ABU DHABI // Will and Kate visited a Dubai restaurant. Moet & Chandon planned to fill the Dubai Fountain with its champagne. A Pokemon creature was sighted at the Burj Khalifa.
April 1 was an eventful day.
It began at the Reform Social & Grill in The Lakes, in Dubai, which claimed that Prince William and his wife Kate had popped in for breakfast.
“The pair tucked into the restaurant’s famous full English breakfast and enjoyed a cup of Earl Grey tea in the garden,” the restaurant said.
It also posted an “obviously Photoshopped” snapshot of the British royals on the restaurant’s Facebook page, said Richard Cowling, general manager.
Another press release was received by The National claiming that the Dubai Fountain would be filled with 22,000 gallons of Moet & Chandon “Platinum” champagne, sold in “a solid platinum bottle, with a cork made from 500-year-old cedar trees” for Dh2,445.
“Guests will then be wowed by a specially choreographed light and sound show, featuring music composed by Moby and Jay-Z. The French national synchronised swimming team have also been confirmed to make an appearance,” the fake release said.
A Dubai toy retailer tweeted that a Pokemon had been sighted at the Burj Khalifa, and radio hosts on Dubai 92’s morning show interviewed a fake cosmetic surgeon who claimed to be able to make the host look like Rihanna.
Selfies in particular proved a fruitful source of social satire.
Google claimed to introduce a feature where users could set “shareable selfies” – thus, Shelfies – as a custom theme in their Gmail accounts.
Meanwhile, the Eton Institute in Dubai claimed to be “helping the community” take better selfies with a free workshop on April 1.
“People generally lack the skills required to take the perfect selfie, which affects their self-confidence due to the low number of likes on Facebook, Instagram and other popular social media platforms, to the point where they don’t even want to go out anymore,” the language-learning institute said.
The course purportedly would have taught participants how to replicate “the ‘duck lips’ and ‘sparrow face’ made famous by celebrities”. Also covered is “what your selfie says about you”, “how to take a selfie in every situation” and “how to get rid of company so you can take a selfie”.
“We’ve had a few people register for the workshop on the website,” said Moaz Khan, marketing director at the Eton Institute in Dubai and Abu Dhabi.
Once someone tries to register, a message appears saying: “Happy April Fool’s Day!”
Though it now seems to be a chance for advertising, the history behind April Fool’s remains somewhat of a mystery.
Some theorise it started with the change in the French calendar system in the 15th century. Others look to references by poets or writers, which seem also seem to point to the tradition in Europe starting at least before the 16th century.
Still others think April Fool’s could have evolved out of springtime festivals in ancient Rome and Persia, some of which involved humour or pranks.
While April Fool’s Day may be all about creating mirth, the underlying intent is no joke – laughing is important for one’s health.
“The ability to laugh – especially at one’s self – is indicative of emotional wellbeing,” said Justin Thomas, psychologist and associate professor at Zayed University in Abu Dhabi.
Researchers in one study watched high-performing chief executives and low-performing chief executives while they interviewed people, said Mr Thomas.
“The interviews held by the high-performing CEOs were characterised by significantly more laughter,” he said. “Humour requires empathy and insight, again, hallmarks of wellbeing and emotional intelligence.”
Mr Thomas pointed out that April Fool’s jokes should stay light-hearted – “darker manifestations of humour” can be malicious, making jokes at the expense of other people.
Some religious scholars have decried the tradition for this reason, saying April Fool's jokes and pranks are forbidden in Islam.
“There are also people who use humour evasively or defensively. This can sometimes be problematic,” Mr Thomas said.
“But overall, fun, jokes, the occasional harmless, well-intended prank are healthy,” he said.
lcarroll@thenational.