OnePoll conducted a study examining Americans’ attitudes on April Fools Day. The survey of 1000 Americans found that 1 in 3 respondents believed in pulling pranks on people who had pranked them. Researchers also asked if the participants found any pranks inappropriate.

Pranks Americans find inappropriate 

About 29% of the respondents believe that pantsing someone could never be appropriate. Other inappropriate pranks were tampering with food (27%), changing phone settings (28%), fake breakups or proposals (28%), and catfishing (29%).

About 39% believe they could prank family members on April Fools days. Another 15% didn’t think anyone should be a perennial target. Moreover, 63% believed some pranks could be extreme.

One participant stated that they had never enjoyed pranks as they made them uncomfortable. The participant stated that they weren’t comfortable pulling pranks as they didn’t want to play with people’s feelings.

While some respondents appeared uncomfortable with pranks, about 64% enjoyed April Fool’s Day. Gen X adults were also 83% more likely to enjoy the holiday than 43% of boomers.

Another 57% believed the internet had significantly improved the holiday. Some respondents (56%) enjoyed YouTube channels centred around pranks.  About 60%also enjoyed pranks pulled off by brands. However, the brand had to ensure no one was hurt.

A participant added that the only way to tell a prank was good was if the pranked party laughed. If they didn’t appreciate the prank and instead felt negative about it, it would be better classified as hazing or bullying.

Pranks that respondents find acceptable

One generally well-taken prank was filling a room with balloons (58%). Other accepted pranks were intentionally scaring someone (37%), pranking a sleeping person (58%), posting fake news or information online (40%), and placing googly eyes on strange objects.

Americans didn’t just have fun on April Fools Day. The holiday could also help them learn.  A recent study shows that people could identify fake news when news outlets posted hoax articles on the holiday. Such hoax articles could teach Americans styles used in fake news articles, thus enabling them to identify the fake news articles quickly and find more reputable sources.