Gullible. Dictionary. You know the rest.

April 1, 2012 2:04 AM

April Fools' Day On The Web is a list of websites running April Fools' gags. The list is updated througout the day as more sites are submitted by anyone who comes across them.

Whlie we saw Google Maps' 8-bit NES adapter yesterday, the Big G has also come out with a Really Advanced Search, which allows the user to enter search strings such as "words almost, but not quite entirely unlike," "rhyming slang for," and others. Searches can also be narrowed by "font" and "content that is true."

Elsewhere, YouTube is offering The YouTube Collection -- a series of DVDs including "YouTube Makeup Tutorials," "Youtube Dubstep Remixes, "YouTube Video Game Walkthroughs," and other useful DVD compilations.

AdBlock is offering CatBlock, which replaces all ads with LOLCAT macros.

BMW introduces a driverless car, the Running Coach, that follows you around while you jog. It includes a sound system that broadcasts inspirational platitudes to keep you going.

There appear to be about 200 sites listed at last count, and more are being submitted every few minutes as the day gets going in the U.S.

(My personal favorite April Fools' site is not yet listed, Every year I look forward to ThinkGeek's April Fools' products. This year's favorites include Keurig K-Cup 5-Star Meals, the Star Wars Admiral Ackbar Singing Bass, and Electronic Hungry Hungry Hippos for iPad. The "Free Shrugs" t-shirt is, delightfully, real--get one while supplies last!)

posted by tzikeh (109 comments total)

Eesh. Sorry for the punctuation errors; posting at 4:00am while giggling myself silly is probably not the best way to create a good MetaFilter post.
posted by tzikeh at 2:06 AM on April 1, 2012

Think Geek's, you just missed it.
posted by lee at 2:12 AM on April 1, 2012

Think Geek's, you just missed it.

Lee - check the last paragraph of the post. :D There are multiple April Fools' products at thinkgeek every year -- the moodINQ one is from... last year? Two years ago? But still a winner.
posted by tzikeh at 2:14 AM on April 1, 2012 [1 favorite]

Cool, I got a 2-year membership to moodInq's tattoo art database also!
posted by lee at 2:17 AM on April 1, 2012

Don't go on that site if you have Firefox set to prompt for cookies.
posted by GallonOfAlan at 2:17 AM on April 1, 2012

I am waiting for the BBC and other British publications to display their prowess
posted by infini at 2:27 AM on April 1, 2012

I find Google's attachment to April Fools particularly annoying. Their advertising business is based on stealing my time with things I'm not interested in. On April Fools day, they supercharge this by stealing my time with things that are fake. Not once have they repaid this with something that actually made me laugh. My distrust of Google increases all the time, but especially sharply on the 1st April.
posted by beniamino at 2:34 AM on April 1, 2012

Adblock has made my day.
posted by eyeballkid at 2:35 AM on April 1, 2012 [4 favorites]

I actually only twigged this was an April Fool when I saw Miranda Hart and David Tennant supporting the Tories. I had no problem believing it of Shaun Ryder, strangely enough.
posted by Summer at 2:35 AM on April 1, 2012 [1 favorite]

April First is the one day when the internet reminds us just how fun it can be, when it wants to.
posted by ShutterBun at 2:41 AM on April 1, 2012 [4 favorites]

April First is the one day when the internet reminds us just how fun it can be, when it wants to.

