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Announcements Apr 1, 2026 at 8:00 AM

An April fool's prank I regret

Posted by HRHCookie

When I was young we had a nanny. I did a prank whereby I stuffed my clothes as well as a hat and a wig and laid it on the sofa so that she would think it was me at first glance. When I saw her she was really shaken. And she said, " When I saw it my heart just broke. I thought to myself, 'the child has died in the night.'" And suddenly it wasn't funny at all.
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No-Counter-116 Apr 1, 2026 +323
That moment when the prank stops being funny is always way more formative than the prank itself. I think most people have a version of this from childhood where you realize the person on the other end isn't playing along, they're genuinely hurt or scared. It doesn't make you a bad kid, it just means you learned the line earlier than most.
323
kiirudisconn1 Apr 1, 2026 +84
The fact that you still feel bad about it shows you actually learned that lesson well.
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nocturnaldep Apr 1, 2026 +23
The silence right after the prank is always louder than the prank itself
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elvacesky1 Apr 1, 2026 +27
It is that weird first realization that people actually care about you way more than you think.
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JennyW93 Apr 1, 2026 +270
I shared a room with my brother when we were about 6 or 7. He had the top bunk. One year, we decided he should jump down as loud as he could and play dead on the floor. We poured a couple of drops of fake blood in his ear so it would be trickling out when my parents ran in to see what the noise was. April fools was banned in our house after that.
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BedroMax1m1l43 Apr 1, 2026 +122
You really went for the full trauma experience with the fake blood.
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JennyW93 Apr 1, 2026 +53
I got my karma when I had a serious brain injury in my 20s lol
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vilswallow Apr 1, 2026 +77
The fake blood in the ear is a level of commitment that most kids just don't have.
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calm_roof_sitter Apr 1, 2026 +17
man that fake blood idea is kinda wild. when i was a kid i once pretended to choke on a gummy bear just to freak my mom out, not my best moment for sure. it's crazy how those pranks can go too far and then you feel like the worst kid ever, huh?
17
SuddenRazzmatazz4905 Apr 1, 2026 +23
I was the other end of a very similar prank. The prankee, if you will. Worked at an amusement park, on an inverted roller coaster. Someone had brought in donuts that we were all enjoying as we did our opening process. I was doing paperwork in the booth, when someone yelled “oh no, so and so fell and is hurt!” I run out there, and he’s on the ground with “blood” on the ground. Yeah, it was jelly from a donut and I bought it hook, line, and sinker lol
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blinkingbaby Apr 1, 2026 +17
As an anxious mom who is terrified of the silence after a crash I wish I could time travel and hug your parents. 😭
17
cave18 Apr 1, 2026 +2
Like i get thats bad but oh my lord
2
Open-Confusion-3358 Apr 1, 2026 +172
When I was young, maybe 8, my mom had to run into the store really quick, and left us four kids in the car. She told us to lock the doors, and not to talk to anyone and she would be right out. My brothers and I had the horrible idea to hide down between the seats in our van so that when she came back out, she couldn't see anyone. She came out and made this terrible gasp, and we jumped up and said surprise!! She started crying.. She cried all the way home saying she would NEVER leave us in the car again. She thought we had all gotten abducted. We felt so guilty.. I still do to this day. What a mean prank.
172
MOGicantbewitty Apr 1, 2026 +42
Kids are basically little sociopaths until they get experiences like this that teach them about empathy. The fact that you felt guilty speaks highly to your character. The fact that it took this prank for you to figure it out is just pretty normal. As a mother, I probably shouldn't have laughed, but I did.
42
SHatcheroo Apr 1, 2026 +31
That was a good lesson for her too. Because, honestly, you shouldn’t leave kids in the car alone. I think it’s actually illegal in some states.
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dolphinitely Apr 1, 2026 +4
omg 😭
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PassiveAggressiveLib Apr 1, 2026 +114
I was 17. Had a gyn appt on 4/1 to which my boyfriend drove me. Routine exam. When I got back in the car after, I told him I was pregnant. He thought about it for a second, and then asked me to marry him. And then I had to tell him it was an April Fool’s joke. It was by far the stupidest, most immature, and shittiest thing I have ever done and I regret it to this day. FWIW, he said he still wanted to marry me. We ended up growing apart so that never happened. Yes, IATAH. Most definitely.
114
HRHCookie Apr 1, 2026 +54
That was more honourable of him than many men twice his age. For the record, I don't agree in marrying just because of a pregnancy or staying together for the kids. But what I'm praising is his attitude to take responsibility in the way he understood to be the right way.
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ObjectiveCoelacanth Apr 1, 2026 +4
Oh. My god. Good for him and ouch for both of you. 🫠
4
MOGicantbewitty Apr 1, 2026 +1
Oh that is so sweet! Truly, how adorable on his part! Yeah, that wasn't the smartest idea you had for a prank. But at least you told him quickly! At least you didn't drag it out for hours or days. And you clearly have grown from that.
1
mightytonto Apr 1, 2026 +71
I switched the sugar for salt. Little did I know that my folks were absolutely stone broke. My Pa didn’t eat that day…he wasn’t angry, just upset; 30 years and it still breaks my heart : (
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HRHCookie Apr 1, 2026 +25
What - did you throw the sugar away? What would have been made with sugar that would have been be your dad's meal for the day?
