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Tag: April Fools Day

  • Jill Duggar: ’19 Kids and Counting’ Star One Week Overdue, Brother Congratulates Her on Birth of Twins

    Jill Duggar of 19 Kids and Counting fame is now six days overdue. She and Derick Dillard are patiently awaiting the birth of ‘Baby Dilly.’ In the meantime, big brother Josh Duggar sent his congratulations to Jill Duggar and her husband on the birth of their twins.

    Twins?

    It was via Twitter that Josh Duggar sent his congratulations.

    It’s important to note that the date of his congratulations just happened to be April 1st.

    Jill Duggar is planning to have a home birth, and since she is studying to be a midwife, this will be a learning experience of sorts.

    Once Jill caught wind of her brother’s April Fools joke, she showed her fans that ‘Baby Dilly’ still hadn’t arrived.

    “Getting some things done while anticipating the arrival of our little man any day! #babydilly,” she captioned the following Instagram photo.

    A photo posted by Jill Dillard (@jillmdillard) on

    Jessa Duggar and Ben Seewald celebrated their five month anniversary on April 1st. It seems like several members of the 19 Kids and Counting family were busy on April Fools Day.

    Fans are eagerly awaiting word that Jill Duggar is in labor and that ‘Baby Dilly’ is on his way.

    How do you suppose Derick Dillard will do while Jill is in labor?

    How many more days do you suppose it will be before Jill Duggar gives birth?

  • Stop Working and Go Play Pac-Man in Google Maps

    I don’t know if you have important things to get done today, but if not you should probably head over to Google Maps and play some Pac-Man.

    It’s almost April Fool’s Day, and Google is starting a bit early. The company has just introduced PAC-Maps, which will turn any streetmap into a giant game of Pac-Man, considering there are enough streets in said area to support it.

    This leads to super fun, often impossible Pac-Man stages through places like New York City and Barcelona. I haven’t tried PAC-Maps in Boston yet. I don’t know if I want to.

    “With local place information and Street View, it’s easier than ever before to find where you’re going but there’s never been anything to let you know where *not* to go. With this update, we’ve added imagery of dangerous virtual beings, starting with Pinky, Blinky, Inky and Clyde. When navigating fruit-filled streets, determine at a glance which turns to pass to evade ghosts and get where you’re going safely. When you’re feeling a bit peckish, you can simply gobble up a few pac-dots or a cherry and keep on nommin’. PAC-Maps makes navigating around select locations as simple as left, right, up or down,” says a post on the Google Lat-Long blog.

    You can play on desktop, iOS, and Android. There are going to be a lot of crappy April Fool’s jokes coming from tech companies this week. This is not one of them. This is awesome. Enjoy.

  • Haylie Duff Is Engaged To Matt Rosenberg

    Haylie Duff Is Engaged To Matt Rosenberg

    Actress Haylie Duff may be getting ready to settle down, as it was just announced that she is engaged to Matt Rosenberg. She is the older, and slightly less famous, sister of Hilary Duff, who made it big as a star on the Disney channel.

    In addition to being an actress, and a singer-songwriter, Haylie Duff operates a food blog. She revealed that she was engaged via the blog, and said that her boyfriend had popped the question on April Fool’s Day.

    Duff posted this news on her blog on Thursday, and announced it to everyone when saying “Matt just took me by total surprise and proposed…on April Fool’s Day of all days! The moment was genuine and sweet (like him!) and I couldn’t wait to say yes!”

    Haylie Duff and her future husband have been together for about a year and a half according to a rep that told People Magazine. Rosenberg is an entrepreneur who owns the apparel line of Subway Tile Shirts.

    April Fool’s Day has been known as the day when people joke about things such as weddings, pregnancies or engagements, and one could imagine that Haylie Duff would have been quite shocked when he used this day for his true proposal.

    In addition to her recent engagement, Duff has been having quite a week, and it was also announced earlier this week that her blog would be premiering on television, receiveing a spot on the Cooking Channel in June.

    The show will be called Real Girl’s Kitchen just like her blog. She released a book with the title The Real Girl’s Kitchen last year, and continues to stay active with the subject of cooking.

    As an actress, she has appeared in television shows such as her sister’s hit Lizzie Mcguire, and she appeared on 7th Heaven from 2005 until 2007. She has also been seen in Material Girls and Napoleon Dynamite, while she currently has four films in post-production.