I agree. I really wish it would stop trying.
posted by dumbland at 3:07 AM on April 1, 2012 [5 favorites]

infini: I am waiting for the BBC and other British publications to display their prowess

The wait is over...
posted by tzikeh at 3:17 AM on April 1, 2012 [4 favorites]

Really laughed out loud
posted by infini at 3:19 AM on April 1, 2012

Oh Google... I know I can't trust you. But I can't help but love you. I love you because you do things like this. So freaking glorious.
posted by windykites at 3:20 AM on April 1, 2012

I'm pretty sure this is a double. Wasn't there an April Fools thing last year, sometime around the end of March?
posted by twoleftfeet at 3:25 AM on April 1, 2012 [12 favorites]

Good day for laughing.
posted by jonsy at 4:16 AM on April 1, 2012

xkcd has done something...very interesting.
posted by KChasm at 4:18 AM on April 1, 2012 [7 favorites]

Google Street Roo.
posted by gingerest at 4:40 AM on April 1, 2012

I loved the Google search. It tickled the former bookstore clerk/librarian part of me.
posted by theBigRedKittyPurrs at 4:42 AM on April 1, 2012 [1 favorite]

I have inside information that Game of Thrones tonight is going to consist of an hour long title card reading "April Fools! Game of Thrones has been canceled!"
posted by nathancaswell at 4:43 AM on April 1, 2012 [3 favorites]

Unicorn Cookbook Found at the British Library
posted by Abiezer at 4:45 AM on April 1, 2012 [3 favorites]

I like reddit's new timeline feature.
posted by Pendragon at 4:47 AM on April 1, 2012 [1 favorite]

This timeline.

can't we have a edit function ?
posted by Pendragon at 4:48 AM on April 1, 2012

I'm enjoying the XKCD strips! I get different ones from different browsers (Safari, Firefox, Chrome), different window sizes, different 'locations' (France vs UK depending on VPN settings). What else is there?
posted by beniamino at 4:53 AM on April 1, 2012 [4 favorites]

That XKCD thing is really neat. Next year, he should do a semiosphere.
posted by daniel_charms at 5:29 AM on April 1, 2012

Not once have they repaid this with something that actually made me laugh.

This made me laugh.
posted by Obscure Reference at 5:49 AM on April 1, 2012 [2 favorites]

I'm still trying to figure out what the joke is here. Where's the shifting page color? Is the April Fool's joke that there is no joke this year?
posted by msali at 5:55 AM on April 1, 2012

The Guardian "Cameron asks Shaun Ryder to advise on class and help to detox Tories"
posted by DanCall at 6:00 AM on April 1, 2012 [1 favorite]

I'm still trying to figure out what the joke is here.
Take it to meta, msali.

No, seriously, look in meta.
posted by ceribus peribus at 6:01 AM on April 1, 2012

ceribus peribus,

Awesome.
posted by msali at 6:25 AM on April 1, 2012

These are funny, but I think it would have been more in the spirit of April Fools Day if none of the listed sites actually had April Fools Day pranks. Always keep 'em guessing.
posted by Slack-a-gogo at 6:30 AM on April 1, 2012

The most meta prank of all would be to post a list of actual news stories as pranks.
posted by Artw at 6:37 AM on April 1, 2012 [3 favorites]

I was thinking to myself that The Onion should do just that.
posted by ShutterBun at 6:37 AM on April 1, 2012 [3 favorites]

xkcd wins.
posted by signal at 6:41 AM on April 1, 2012

Lee Valley (a woodworking supplier) has their 9th annual one up now.
posted by Old'n'Busted at 6:42 AM on April 1, 2012 [4 favorites]

Hopefully, this, is an April Fool. If so it is the best by a long, long, way. The internet frothage over it is getting quite fevered.
posted by epo at 6:43 AM on April 1, 2012 [2 favorites]

And before you point out the date in the story, the comments are all dated today and no one else seems to have picked up the story.
posted by epo at 6:45 AM on April 1, 2012

Here's the KUBE X15 from tigerdirect
posted by buggzzee23 at 6:46 AM on April 1, 2012 [1 favorite]

I liked George Takei's announcement that there would be a new Star Trek movie where he is captain.
posted by snofoam at 6:56 AM on April 1, 2012 [1 favorite]

The giant in the playground is no more, its now Ponies in the Playground.
posted by rough ashlar at 6:57 AM on April 1, 2012

Goodreads is looking to hire some hyperintelligent paradimensional mice.
posted by PhoBWanKenobi at 6:59 AM on April 1, 2012 [1 favorite]

Thanks for the reminder to stay off the web today.
posted by aerotive at 7:03 AM on April 1, 2012

Lee Valley (a woodworking supplier) has their 9th annual one up now.

