40+ of the Most Hilarious Pranks Ever

Want to prank a friend or loved one? Well, you’ve come to the right place! We’ve compiled a list of the best and silliest pranks to pull on April Fools' Day, on the phone, at school, or just whenever. These pranks are sure to make anyone jump, get a bit confused, and (most importantly) laugh hysterically. Keep on scrolling to see what hilarious pranks you can pull next, with ideas from comedians and trend experts.

Funny & Easy Prank Ideas

Inflatable Backpack: Sneak a pool noodle into a friend’s backpack.
Poppin’ Toilet: Place snap fireworks under a friend’s toilet seat.
Tiny Ducks: Hide tiny rubber ducks all around someone’s home.
Bug Ice: Freeze ice cubes with plastic bugs in them and serve them in drinks.
Unusable Shampoo: Place saran wrap under the cap of someone’s shampoo bottle.
I’m Busy: FaceTime a friend—when they pick up, say “I’m busy, can I call you back?”
Family Photo Swap: Replace family photos with pictures of your favorite celebrity.

Section 1 of 8:

Funny Pranks to Pull on Friends

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Salted Cookies Prank Make a delicious batch of cookies…with a twist! Replace the sugar in the cookie recipe with salt. It’s sure to shock anyone!
- Alternatively, roll balls of cookie dough in salt instead of cinnamon or sugar to give them an unexpected bitter taste.^{[1]
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Meet the wikiHow Experts

Reem Edan is a comedian, writer, and content creator based in Los Angeles, CA. She has captivated audiences globally, appearing on The Stand Up Sketch Show, SiriusXM, the Netflix Is A Joke Festival, and Laugh After Dark.

Shayan Faraz, also known online as Chum, is a trend expert and TikTok influencer. He has amassed over 35,000 followers, 70 million organic views, and over 7 million likes on his TikTok page @chummertok.

Jemaree Jay is a trend expert and TikTok influencer based in Miami, Florida. He shares his content on Instagram, TikTok, and YouTube (@jemareejay), with over 70k followers and over 11.5 million likes on TikTok alone.
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Lemon Juice Prank When your friend’s not looking, squeeze some lemon juice into their water or drink. The next time they go to take a sip, they’ll be puckering!^{[2]
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- Before trying this prank, make sure your friend doesn’t have a lemon allergy.
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This prank takes a little bit of preplanning. The night before, place a bowl full of milk and cereal in the freezer. In the morning, offer to make the subject of your prank some breakfast. Pull out the bowl from the freezer when they’re not looking, and watch as they try to eat a solid bowl of cereal!^{[3]
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Tiny Ducks Prank Order a lot of tiny rubber ducks. Then, hide them around a family member or friend’s home. Place them in closets, drawers, pockets—you name it! They’ll be finding tiny ducks for weeks.
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Spring Forward Prank Set a friend or loved one’s clocks ahead to make them think they’re running late. This prank is perfect for when you’re having a sleepover. All you have to do is set your subject’s clocks an hour ahead when they’re not looking (preferably when they’re asleep).^{[4]
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- Make sure your prank subject doesn’t have anything pressing to do on the day of your prank. Remember, pranks should be fun, not cruel.
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Funny Airport Sign Prank Comedian and writer Reem Edan says if you’re going to greet someone at the airport with a sign, make it a funny or embarrassing sign to give them and others around you a quick laugh. For example, you can make a sign that says “You are the father,” to a friend or boyfriend who’s coming back from a trip.^{[5]
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Reem Edan
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Section 2 of 8:

Funny Pranks to Pull at Home

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This prank is simple, hilarious, and the perfect slow burn. Print out a bunch of pictures of yourself or a favorite celebrity. Then, one by one, attach them to family photos in your house. Start small and work your way up to bigger photos. Keep the prank going until the prank subject notices.^{[6]
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Squirting Sink Prank This prank is perfect if you have a separate sink sprayer nozzle at home. Simply wrap a rubber band around the handle or tape the handle so it’s in the “on” position. The next time someone turns on the water, they’ll be squirted in the face!^{[7]
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Want to make a friend or loved one go mad? When they’re not around, hide a handful of cricket chirpers in their home. Every so often, a chirp will go off, and they’ll race around to find the culprit “cricket.”
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Unusable Shampoo Prank Unscrew your prank suspect’s favorite shampoo. Place plastic wrap over the top, cut away any excess, and screw back on the lid. When they go to wash their hair, they’ll be flustered with how nothing will come out of the bottle.^{[8]
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Wonkey Mouse Prank This prank is perfect for anyone who works from home or spends a lot of time on the computer. Tape a note on the bottom of their computer mouse right over the sensor. When they try to use their mouse, they’ll have to inspect why it won’t work.^{[9]
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- Write a message on the note to make them smile, like, “Got ya! Have a great day!” or “Prank war is on. I’ll start small ;)”

Section 3 of 8:

Funny Pranks to Pull at School

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Disappearing Student Prank This one requires a bit of prep and coordination, but it’s perfect for the students looking to confuse the teacher and get the class cracking up. All you have to do is clear your desk of everything and hide somewhere in the class where the teacher won’t see you.^{[10]
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- When your teacher takes attendance, have your classmates act like they have no idea who she’s talking about. Wait a second before revealing yourself to really confuse your teacher!
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Inflatable Backpack Prank Bring a small pool floatie into school and sneak it into your friend’s backpack when they least expect it. Then, close and zip it all the way. When they notice the poofy bag and unzip it, the floatie will jump out of the bag, making everyone around laugh as they wonder where the heck it came from!^{[11]
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- Make sure the floatie isn’t so big that it pops or becomes a disturbance in the classrooms. You don’t want to block anyone’s path or potentially hurt them.
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Presenting Random Items Prank Trend expert Shayan Faraz says, “The ‘bringing random items to school trend’ is a TikTok trend format where a group of students gather together and present their bizarre and out-of-place items that they’ve snuck into their backpacks.”^{[12]
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Shayan Faraz
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- The kicker about this is that everyone has water in their mouths, and as the items are shown, they try their hardest not to spit the water out and laugh uncontrollably.
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Talking Plant Prank For this one, you’ll need an old-fashioned tape recorder. Take the tape recorder and record a funny message. Then, put it underneath a potted plant to make it seem like the plant is talking. When people walk by, they’ll get a funny message from some vocal leaves (just make sure the message is school-appropriate).^{[13]
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Googly-Eyed Books Prank This one requires some quick timing to pull off, but it’s a funny one! The next time you’re in class, bring a pair of googly-eyes and discreetly place them on the spines of the books in the room. As you do this throughout the course of the class, your teacher and classmates will see more and more books looking at them, causing confusion and laughter.

Section 4 of 8:

Funny Pranks for Kids

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Mayo & Pudding Switcheroo Prank Let your prank subject know you’ve made some vanilla pudding for them to try. They’ll be so excited for a delicious treat, but in actuality, you’re serving up a big bowl of mayonnaise! Scoop them a nice serving and watch as they spit out the unexpected condiment.^{[14]
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- Switch it up by filling an empty mayo jar with vanilla pudding or an empty pudding cup with mayo.
- This prank is perfect for bigger groups of kids.
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Balloon Room Prank Make any kid smile and laugh with this gentle prank. All you have to do is blow up a bunch of balloons and toss them in their room. Then, when they open the door, they’ll be met with an unsuspected amount of fun!^{[15]
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Open up two boxes of cereal. Then, switch the two bags so the cereals are in the wrong boxes. When a kid goes to make a bowl, they’ll be so confused!^{[16]
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Spider Attack Prank Place a fake plastic spider on a string of fishing line. Then, when the prank subject is resting or minding their own business, fling the spider on them, keeping one hand tight on the string. Move the spider around as if it were really alive for the best reaction.^{[17]
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Toss a rubber snake in a kid’s lunch box or backpack to make them jump. The snake may give them a slight scare, but they’ll have an awesome toy to play with right after!^{[18]
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Section 5 of 8:

Funny Pranks for Adults

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Stuck Hand Sanitizer Prank Empty a bottle of hand sanitizer. Then, fill the bottle with a clear school glue. Leave the bottle open overnight so the glue dries. In the morning, put the cap back on and place the “hand sanitizer” out for people to use. They’ll be so confused when nothing comes out!^{[19]
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- If you try this with a pump hand sanitizer, make sure to place the pump top back into the bottle so the glue hardens around it.
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Unusable Soap Prank Have a roommate or family member who uses bar soap? Then this is the perfect prank for them! Dry their most-used soap. Then, paint the soap with clear nail polish. The next time they try to use the bar soap, no suds will appear, and they’ll be utterly confused.^{[20]
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The next time you ride shotgun in a friend or loved one’s car, turn up the heat. Turn it up while they’re distracted and looking the other way, or dial it up before they turn the car on.^{[21]
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Mailing List Prank Want to make a friend super confused? Put their name on a random mailing list so they get junk mail from a random store or company. This is a prank that keeps on giving!^{[22]
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Give a friend, roommate, or family member a scare by placing snap fireworks under their toilet seat. This prank is super easy and won’t cause any wild damage. Simply lift up the toilet seat and place a few snaps along the rim. Set the seat down gently. Now the next person to use the bathroom will be met with an unlikely surprise!^{[23]
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Saw a Friend on Hinge Prank This hilarious prank is from TikTok. Trend expert Jemaree Jay says it’s “when girlfriends tell their boyfriends they found a friend on Hinge, [and then] wait to see how long it takes them to question what she was doing on Hinge in the first place.”^{[24]
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Jemaree Jay
Trend Expert

Expert Interview} This one is great if you want to get a laugh and make some content.

Section 6 of 8:

Funny Text Pranks

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Fool a friend or group chat into thinking you’re typing when you’re really not. Send them a GIF of the typing dots that would appear if you actually were typing. They’ll be so confused and think you’re typing a really long message.^{[25]
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Song Lyrics Prank Make any loved one scratch their head with this clever prank! Pick your favorite song, and start texting them the lyrics to it as though you were having a real conversation. Keep responding with lyrics until they catch on.^{[26]
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- We suggest songs like “I’m Just Ken” from the Barbie movie, “Call Me Maybe” by Carly Rae Jepsen, and “Hello” by Adele.
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Text Subscription Prank Make a friend believe they accidentally signed up for a subscription service. Pretend you’re an automated texting service sending them ads and coupons. For the best results, make sure to hide your phone number or text them from an unknown number. Here’s an example message:^{[27]
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- “Thank you for signing up for Puppy Facts! You’ll now receive daily facts about puppies! Ruff ruff 🐶 Text YES for another fact. Text STOP to unsubscribe.”
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Social Media Scar Prank Text a pal telling them you cannot believe they posted what they did on their Instagram, Snapchat, or Facebook. Keep the ruse going to see them truly panic—they may even think someone hacked their account! The conversation may look like this:^{[28]
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- You: OMG your post 🤯
  Them: What post? I didn’t post anything
  You: Uh, did you mean to post that??
  Them: Post what?!
  You: Everyone’s texting me about it
Act like you don’t know who’s texting you to make a friend go bonkers. When they text you, reply with “Who’s this?” “Do I know you?” or “Are you sure you have the right number?”

Section 7 of 8:

Funny Phone Call Pranks

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You Won! Prank Make a loved one think they’ve won a huge prize with this classic prank. Hide your phone number and disguise your voice. Then, let your friend know they won a sweepstakes for concert tickets or a big lottery. Tell them they must answer a trivia question to win, then give them an extremely hard question they won’t know the answer to.^{[29]
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- Disguise your phone number when making prank calls by dialing *67 before a number.
- Keep in mind that prank-calling may be illegal in your area. Check your state laws before making a call, and always be respectful of other people’s time.
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You Called Me Prank Call up a friend, and when they answer, ask, “Who’s calling?” When they ask why you called, keep the ruse going with, “Uh, you called me, so…”^{[30]
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Ring up your bestie on FaceTime. When they answer, immediately say, “I’m really busy. Can I call you back?” Then, hang up. They’ll be left speechless!^{[31]
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We’re Done! Prank Call up a random number (don’t forget to disguise your number). When someone answers the phone, pretend you’re their lover breaking up with them. You can go with a sad or angry angle—put those improv skills to the test!
Give a friend a call and get ready to act! Pretend like you’re in a public restroom and are out of toilet paper and don’t know what to do. See if they’d be willing to bring you some—test that friendship!

Section 8 of 8:

Funny April Fools' Pranks

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Trick your loved ones into thinking you made delicious cake pops when they’re really a despised vegetable! Skewer some Brussels sprouts, coat them in chocolate, and dust them with sprinkles. