Gotcha! Some Classic April Fool’s Pranks From the Great State of Texas
Why do we 'celebrate' the first day of April with pranks and jokes? (By the way, you might want to take that note off your back).
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It's possible that the day is tied to springtime in Texas, when nature 'fools' everyone with irregular weather.
History.com states that April Fools’ Day dates back to 1582, and is related to calendar changes at the beginning of the new year. In the recent past, April 1st has been celebrated with some classic pranks. Here are some of the best ones that took place in Texas, according to Chron.com.
Joel Osteen 'Abandons' Church
In 2013, one prankster created an online hoax aimed at Joel Osteen, complete with a fake website and Twitter feed.
The false social media accounts claimed the pastor had renounced Christianity and shut down his massive Houston ministry. When questioned, Lakewood Church responded that they were aware of the hoax.
'New' Texas Money
This is one of my personal favorites. In April 2016, the Texas state comptroller’s office announced that 'redbacks' paper money would be reissued for the first time since the 1840s. The best part? The $10 bill would have featured Willie Nelson’s face. We should totally make this happen for real!
University of Texas New Breakfast Invention
In 2018, the University of Texas at Austin claimed it invented the world's first grow-it-yourself breakfast taco, and the press release was very convincing.
The product's fake promotional video actually features a cameo by UT's president at the time Greg Fenves.
Torchy's Tacos Introduces Something Different
Also on April 1st, 2018, the Texas taco chain announced that it was starting a new line of perfumes called 'Eau de Queso'. Sounds very cheesy to me.
We won't get fooled again, right? Whatever happens today, you can't say you weren't warned!
No Foolin' Here! This Houston Home Is Very Friendly
Here's your chance to live just like Rachel, Monica, Chandler, Joey, Phoebe, and Ross!
This 'Friends'-themed townhouse in Houston was listed on Airbnb and just hit the real estate market. Diana Hu, an agent at Better Homes and Gardens Real Estate in Houston, said this is the first time in 16 years that she's listed a home with a pop culture theme, according to the Today show.
The living room and kitchen will be familiar to 'Friends' fans as you will see from the real estate photos. At the top of the stairs, you’ll see a foosball table that looks a lot like the one in Joey and Chandler's apartment, surrounded by a comfy couch.
The three-story house also has a two-car garage with a Tesla charger. It's located at 1706 Bevis Street in Houston, and the asking price is $330,000.
Shall we take a look around, friends?
The Most Dangerous City in Texas for 2022 May Surprise You
According to FBI statistics, Texas had 438 violent crimes and 2,562 property crimes per 100,000 residents as of this year. For every 100,000 residents, there are 224 police officers statewide.
Crime rates are expressed as the number of incidents per 100,000 people.
Here are the ten most dangerous cities in Texas for 2022, according to World Population Review.
Bet You Didn't Know: 10 Bizarre Texas Laws Still on the Books
Many states still have strange laws on the books that aren’t enforced or taken seriously anymore, and Texas is no exception.
Most of these laws are just funny now, but at one time, there was a valid (or at least somewhat valid) reason for them to exist.
Texas has plenty of strange rules and regulations that you could technically be prosecuted for if you violate them, since they've never been amended. Some of these are only for specific cities and not state-wide, but all of them are pretty odd!
Let's take a look at 10 of the weirdest ones in the Lone Star State.