These are fantastic. Even if you know nothing about woodworking (which I don't). Here are the rest:

Veritas® Pocket Dovetailer
Lee Valley Precision Story Tape
Veritas® Variable Gang Saw
Veritas® Full-Round Spokeshave
Veritas® Honing Guide Mk.XXXXII
Veritas® Pouchless Tool Belt
Veritas® Dodeca-Gauge
Veritas® Low-Angle Jack Plane
posted by clorox at 7:07 AM on April 1, 2012 [2 favorites]

April 1st is to the internet as St. Patrick's Day is to working at bar.
posted by Splunge at 7:09 AM on April 1, 2012 [9 favorites]

Wow, looks like Randall whipped up a ton of location-specific xkcd strips for today.
I just get the snake (in Firefox) or the turtle (in Chrome).
posted by Gordafarin at 7:10 AM on April 1, 2012

Lee Valley (a woodworking supplier) has their 9th annual one up now.

Oh..I am going to make my husband's life so much more fun today
posted by Lucinda at 7:23 AM on April 1, 2012

I want Gmail Tap.
posted by eye of newt at 7:38 AM on April 1, 2012

So can we all agree that xkcd has won April Fool's Day for like three years running now?
posted by reductiondesign at 7:43 AM on April 1, 2012 [1 favorite]

Wow, looks like Randall whipped up a ton of location-specific xkcd strips for today.
I just get the snake (in Firefox) or the turtle (in Chrome).

Not just location specific, try resizing your browser window!
posted by peppermind at 7:45 AM on April 1, 2012

While Gmail Tap wasn't all that funny, I do wish it was a real thing as an Android keyboard replacement.
posted by honestcoyote at 7:47 AM on April 1, 2012 [1 favorite]

Ah, never mind. There actually is a morse code keyboard.
posted by honestcoyote at 7:50 AM on April 1, 2012 [1 favorite]

From Neil Gaimans Twitter: In France, an April Fool is an April Fish. Celebrated by Google in their gloriously silly Chinese landing page. (Huh?)
posted by Sailormom at 7:51 AM on April 1, 2012

Awhile back I recall seeing a demonstration where a ham operator using an iambic key was able to out-tap a teenager using a full keyboard phone to compose a text. For real.
posted by localroger at 7:53 AM on April 1, 2012

Found at least one of Think Geek's SPOILER: .
posted by peppermind at 7:57 AM on April 1, 2012

For the open source CMS/web nerds, about a dozen of the larger Drupal consulting companies (mine included) announced that they're forming a new "Virtualized Talent Cloud" called Bluemarine Synergistics. I'm fairly certain it is not actually true.

Probably.
posted by verb at 7:58 AM on April 1, 2012

Huh, I got the snake in Safari.

Also, I assume that specific Boston reference in the Chrome (earthquake/blizzard) and Firefox (northern lights) are due to me being in Boston?

And who's going to bite the bullet for us and check IE? Is there a 4th one?
posted by maryr at 8:03 AM on April 1, 2012

From Sega, for those who loved Typing Of The Dead: Bass Fishing Of The Dead.
posted by gusandrews at 8:10 AM on April 1, 2012

CuteOverload has their edition of the Nuffington Post out today. Pudgy killer bees, feline-canine equality, Spit Club and more. I wish CatMatch.com weren't a joke... :o)
posted by fraula at 8:15 AM on April 1, 2012 [1 favorite]

Solved: one of the greatest remaining puzzles in climate science.
posted by stbalbach at 8:38 AM on April 1, 2012 [1 favorite]

iTerm2 - the social terminal! (self link)
posted by jewzilla at 8:42 AM on April 1, 2012 [4 favorites]