    Before getting together with Matt Rosenberg, Haylie Duff had dated Nick Zano for three years, and the two of them split up in 2011. Will her younger sister Hilary be next?

    Image via Instagram

  • Real-Life Spider-Man Fights Crime in New York

    Real-Life Spider-Man Fights Crime in New York

    Late last year theater troupe Improv Everywhere (the people behind the yearly “no pants subway ride“)released a series of videos based on iconic movie moments. Titled “Movies in Real Life,” the series took actors into very public places to re-create these movie moments for the enjoyment of passers-by.

    The series was led by a recreation of the famed Rocky II run in Philadelphia, for which over 100 children were recruited. The series went on to spoof scenes from Jurassic Park, A Christmas Story, and Harry Potter. The group also stage the largest When Harry Met Sally reenactment ever with 20 women simultaneously screaming in ecstasy.

    This week Improv Everywhere released one extra segment for the “Movies in Real Life” series. With The Amazing Spider-Man 2 set to premiere in U.S. theaters in one month, it is not surprising that the famed superhero is the subject of the latest video.

    Watch as the stunt man swings from the top of a Manhattan skyscraper to rescue the would-be Mary Jane:

    Even given the harness worn by the Spider-Man, the video was quite obviously dangerous, and probably impossible. It is for these reasons and more that the video is easily exposed as the April Fools’ Day prank that it is.

    Improv Everywhere has now admitted that the video is the group’s annual April Fools’ Day prank. The stuntman dressed as Spider-Man did not actually jump off a building toward a crowded New York street. Instead, the crowd’s reactions were actually those of Improv Everywhere members faking surprise and delight. Even the rope ride at the end of the video was filmed against a green screen.

    Last year’s April Fools’ Day prank was similarly impossible, with Improv Everywhere claiming to havve hundreds of actors walk backwards to simulate time reversing in Times Square. Previous years have included pranks such as a Jar-Jar Binks beating on a subway car and “no underwear” twist to the group’s yearly subway ride.

  • Netflix Releases New Original ‘Sizzling Bacon’

    Netflix is promoting a new “original” on its homepage today. It’s called Sizzling Bacon. It appears to only have a single episode so far, and it’s twenty minutes long. With a TV-G rating, it’s definitely for families (at least those who enjoy bacon).

    Here’s the description:

    The boundaries of TV and time go up in smoke with this tasteful, “Memento”-style puzzle that takes the viewer out of the fire and into the frying pan.

    It’s pretty captivating, though the ending could have been better.

    When it’s over, it recommends that you check out Footloose, The Following and She’s Having a Baby. These all, of course, star Kevin Bacon.

    Obviously this is an April Fools’ offering, but hopefully they’ll keep it around so you can just play it like the Fireplace for Your Home videos from the holiday season.

    Update: Apparently there are more of things. There’s one about Rotisserie Chicken, and possibly others we haven’t seen yet.

    Image via Netflix

  • Google Maps Adds Pokemon Challenge Mini-Game

    The Google Maps division over at Google today announced a new Pokemon-branded mini-game that has come to the Google Maps app. The game challenges Google Maps users to explore the world and “catch” 150 different Pokemon scattered throughout the surface of the Earth.

    In a post on the Google Maps blog, Google characterized master Pokemon trainers as having the same types of skills and dedication that it looks for in potential employees. The company is calling the new initiative the “Pokemon Challenge” and treating it as a recruiting tool for the Google Maps team. From the blog post:

    We value employees who are risk-taking and detail-oriented, have deep technical knowledge, and can navigate through tall grass to capture wild creatures. It turns out that these skills have a lot in common with another profession—that of the Pokémon Master. With that in mind, we’ve worked with Pokémon and Nintendo to develop a new training tool to help people hone their Pokémon-capturing abilities using Google Maps.

    To participate in the Pokemon Challenge players only need access to the Google Maps app for either iOS or Android. Once inside the app, tapping on the search bar and then on “start” will populate the app with Pokemon and begin the collecting game.

    Google has also released a video explaining the new software and dramatizing some real-life Pokemon encounters throughout the world. It also indicates that players who collect all 150 Pokemon will be invited to Google headquarters to “participate in a final round of hiring.” The winner of that round will apparently become a Google employee in September with the title of Pokemon Master.

