IN normal circumstances, April Fool’s Day would bring with it a mixture of pranks, second-guessing and outright embarrassment for those falling for them.
Known as Huntegowk in Scots – "to hunt (th)e gowk, to go on a fool's errand, to be made a(n April) fool of," according to the Dictionary of the Scots Language – the day usually brings some light relief from the hard news.
This year however there appeared to be an unwritten rule among the masses on Twitter that we just weren’t going to celebrate it this year due to the ongoing pandemic and UK-wide lockdown.
Everyone @ April fools pranks in 2020 pic.twitter.com/HvRMkxFVMb
— Anthony (@BigJigglyPanda) April 1, 2020
Thus, there were very few April Fools to be found on a day when Twitter especially is usually awash with them.
Scottish football clubs St Mirren and St Johnstone attempted to fool their respective supporters with the claim that club mascots had agreed a swap deal.
St Mirren Football Club can confirm it has agreed a swap deal with @StJohnstone that will see Brogan the Beagle move to Paisley and Paisley Panda head to Perth.
— St Mirren FC (@saintmirrenfc) April 1, 2020
We're delighted to welcome Brogan to the club. pic.twitter.com/QAIqiD6gxT
The tweet read: “St Mirren Football Club can confirm it has agreed a swap deal with @StJohnstone that will see Brogan the Beagle move to Paisley and Paisley Panda head to Perth.
“We're delighted to welcome Brogan to the club.”
The attempt didn’t really get any bites and split opinion among those replying.
Someone who did manage some success while out fishing was Celtic supporter Mel, who shared an image of a supposedly new Celtic strip which had ditched the classic hoops in favour of stripes.
What’s everyone thinking about this then? Leaked by Footy Headlines. pic.twitter.com/08VZxqD9xk
— Mel 💜🍋 (@mel9samaras) April 1, 2020
“Stripes, f***ing stripes,” read one reply. “Minging,” added another.
Elsewhere, Rockstar Games got a little more inventive by surprising those who play their blockbuster videos games GTA V and Red Dead Redemption 2 online by introducing a drastic weather change.
Today there's a surprise change of weather in GTA Online and Red Dead Online. Enjoy this sweet April Fools' Day prank by Rockstar Games. pic.twitter.com/NDbP8x78T6
— GTA Series Videos (@GTASeries) April 1, 2020
Those logging on today would see their environment exactly how they left it, except blanketed in snow.
You may have thought anything to do with the coronavirus was off-limits, but not for one website which claimed that Nicola Sturgeon was planning on banning alcohol during the lockdown.
Some April fools actively threaten public disorder. My claymore is schwinging: https://t.co/rOqlWPtaC5
— Pat Kane (@thoughtland) April 1, 2020
However, although the tweet may look at least a little legit, one click would blow the cover and show that the story in fact came from a website called Prank Nation.
That didn’t stop one unsuspecting mother to fall for it, with Twitter user Sara Davidson pointing out that her mum fell for the April Fool.
“Mum just got sent something about Scotland banning alcohol during the pandemic and she’s actually fully just started greeting before a checked it and it’s just an April fools,” she tweeted.
Mum just got sent something about Scotland banning alcohol during the pandemic and she’s actually fully just started greeting before a checked it and it’s just an April fools. Honestly this WOMAN the website was called prank mania
— Sara (@sara_davidson) April 1, 2020
“Honestly this WOMAN the website was called prank mania.”
Finally – and we’ve saved the best for last ¬– while the BBC Scotland said they didn’t have an April Fool for today, they did release this gem from 1991 when they mocked up a news report which claimed that cult TV show Twin Peaks was in the process of being moved to Scotland.
Enjoy.
#OnThisDay 1991: An April Fools' Day film that BBC Archive wishes was real - Reporting Scotland revealed that David Lynch was thinking of relocating Twin Peaks to Scotland. pic.twitter.com/eKFn0ljy4Q
— BBC Archive (@BBCArchive) April 1, 2020
Scotland is in lockdown. Shops are closing and newspaper sales are falling fast. It’s no exaggeration to say that the future of The National is at stake. Please consider supporting us through this with a digital subscription from just £2 for 2 months by following this link: www.thenational.scot/subscribe. Thanks – and stay safe.
Why are you making commenting on The National only available to subscribers?
We know there are thousands of National readers who want to debate, argue and go back and forth in the comments section of our stories. We’ve got the most informed readers in Scotland, asking each other the big questions about the future of our country.
Unfortunately, though, these important debates are being spoiled by a vocal minority of trolls who aren’t really interested in the issues, try to derail the conversations, register under fake names, and post vile abuse.
So that’s why we’ve decided to make the ability to comment only available to our paying subscribers. That way, all the trolls who post abuse on our website will have to pay if they want to join the debate – and risk a permanent ban from the account that they subscribe with.
The conversation will go back to what it should be about – people who care passionately about the issues, but disagree constructively on what we should do about them. Let’s get that debate started!
Callum Baird, Editor of The National
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules hereLast Updated:
Report this comment Cancel