The Adblock thing is even better than I had imagined.
posted by amy lecteur at 8:51 AM on April 1, 2012 [2 favorites]

Nom Nom Paleo shares her Tong Zi Dan recipe today.
posted by vespabelle at 9:08 AM on April 1, 2012 [1 favorite]

Enable javascript if you are seeing a normal xkcd comic.
posted by ersatz at 9:13 AM on April 1, 2012

Think Geek normally does an amazing job with their April Fool's edition, but I think they've outdone themselves this time. I suspect that there will be pressure for them to turn every, single, one of their jokes into a real product.
posted by It's Never Lurgi at 9:30 AM on April 1, 2012

The only XKCD I get is a warning that my Verizon bandwidth cap is exceeded. har har.
posted by localroger at 9:32 AM on April 1, 2012

Firefly: The Arcade Game.

"At this point the storyline for the game is being kept under wraps, but given that this is an arcade title it’s probably a minimal story that gives our heroes a reason to wantonly blast hordes of enemies."
posted by jenfullmoon at 9:38 AM on April 1, 2012 [2 favorites]

I wish the speech bubble on the Admiral Ackbar Singing Bass said "IT'S A CARP!"
posted by tzikeh at 9:47 AM on April 1, 2012 [2 favorites]

DeviantArt has a cute "overtaken by feline overlords" theme.
posted by gusandrews at 10:21 AM on April 1, 2012

One of my favorite sites on the internet, TASvideos, went in a very strange direction indeed. Future of TASVideos, Member Safety, and the Rise of the Seventh Reich!, based off of the article: "Rise of the Superhumans". Every year, they also do special TAS runs that involve attempting odd or humorous goals. Some highlights:

Beating Super Mario Bros in the least possible amount of key presses

Speedrunning Catplanet

Speedrunning crashing Mario World for the SNES

Beating Harvest Moon SNES and getting the depressing "dog abandonment ending"

...and others here throughout the day
posted by Algebra at 10:22 AM on April 1, 2012

BMW spokesman: "It's a car gym, but not as we know it." Fantastic.
posted by Flannery Culp at 10:24 AM on April 1, 2012 [1 favorite]

Kodak has gotten in on the fun.
posted by the man of twists and turns at 10:42 AM on April 1, 2012

Is there a petition to keep CatBlock after April 1st?
posted by jeffburdges at 10:55 AM on April 1, 2012

Pentax finally releases the full frame K-3. This one was so bone dry that I completely believed it. I let out a disappointed squeak when I remembered the date.
posted by Sticherbeast at 10:57 AM on April 1, 2012

Last night, I guess Cartoon Network brought back Toonami for a night. Complete with a Mass Effect 3 review from tom. I was watching an episode of Outlaw Star at about 1 am. Good stuff.
posted by hellojed at 10:59 AM on April 1, 2012

IKEA product recall.
posted by tzikeh at 11:19 AM on April 1, 2012 [9 favorites]

Is that L.L. Cool J in the Gmail Tap video?
posted by decathecting at 11:46 AM on April 1, 2012

Huh. This morning the Firefox/Texas version of the comic involved a massive snowstorm and I was all like "This is clearly someone who has never been to Texas."

But now we get tornadoes. I guess I'm okay with that.
posted by nebulawindphone at 11:50 AM on April 1, 2012

University of Rochester...lots of cat April Fools Day stuff.?
posted by Lucinda at 11:53 AM on April 1, 2012 [1 favorite]

I have post-cat-traumatic-disorder and cannot look at any of these instant-print kittens without worrying that I will get the one wild one with glue all down its side.
posted by cmyk at 12:11 PM on April 1, 2012

ONE.org, the petition site, has a number of things going today, including a protest of youtube's plan to ban kitten videos.
posted by gingerbeer at 12:43 PM on April 1, 2012 [1 favorite]

Ubuntu introduces the inter-FACE: Ubuntu for eyewear
posted by the man of twists and turns at 1:20 PM on April 1, 2012 [1 favorite]

After a long, long time of no new comics, the Perry Bible Fellowship announced a new comic today, "The Scourge of Butter Castle". Only I don't actually see a comic. I've tried two different browsers. I've turned off things like AdBlock. I've refreshed multiple times.

