake a few delicious cookies in the dog biscuit molds and bring them to work. Then, when the time is right, start eating them in the company of your coworkers and wait until somebody notices.