    Given the timing of the Pokemon Challenge announcement, it seems clear that the program is one of Google’s elaborate yearly April Fools’ Day jokes. Even so, the software is real, allowing Google Maps users to browse around and collect Pokemon. It also wouldn’t be beyond reason that Google is serious about pitting dedicated players against each other for a chance at an honorary title at Google.

  • Google Introduces ‘Gmail Shelfie’ For April Fools’ Day

    Google has already started with this year’s April Fools’ silliness. On the Gmail blog, they announced “Gmail Shelfie,” a way to turn your Gmail background into a selfie, and share it with your friends and family.

    Software engineer Greg Bullock writes:

    You all love setting selfies as your custom theme in Gmail, but you’ve told us there’s one major problem: there isn’t a way to share your selfie with others. As the pioneering platform for selfies, Gmail is committed to being at the forefront of innovation in the selfie space. And we think it’s a tragedy that your handsome hair, luscious lashes and beautiful brows have been trapped in your own inbox. Until now, that is. Today, we’re proud to free your selfies by launching Gmail Shelfie, the SHareable sELFIE.

    Gmail Shelfie is built on the idea that you shouldn’t be selfish with your selfie. With just a few clicks, your mom, your aunt, or that girl you have a crush on can set your Shelfie as their Gmail theme so they can enjoy checking, reading, and writing emails while seeing your friendly face in the background.

    Here are a couple “trending” shelfies:



    There will be plenty more of this stuff from Google tomorrow, I’m sure.

    April 1st just happens to be the ten-year anniversary of when Google first released Gmail in beta. It would appear that the product was not an April Fools’ joke.

    Image via Gmail blog

  • Googlers Turn Sergey Brin’s Tesla into a Pink Batmobile for April Fools

    Googlers Turn Sergey Brin’s Tesla into a Pink Batmobile for April Fools

    Now this is an April Fool’s Day prank on the boss.

    Apparently, some Google execs decided to mess with co-founder Sergey Brin’s car earlier this week. They proceeded to transform his Tesla Model S into a pink batmobile, complete with headlight eyelashes, batwings, and a giant batman logo.

    Awesome.

    Google search quality analyst Nathan Johns posted a photo of the reconfigured Tesla Model S. Barry Schwartz over at Search Engine Roundtable tracked down a thread on the Tesla Motors Club forums that confirms that the pink batmobile Tesla is most likely Brin’s ride.

    This is funny, and it’s made even funnier when you remember all of that “Sergey Brin is Batman” stuff that started flying around Google HQ a couple of years ago surrounding developments in Google X.

  • Play-Doh Enters The World Of 3D Printing

    Play-Doh Enters The World Of 3D Printing

    The Play-Doh playsets of my childhood were kind of like 3D printers. You would put the Play-Doh into the machine, turn a crank, and shapes would come out. It’s this very same idea that has inspired Think Geek’s latest fake, but I wish it was real, April Fools’ product.

    Think Geek revealed the Play-Doh 3D printer today alongside other great April Fools’ day products like a Creeper Body Pillow and an Aliens Chestburster-in-a-Can. What sets the Play-Doh 3D printer apart, however, is that it could be a truly educational device for children if it were ever made a reality.

    Play-Doh 3D printer

    Of course, the machine’s listed specs make sure that this machine remains firmly within the realm of fantasy for now:

  • The most economical and fun entry-level 3D printer on the market.
  • Uses Play-Doh as a print medium, so it’s safe for kids and noobies.
  • Can print in up to 3 colors at once (blending them like soft serve ice cream).
  • Connects to iPad for easy designing with free iPlay-Doh 3D app.
  • iPlay-Doh 3D app also lets you share designs with others (and print their designs).
  • Build Volume: 5″ cubed.
  • Power: 2 C Batteries and you (it’s mostly crank powered).
  • Includes: Play-Doh 3D Printer with conveyor belt, cranks, and printing head; plastic knife; 3 2oz cans of Play-Doh; and instructions.
  • Dimensions: approx. 15.5″ x 8″ x 19″
  • Even if it’s fake, it shows that 3D printers are becoming more mainstream. It won’t be long before we start seeing real 3D printers that are marketed towards children. To get them ready, you can start taking your kids to MakerBot’s 3D printing workshops that are specifically geared towards children.

