April Fool’s Day may be a day of mild pranks on your coworkers for you, but for huge tech companies with money to spare, it’s so much more. Familiar brand names are taking advantage of the opportunity to prank you in unique and fun ways. We’ve gathered the most elaborate and entertaining pranks of April 1st, 2014, in case you missed them.
Google Maps – The search engine’s mapping feature rolled out a Pokemon Master challenge to its users. You could download the Google Maps app for iOS or Android, then begin playing a game where you must “catch” all 150 Pokemons on the map. The video accompanying the prank, created by Google Maps, claims that the winner will be hired by Google as a Pokemon Master, with the disclaimer “Our hiring committee must first battle to determine who can best judge the Pokemon Master. The battle date has yet to be set, so the role of Pokemon Master is not yet available.”
Google+ – Many facets of Google participated in April Fool’s Day this year, and Google+ enlisted David Hasselhoff for theirs. Google+ Auto Awesome invited users to upload their favorite photos onto their site, and they would then edit it so that David Hasselhoff would appear on the picture in a photobomb.
YouTube – YouTube’s prank included taking credit for viral videos such as Gangham Style and Harlem Shake before announcing their latest viral trend: clocking. People can participate in “clocking” by holding up their arms like the hands on a clock in any location (Times Square, the Hollywood sign, etc.). YouTube is also introducing “butter fails,” “finish lining,” and “baby shaming.” You can add to their treasure trove of memes and viral videos by suggesting ideas using #newtrends.
Netflix – Netflix users can rejoice over two new streaming options available to them: “Rotisserie Chicken” and “Sizzling Bacon.” The first is a 73 minute movie showing the process of cooking a chicken rotisserie-style backwards – starting with the fully-cooked chicken and ending with it raw. You don’t want to miss the poetic Netflix description of the film: “In the tradition of ‘The Curious Case of Benjamin Button,’ witness a searing, chronology-defying return to one’s origins that stokes the imagination.” “Sizzling Bacon” is 20 minutes of bacon frying in a pan.
ThinkGeek – ThinkGeek is an online store for lovers of all things geek. Their pranks were true to form: products such as “Mr. Beard’s Spray on Staches,” a Rosetta Stone for learning Klingon, a Nurf Nuke Bomb, and a Unicorn drinking horn were all added to their usual fare.
What was your favorite epic Internet prank this year? Share in the comments below!
Sources:
Gross, Doug. “The Internet’s best April Fools gags.” http://www.cnn.com/2014/04/01/tech/web/web-april-fools/. (2 April 2014).
Molina, Brett. “Netflix may have won April Fool’s Day.” http://www.usatoday.com/story/tech/2014/04/01/netflix-april-fools-day/7163605/. (1 April 2014).
Volpe, Joseph. “Here’s a look at ThinkGeek’s 2014 April Fools’ products.” http://www.engadget.com/2014/04/01/heres-a-look-at-thinkgeek-2014-april-fools-products/. (2 April 2014).