If this is an April Fools' joke, it's the cruelest one I've ever seen.
posted by Flunkie at 1:37 PM on April 1, 2012 [3 favorites]

Didn't happen online but reported there: Mitt Romney's staff set him up for a meet-n-greet with an empty room.

Proving that either (1) Republicans actually have a sense of humor, however cruel, or (2) Mitt's staffers know something that hasn't dawned on him yet.
posted by localroger at 1:44 PM on April 1, 2012

Was there plastic sheeting on the floor? That means trouble.
posted by Artw at 1:47 PM on April 1, 2012 [3 favorites]

I wonder how many complaints WestJet's customer service reps have fielded today about their Kargo Kids program? (Alternately, I wonder how many people have tried to book one of these "special flights." And how many of those people were parents? Heh.)

I admire the VP's straightfaced delivery in the video. I actually laughed out loud at 1:08.
posted by hurdy gurdy girl at 1:49 PM on April 1, 2012 [3 favorites]

Two concepts that have repeated repeatedly throughout the net (because they are both oh so obvious and oh so topical):

OMG MASSIVE SPOILERS FOR SEASON 2 OF GAME OF THRONES (linking to book 2 of the Song of Ice and Fire series)

Where Keith Olbermann will go next (best guess: a show on FoxNews solely dedicated to his beefs with Al Gore)
posted by oneswellfoop at 2:15 PM on April 1, 2012

Even better in those Lee Valley Tools links upthread, if you click on buy it says:

"Gotcha!... While the Lee Valley Precision Story Tape is the only product that's actually available for purchase, each of the products depicted have actually been manufactured by Veritas®. Not only do they exist, they function exactly as we say: the tool belt really holds more than 500 pounds, the gang saw mechanism really functions as shown, and the trigger in the plane handle supplied with the No-Fuss Tool Shroud really does control the dust extractor, and so on. That's part of the fun – the tools have to be credible, and to be credible they have to work."
posted by marienbad at 2:25 PM on April 1, 2012

What I loved about the Reddit timeline was when you visit pages in the future/past the Keaunu/Ron Paul/Dr. Who/etc gags are still there and people were playing along in the comments.

I'd love to have access to how much Google spends on April Fools stuff. Or is this what all the 10% projects are now? The quality of the videos accompanying are more polished now and so are the gags. I think my favorite was the customizable weather.
posted by birdherder at 2:27 PM on April 1, 2012

Damnit, Google, make that tickle a unicorn link real!
posted by Auguris at 2:40 PM on April 1, 2012 [1 favorite]

Gawker offers a list of ^April_Fools prank stories.
posted by Twang at 2:40 PM on April 1, 2012

Steam is advertising Half Life 3*, slightly more cruel than grinding a live puppy up right in front of you.
posted by hellojed at 3:11 PM on April 1, 2012 [3 favorites]

Kindergarten Cop, the newest entry in the Criterion Collection
posted by Lucinda at 3:20 PM on April 1, 2012 [2 favorites]

Shelf Awareness: Amazon achieves consciousness
posted by Violet Hour at 3:25 PM on April 1, 2012 [1 favorite]

In one of the most cringeworthy but sadly believable joke stories, ComicMix 'reported' that the DC/CW series "Arrow" is going to remove the 'hoodie' from its hero.
posted by oneswellfoop at 3:44 PM on April 1, 2012

Sir Richard Branson to Launch Journeys to the Centre of the Earth Through Virgin Volcanic
posted by the man of twists and turns at 3:49 PM on April 1, 2012

After a long, long time of no new comics, the Perry Bible Fellowship announced a new comic today, "The Scourge of Butter Castle". Only I don't actually see a comic. I've tried two different browsers. I've turned off things like AdBlock. I've refreshed multiple times.

