The fool rules

AT one time people in France celebrated the new year in spring. Usually the new year lasted about one week ending on April 1.

People would give each other New Year presents on the first of April. Then in 1564, King Charles IX ordered people to start using the new Gregorian calendar. This calendar began on January 1.

Many of the people did not like the new calendar and continued to celebrate the new year on April 1.

Those individuals who followed the new calendar began to refer to those adhering to the old calendar as "April fools".

They played tricks on their friends on the first of April, inviting them to New Year parties that did not exist.

Try these harmless pranks, or come up with one of your own. Be creative enough so that everyone likes the trick, even the person it is played upon.

• Tell your friend that she is so weak that you can hold her down with one finger. Have her sit in a chair with her feet flat on the floor and her back against the back of the chair. Place your finger on her forehead and tell her to stand up without using her hands to push or pull on anything. She will not be able to get up.

• Offer a drink to a friend that she cannot drink. How? First get two cups with lids with holes for straws. Now take one straw and use a pin to make a small hole about one inch from the top. Fill the cups with your favorite beverage, put on the lids, and put one straw in each. Just be sure that your friend gets the straw with the hole and make sure the hole is up and not down in the liquid. Your friend can not drink the drink unless the hole is plugged.