  • Forget The Galaxy S 4: Samsung’s Eco Tree Is Where The Innovation’s At

    Forget The Galaxy S 4: Samsung’s Eco Tree Is Where The Innovation’s At

    Samsung is no stranger to eco-friendly business practices. Late last year, the company announced that it was the only mobile phone manufacturer to be granted a carbon footprint certification in the UK. Now its stepping up its duty as a good corporate citizen by making a new eco-friendly product available to all.

    Samsung announced today its intentions to release the smart Eco Tree. These trees have a number of useful features that will make them an excellent addition to the planet. As Samsung points out, these new Eco Trees can filter CO2 and replace it with oxygen. Doing so requires no energy input on our parts as these Eco Trees come with natural solar panels in the form of leaves.

    Of course, Eco Trees aren’t just for producing oxygen. These new devices have a number of features that make them a great addition to any location:

    Group Play

    You can incorporate many Eco Trees together to increase the effect of the functions described above. Group Play usually results in positive synergies such as preventing soil erosion.

    SMART Share

    When given the right care, Eco Trees provide S-eeds for SMART Sharing. Share your Eco Trees with friends and family. SMART Share is free of cost.

    Evolution Kit

    Take care of your Eco Tree! Evolution Kits are consisted of S Beams, water, fertilizers, etc. By applying these elements, you can help grow your Eco Tree. Enjoy the latest features of your Eco Tree. It’s just like upgrading to a taller, stronger, state-of-the-art Eco Tree every year!

    Accessories

    Various accessories, including but not limited to swings, tires, ladders, tents, tree houses are available at dealers near you. Try the latest most innovative accessories on your Eco Tree.

    Special Editions

    Select models are also available that provide food, entertainment and offer habitats for wild animals. Eco Tree ‘mini’ are also available for indoor application.

    Samsung’s attempt at an April Fools’ Day joke is a reminder that Earth Day is right around the corner. Samsung will be celebrating the holiday on April 22 and wants everybody to know what it is doing to promote sustainability.

  • SoundCloud Unveils the Dropometer to Ruin Every Dubstep Song You Know

    In one of my favorite internet-related April Fools jokes of the day, SoundCloud has just introduced the Dropometer (trademarked, of course).

    The Dropometer is simple, but oh so very useful. All it does is tell you the exact point in a dubstep song at which you can expect the drop.

    “The drop in a track can be unpredictable and surprising. Some of you have even told us that you find it unsettling, not knowing when to expect that sense of overwhelming euphoria. Inspired by your feedback, we’ve invented the Dropometer. Using a unique algorithm (patent pending), the Dropometer is designed to help you prepare yourself for the big moment, whether that means getting in the mental space where you can really break it down, or fixing yourself a fortifying snack,” says SoundCloud.

    (image)

    While the Dropometer was created with dubstep in mind, you can find it on plenty of other songs from other styles of music. But you shouldn’t expect the “drop” in that Beatles song to blow your mind.

    Some people over on the SoundCloud blog are kind of missing the point.

    “I really don’t see the point of this…where’s the fun in ruining the surprise of a drop? writes one angry commenter.

    “This is probably the dumbest thing I’ve ever seen. Ever. Just to be clear, you guys think we’re complete retards right? That’s the only way something like this can be even thought of,” says another.

    It looks like some SoundCloud users forgot to check the date.

    [Photo via Sharif Sharifi, Flickr]

  • Sega Brings Goat Processing To Its Stable Of Classic Titles

    Sega defenders of the early 90s had one trump card in fights with Nintendorks – blast processing. The fabled technology allowed Sega Genesis games to run faster than their Super Nintendo counterparts which made games like Sonic the Hedgehog only possible on Sega’s hardware. Now the company is introducing an entirely new brand of processing to breathe new life into its old games.

    Sega announced today that it’s bringing high quality 3D surround sound to its classic games through the use of goat processing. With goat processing, Sonic the Hedgehog and other classics will sound like completely new games.

    In all seriousness, it’s another April Fools’ Day joke that only was able to elicit a chuckle out of me. Your personal mileage, however, will vary, especially if you have yet to tire of goats yelling like humans.

  • Sony Taps Into The Lucrative Tech For Pets Market

    Pet supplies is a multi-billion dollar industry, but one sector of this lucrative market has been ignored for far too long. Sony is aiming to remedy that with its latest line of consumer technology – Animalia.