If this is an April Fools' joke, it's the cruelest one I've ever seen.

The file is actually a Photoshop PSD file. I'm still not sure if it's an April fool's joke or not, because if you open up the PSD, this is what you see.
posted by ymgve at 3:50 PM on April 1, 2012

a better Virgin Volcanic link
posted by the man of twists and turns at 3:51 PM on April 1, 2012

So has Wrestlemania XXVIII really paid to sponsor Jezebel.com, or is that an April Fools thing too??
posted by themanwho at 7:19 PM on April 1, 2012

I spent all evening noticing--but making no mental connections with--all the cats that kept showing up on these websites I hardly go to, where the ads might otherwise be.

I certainly thought it was a little odd. Honestly, I'll be a little disappointed tomorrow when it's just blank space again.
posted by six-or-six-thirty at 7:47 PM on April 1, 2012

Reddit Collection of the XKCD variants.
posted by radwolf76 at 8:11 PM on April 1, 2012 [2 favorites]

Vintage Wings Canada's "Double Double", the little-known history of the Zwillingsbiber brothers' obsessive foray into "twinning" one of Canada's best-known bushplanes, The de Havilland Beaver. (Yes, the Beaver really was a bushplane. Move on. That's not the joke here.)
posted by Mike D at 9:17 PM on April 1, 2012

hellojed: Steam is advertising Half Life 3*, slightly more cruel than grinding a live puppy up right in front of you.

That's not going to backfire at all.
posted by Decimask at 9:34 PM on April 1, 2012

Hm, it may sounds ignorant but I taught that April 1st. is noted only in my country. Funny to find out the opposite:)
posted by hsogorop at 10:50 PM on April 1, 2012

With April 1 over the weekend, I let my guard down this morning and was momentarily fooled by EFF's annual April 1st edition of their EFFector newsletter, linked from their twitter feed.

In a statement posted on its Wordpress blog this week, the MPAA announced that it will respond to the Internet's "destructive" effect on creative works with a new PSA, to be funded on the crowd-funding platform Kickstarter. "Rampant content theft -- or as we call it, creativity murder -- makes it impossible to promote ideas online," according to a Tweet from MPAA chairman Chris Dodd. "For a pledge of $50, backers will receive an exclusive DVD copy of 'Alvin and the Chipmunks: Chipwrecked' in 3D."

I got all the way to the Chipmunks reference before I remembered yesterday's date.
posted by KatlaDragon at 4:01 AM on April 2, 2012

Steam is advertising Half Life 3*, slightly more cruel than grinding a live puppy up right in front of you.

That's not going to backfire at all.

That's not even the real Steam website, though.
posted by ymgve at 7:12 AM on April 2, 2012

Ten best April fools pranks

Alaska’s volcano, 1974
In Sitka, Alaska, the volcano Mount Edgecumbe had been dormant for around 9,000 years when, one morning in 1974, residents noticed dark smoke spooling from its top. Round up the children! Call the authorities! When a coastguard helicopter flew in to investigate, the pilot saw that 100 tyres had been doused in cooking fuel and set alight in the volcano’s crater. Meanwhile, around the rim, someone had spraypainted “April Fool” in 50ft letters. It was the careful work of a local joker, Oliver Bickar, who’d been planning the prank for four years
posted by jeffburdges at 8:34 AM on April 2, 2012 [2 favorites]

It appears metafilter is running a little late. ;)
posted by jeffburdges at 1:21 AM on April 4, 2012

Why I'm Leaving Human Rights Watch
posted by jeffburdges at 11:25 AM on April 7, 2012 [1 favorite]

Wow.
posted by Artw at 12:47 PM on April 7, 2012