April Fools' Day has got to be one of the best days of the year other than your birthday. You get to play pranks and practical jokes on people – and get away with it!

Want to prank your friends but don't know how? Well you're in luck; just keep reading and you'll find the perfect pranks to play on your friends and even a few ideas for you to play on your parents.

According to www.kidzworld.com the idea of April Fools has been around for quite a while. In the 16th century, France celebrated the New Year just like we do today, except they partied on April 1st. In 1562, Pope Gregory XIII changed the calendar to the one we use today and from then on, the New Year began on January 1st. Lots of people didn't know about the new calendar, or they ignored the new calendar and kept celebrating on April 1st. Everyone else called them April fools and played tricks on them. Subsequently, many countries around the world have adapted the term "April Fools".

In France, April 1st is called Poisson d'Avril, which means April Fish. Children tape paper fish to their friends' backs and when the person (fool) finds out, the prankster yells "Poisson d'Avril!" In England tricks can only be played in the morning until 12am, which is what we do in Bermuda. If a trick is played on you, you are a "noodle." In Scotland, you are called an "April gowk," which is another name for a cuckoo bird. In Portugal, April Fools' is celebrated on the Sunday and Monday before Lent. Pranksters usually throw flour at their friends.

Here are some harmless tricks you might consider playing. I haven't had any of these tricks played on me and I don't know anyone who has been fooled by any of them, but I might consider playing a few on my parents and brothers!

Minty Delicious involves you scraping the cream out of oreo cookies and filling them with white toothpaste.

Another really funny one is known as the time warp. Turn all the clocks and watches forward one hour. Your 'rents will get up an hour earlier to get ready for work as you snooze for that extra hour. Additionally, what you can do is create bouncing shower. Find all the balls in your house, even small plastic ones like ping pong balls, and place them in the kitchen cupboards. Whoever goes to open the cupboards will get a shower of balls! Make sure you're out of the house before the person who gets fooled comes looking for you.

In conclusion, you now know about the history of April Fools, how people in other countries celebrate April fools and the best part a few harmless pranks to play on your friends and parents.

Editor's note: Two tricks actually played on me involved orange blossoms and bed sheets. A friend at BHS brought in a posy of orange blossoms, but when I went to smell them, I breathed in some sneeze-inducing white pepper. The other trick was not limited to April Fools, and was introduced to me at boarding school in the UK. An apple pie bed (in the US known as short sheeting) needs a bed with blankets and sheets. A duvet is no good. The bottom sheet is put on in the regular manner, but instead of tucking the top sheet at the foot of the bed, tuck it in at the head of the bed. Fold the sheet in half, back toward the pillows. Place the blanket on top, and fold a few inches of the sheet and blanket back so that it looks neat. The bed looks well made, but the person will not be able lay down properly.