    Animalia is being billed as “Tech for pets.” The first products available include speakers for hamsters, a home theater system for dogs, and best of all – headphones for cats that always look like they’re on.

    Like everything else today, this is merely an April Fools’ Day joke, but there is a consumer electronics market for pets. Famous DJ Deadmau5 created a pair of headphones last year that were specifically fitted for his cat.

    For other fake pet technologies, check out this Google Translate April Fools’ prank from 2010 that promised to translate what animals were saying.

  • Hulu Adds TV Shows Within TV Shows To Its Lineup

    Hulu Adds TV Shows Within TV Shows To Its Lineup

    There is a lot of quality television within television. For example, The Simpsons introduced us to the colorful antics of Itchy and Scratchy many years ago. More recently, Queen of Jordan has taken the world by storm in 30 Rock. Now all these shows are coming to one place.

    Hulu announced today it has acquired all the classic TV shows within TV shows that you love. It all starts with a celebration of the 85th anniversary of The Itchy and Scratchy Show. Hulu says that it has acquired almost all 63,764 episodes of the long running TV show, with only seven episodes being banned for “nonviolence, understanding, and helping.

    The other shows coming to Hulu include Inspector Spacetime, MILF Island, Mock Trial with J. Reinhold, Ya Heard? with Perd, Queen of Jordan, Space Teens, and Numberwang.

    Hulu isn’t just adding notable TV shows to its lineup today as it has also acquired the classic direct-to-TV film – The Rural Juror. The film, starring Jenna Maroney, is a seven-hour epic that rivals any John Grisham novel adaptation.

    All of this is Hulu’s April Fools’ Day prank, but the site really is hosting most of this content today. Now’s your chance to watch all the best episodes of Itchy and Scratchy if you find yourself missing one of the greatest TV shows within a TV show ever made.

  • Wolfram Alpha Offers Handwritten Results for April Fools

    If there’s one thing that the internet lacks, it’s quality handwritten content. For decades, computers have been slowly but surely killing off the need for actually writing anything down. Lucky for us, Wolfram Alpha is here to bring a little bit of handwritten flair to the web.

    Today, Wolfram Alpha is introducing the Wolfram Alpha Handwritten Knowledge Engine, which they describe as a “more personal way of delivering computed answers.”

    Ok, it’s an April Fools’ joke. But it’s a clever one.

    According to a blog post, each of your queries will be transcribed and illustrated by a real live human!

    “We had a thought not long ago that it would be nice to get you (the internet) a gift. One of those “just because” things to spread a bit of happiness around the world. Conventional wisdom holds that the best gifts are handmade. But making gifts by hand for over 2.2 billion people? It was a daunting challenge,” says Wolfram Alpha.

    But they pulled it off, and are now offering “artisanal answers.”

    Like this important question about whether or not they are, in fact, Skynet.

    Even mathematical computations get the handwritten treatment.

    For more April Fools’ Day fun, check here.

  • Video Call Your Friends From Outer Space With Skype

    Skype is pretty much everywhere these days. Millions of people around the world use it to communicate with friends and family. What are you going to do when you’re no longer on the planet though? How will you communicate with your family as you’re traveling to Alpha Centauri?

    To further the cause of space exploration and communication, Skype announced a new service that lets space explorers connect to those who matter most. It’s called Skype into Space and it brings the “best parts of Skype… into the cosmos.”

    Of course, communicating in space does present some unique challenges so Skype is introducing a number of new features to accomodate space travel:

  • Automatic video rotation If you float around in zero gravity while on a video call, the person you’re calling will always see you the right way up.
  • Extreme gravitational resilience Planning an extreme sports trip past a supermassive black hole? Don’t worry, Skype into Space can work through gravitational fields that don’t even let light through.
  • Instant messaging in space Looking to find a new life form? You’ll be able to send instant messages to any part of space, however we can’t guarantee that the potential recipient will have evolved eyes to read them with.
  • Additional language support Our experimental linguists are standing by to learn the languages of any new life forms we come across. We aim to make Skype into Space a truly universal experience.
  • You’ve probably already guessed as much, but this is indeed Skype’s April Fools’ Day prank. Unfortunately, Skype didn’t build an elaborate landing page for its new fake service. All we have is the above image of what Skype into Space may one day look like when we are actually able to travel further through space and communicate across the cosmos.

  • Bing’s New SEO Tags Let You Tell Them Exactly Where You Should Rank (April Fools’)

    Attention SEOs: Bing is finally rewarding you for all your hard work. Starting today, new Bing SEO tags let you tell Bing exactly where your page should rank. Easy as that.

    The new SEO tags cut out the middleman and let you insert a couple of tags into your page code that direct Bing as to where to place you on results pages. There are two new tags, “set to position” and “must be before.”

    <link rel=”SEO” query=”weather” set_to_position=”2″ />

    <link rel=”SEO” must_be_before=”*.mycompetitor.com/*” />

    Now you can make sure that your page always ranks on spot ahead of your competitor’s page. It’s so easy!

    Along the way, some SEOs abused the systems to try to game the results. Back and forth for years, the engines and so-called “black hat” SEOs have waged a behind-the-scenes battle to position content on the Search Results pages. It’s pretty easy for the engine to win this battle in the long run, though, as we own the pages.

    As time has progressed, we’ve been able to tackle spamming issues at many levels. In most cases today, most websites follow the known best practices and simply do the right thing. They’re too busy running a business to try trickery to rank better, trusting we will sort the rankings properly. And now it’s time to reward that trust and your hard work.

    For a year, you’ll only be able to use one “must_be_before” tag, so choose wisely. Bing says that next April 1st, they’ll give you 50!

    “To ensure compliance with this request, should you insert more than one “must_be_before” tag this year, we’ll simply contact your host and arrange for the server hosting your site to be put into a low-earth orbit for the following 365 days.”

    Harsh.

    For more April Fools’ Day prank fun, check here.

  • Google Fiber Poles Is One April Fools’ Joke That Should Become Reality

    Google loves to announce fake products and services on April Fools’ Day, and I’m fine with some products remaining pranks. Its latest joke product, however, would actually be pretty cool if it were real.

    Google Fiber Poles is the first prank product to come out of Google Fiber, and it’s actually a pretty neat idea:

    Google Fiber Poles actually presents a lot of problems that make this project impossible, but it would be great if Google made Fiber more ubiquitous around Kansas City. Installing more wireless access points would be the most obvious solution, but something similar to Google Fiber Poles that encourages people to work together in groups would be most welcome.

  • Twitter’s No-Vowel ‘Twttr’ Prank Is the Scariest of the Day

    It’s kind of become a tradition as of late that every year, on April Fools’ Day, tech companies try to one-up each other on who can announce the craziest product and maybe catch some unsuspecting blog readers off guard. This year, Twitter’s entry into the April Fools’ prank pool is simply terrifying.

    Today, Twitter has “announcedTwttr, the new no-vowel Twitter service that will now become the default service for all users.

    If you want your vowels back, you’re going to have to pay $5 a month.

    “We’re doing this because we believe that by eliminating vowels, we’ll encourage a more efficient and “dense” form of communication. We also see an opportunity to diversify our revenue stream,” says Twitter.

    Don’t worry – you still get the letter “y.”

    “Because our users come first, we believe that ‘Y’ should always be free to everyone — today and forever. You’ll notice in the Twttr example above, the ‘y’ is clearly visible. Also, the vowels in URLs will be also be free for everyone, forever. You can also Tweet in non-Latin characters based languages, like Japanese, Chinese, Arabic or Korean. These languages will remain unaffected by our service change.”

    Yikes. Twitter is already a minefield when it comes to navigating grammar – forcing 140 characters makes even the best of us resort to devious tactics. But no vowels? The mere thought is nightmare-inducing.

    Alongside the no-vowel prank, Twitter also says that they’ve expanded Promoted Tweets to 141 characters, for an additional fee. One extra character is it, though. Don’t try to buy two.

    Good thing this one is only a joke. If you want to get in an the fun, write your no-vowel tweets and include the hashtag #nvwls. Or, if you’ve decided to pay the fee to get your vowels back, you can tweet using the #icanhasvowels hashtag.

  • XKCD Wins April Fool’s Day With Amazing Changing Comic Gag

    Everybody loves a good April Fool’s Day gag. Okay, not everybody. Most people love a good April Fool’s Day gag, and these days it seems like April Fool’s Day and the internet are like peanut butter and chocolate: they weren’t made to go together, but they make for a really sweet combination. There is, of course, plenty of room for debate about what the best April Fools Day gag is – YouTube on DVD? Conan O’Brien taking over Twitter? An e-lane for texting pedestrians?

    One joke in particular stands out, if not for its humor, than for sheer elaborateness. You may or may not be familiar with xkcd, the self-described “webcomic of romance, sarcasm, math, and language.” If not, you owe it to yourself to check it out – an evening or two working your way through the backlog is well worth it, too. At any rate, xkcd author and former NASA engineer Randal Munroe used the site for a remarkably complex April Fool’s Day gag yesterday. Visitors to the xkcd site found that they were seeing different comics based on their location. For example, people in Toronto saw the following:

    (image)

    Those in Michigan saw something similar, while those in North Carolina (and Florida) saw a variation that replaced snow with hurricanes:

    (image)

    But that’s not all. It turns out that there were even more variations. This one showed up in France:

    (image)

    Impressive, right? Well, it turns out there’s more. Upon further investigation, users on reddit and the xkcd forum found that which comic you were seeing varied by a whole lot more than just where you live. They found variations based on referrer, browser (see the lead image above for one of the three Google Chrome variants), ISP, and more.

    Here’s what people who got to the site from reddit saw:

    (image)

    Visit from an AT&T device, and there’s a good chance you saw this:

    (image)

    There were even some variations based on your device. One reddit user visited the site from a Kindle e-reader (the e-ink variety, not a Kindle Fire), and saw the following:

    (image)

    Suppose you tried to cheat. Maybe you thought that by putting your browser into incognito mode you could fool the system. Well, apparently not:

    (image)

    With all the effort taken to make different comics appear to different people, the system didn’t always work perfectly. A few users saw Friday’s comic. There also appears to have been a more generic comic shown to many who navigated to the site directly:

    (image)

    By now you may be asking yourself, “What’s the point?” Sure it’s funny to give everybody a different comic. This is xkcd, though, and things often go a bit deeper than that. If you’re familiar with xkcd at all, you know that often the real joke of a comic is in the alt text (the text that appears if you hover over a comic with your mouse. Well, the same goes here, as well. No matter what comic you may have seen yesterday (and today), they all have the same title and the same alt text. The title is always “Umwelt,” and the alt text contains a definition:

    Umwelt is the idea that because their senses pick up on different things, different animals in the same ecosystem actually live in very different worlds. Everything about you shapes the world you inhabit –from your ideology to your glasses prescription to your browser window size.

    If you’ve ever had the thought that, say, a bug must see a completely different world than you do because of its perspective, that’s what Umwelt is. It looks like Munroe decided to give xkcd’s fans a little dose of Umwelt on a large scale yesterday by making every fan’s experience just a little different. While it may not be the funniest April Fools day gag around, it’s got to be one of the cleverest.

    Are you an xkcd fan? What do you think of the Umwelt gag? Is it funny, or just weird? Which comic did you see? Let us know in the comments.

  • Gmail Tap: LL Cool J Tells You Everywhere You Can Tap It

    “You can tap it in the morning, you can tap it in the kitchen, you can tap it at night, you can tap it in the bathroom, you can tap it, you know, on a seesaw.”

    Those are some of the advantages to Gmail Tap, Google’s revolutionary new service that simplifies the keyboard. Are your fingers too fat for all the keys that are packed into a normal qwerty keyboard? Google’s solution is to whittle that down to only two buttons. A dot, and a dash.

    Yesterday, Google continued their tradition of unveiling oftentimes fake products or making fake announcements on April Fool’s Day by introducing Gmail Tap, telling us to “tap into the future of writing emails on the go.” In short, it’s morse code. If you missed yesterday’s video, you can check it out below:

    The current version of Gmail Tap features only a dot and a dash, as well as a space bar “to increase typing speeds.” It also includes multi-email mode, allowing users to split the screen and type two separate messages at the same time. According to the team, we can look forward to table tap, which will allow for microphones enabled offscreen tapping as well as double black diamond mode, which “adds a third, fourth and more keyboards for writing up to 8 messages at once.”

    Now, Google has released some more behind-the-scenes footage from the Gmail Tap team. Check out what the Product Lead, Todd Smith, has to say about the project:

    One YouTuber made a point that many people find themselves making about lots of Google April Fool’s jokes: “Why can’t this be real.” I can definitely see people jumping on the Morse code train, can’t you? UPDATE: You can actually install the Morse Keyboard, available for Android at Google Play.