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Joonscene Apr 1, 2026 +3
That is a good question. Pie? Some sort of dessert?
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TrixieBastard Apr 1, 2026 +1
Cereal or oatmeal with a spoonful of salt is my guess. That's cereal and milk that has to be thrown out, and if times are dire, that's a rationed breakfast that can't be replaced with something else.
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ObjectiveCoelacanth Apr 1, 2026 +3
Noooo. Totally understandable you didn't get that as a kid, but I would also be so haunted. :(
3
yooq2 Apr 1, 2026 +160
sorry OP but I think she pranked you back.
160
HRHCookie Apr 1, 2026 +136
No. She was genuinely upset. The Nanny was for the younger children really. I was in high school at the time and I think I had a fairly accurate read. Edit: Also, maybe the statement sounds weird/prank-like in English. I've translated it. But in the original language it was very genuine.
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yooq2 Apr 1, 2026 +57
a nanny isn't going to think a teen died on the couch for no reason, what she think late onset SIDS got ya ?
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decidedlyindecisive Apr 1, 2026 +45
My uni friend had a sibling die for no reason. The autopsy didn't find any existing heart problems or an aneurism. It was marked as Sudden Arrhythmic Death Syndrome with a note that there was no underlying cause. During the night, his heart just stopped beating. He was 17, healthy reasonably active, ate well.
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AnxietyWitch66 Apr 1, 2026 +22
This is my nightmare
22
decidedlyindecisive Apr 1, 2026 +17
Yeah it really fucked my friend up. Their parents both basically had breakdowns. They worried constantly that my friend would also just die.
17
The_Quiz29 Apr 1, 2026 +29
Happened to my brother. Two autopsies and no cause of death. Many years later, as a nurse, I figured that it must have been related to an arrhythmia, but this is the first time I have seen a name for it. Kind of a shocking way to start my day.
29
decidedlyindecisive Apr 1, 2026 +7
So sorry about your brother. That's awful.
7
Leemage Apr 1, 2026 +14
My friend’s boyfriend died like this. In his case, it was due to an undiagnosed brain bleed from the previous day. He slipped on ice, hit his head, and didn’t think anything of it. Went to sleep and didn’t wake up in the morning. 😞
14
alleecmo Apr 1, 2026 +3
I just read that's how Ann B Davis, the lady who played Alice on the Brady Bunch, died. She'd fallen one day & was found dead the next. I read this right after my MIL (in her 80s) had fallen, so I've been checking on her daily.
3
honeyandcitron Apr 1, 2026 +42
“late onset SIDS” 💀 
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Cmpetty Apr 1, 2026 +26
SADS
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HRHCookie Apr 1, 2026 +68
People die 'for no reason' all the time. Usually undiagnosed heart issues or aneurysms.
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mycopportunity Apr 1, 2026 +15
Also drug overdose
15
rws531 Apr 1, 2026 +17
Wouldn’t really be “for no reason” then, but unexpected is kind of the same I guess.
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YoungAlpacaLady Apr 1, 2026 +5
I personally know 2 teenagers that went to bed and never woke up again with no previous known conditions. One had an aneurysm, the other one an unknown heart disease. I wish this was unrealistic.
5
Gastlyperformance Apr 1, 2026 +1
Late onset SIDS is f****** sending me. That is so out of pocket holy shit 🤣
1
lunameow Apr 1, 2026 +2
Not a criticism, I'm wondering why she'd see you on the couch and immediately think you were dead, not just napping.
2
pottymouthgrl Apr 1, 2026 -18
Maybe she was just f****** stupid
-18
RellzStr Apr 1, 2026 +4
That is some top tier psychological warfare for a morning shift.
4
livelotus Apr 1, 2026 +22
My mom let me play with food coloring in the snow. I would lay in “blood” until I would hear a car slow down to a stop and then I’d spring up and sprint away. 😭
22
Vsa168 Apr 1, 2026 +7
Your nanny is a great person
7
ThinkCoyote7715 Apr 1, 2026 +15
I had a governess growing up and I pranked her on April 1st by taping down the sprayer on the sink so whomever turned on the sink would get sprayed with water. It worked. Soaked her sleeping gown. She was livid and grounded me for weeks. Worth it.
15
HRHCookie Apr 1, 2026 +8
I didn't know people still had governesses. Did you grow up in a stately home/part of the peerage?
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ThinkCoyote7715 Apr 1, 2026 +6
Nope that’s just the term that was used. I was upper middle-class. I guess nanny was thought to be a term for younger kids. I was 9 when she came.
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alleecmo Apr 1, 2026 +2
Don't governesses also generally tutor in school subjects vs nannies who babysit and help with household management duties (driving, groceries, cooking, chores)?
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ThinkCoyote7715 Apr 1, 2026 +2
Probably. Our governess did everything, so I guess she was a hybrid.
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HRHCookie Apr 1, 2026 +2
Not really. Historically a governess was there to be a chaperone and to teach good moral character and decorum AS WELL AS things a young lady should know such as needlework and French and some education as well - so as to not be ignorant; but not too educated, so as to be unmarriageable.
2
Low_Confection_2433 Apr 1, 2026 +21
You really skipped straight past “prank” and into “temporary bereavement.”**😅**
21
liamdrake02 Apr 1, 2026 +1
That moment when you realize the nanny's heart breaking was actually the real prank all along.
1
Shoddy_Decision7620 Apr 1, 2026 +5
Went for an April Fool’s joke, accidentally unlocked a lifelong fear DLC.
5
Stunning_Shirt8530 Apr 1, 2026 +4
i once wrapped my coworker's entire desk in foil while she was on lunch. every pen, every stapler, her mouse, her coffee mug. she laughed so hard she cried and then spent an hour slowly unwrapping everything. zero regrets
4
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