Happy April Fools' Day!
Whether you're the prankster or butt of the joke, we all need a good giggle today. A lot of big named companies are pulling back from the April 1 holiday because of the pandemic and other serious everyday issues. So this year, we're looking back at some of the best jokes Texans and Texas-based organizations have pulled with a handful of new pranks sprinkled in. It would be really cool if so of these where real!
Tiff's Treats:
Nothing says "I don't like you" like a box of warm delicious cookies. The Austin-based bakery released a set of cheeky boxes to tell a loved one or friend how you really feel. Brutal honesty has never tasted so good.
Bill Miller BBQ:
San Antonio's Bill Miller BBQ may have gotten some Yankees' hopes up this morning with their joke tweet about opening a New York City location. Sorry east coast, but y'all are going to have to fly south for a taste of real Texas BBQ.
Texas Rangers (2019)
This joke broke a few baseball fans hearts. Baseball hero Andre Beltre teased that he was going to come back to the Rangers after retiring in 2018.
Mark Cuban (2003)
The Dallas Mavericks owner has been at war with NBA referees since the dawn of time - or at least since 2000 when he bought the team. When Cuban took to the court on April 1, 2003, to yell at a ref, no one was surprised. But when the shoving started, no one could really tell if he was getting revenge or just poking fun at his own hotheadedness. Luckily, it was the latter.
Whataburger (2019)
The beloved fast food chain created a candle that smelled like the original Whataburger. Sadly, they didn't create a fry candle to go with the burger one.
San Antonio Zoo
The employees at the San Antonio Zoo deserve an award for tricking both local and national media in 2020. The zoo put out a story that it took three elephants known as The Golden Girls for a dip in the San Antonio River as people worked from home. As cool as that would have been to see in person, it was all a joke, but The Hill and local TV station KSAT didn't catch on until after they hit published.
The zoo has been really good at playing tricks on people with the media's help. In 1939, San Antonio Light "reported" that 13 lions escaped from the zoo and were terrorizing the city. There were no lions, but the newspaper received nearly 200 calls wondering if the big cats were caught. The full article published in 1939 can be found at the Museum of Hoaxes.
Photo: Getty Images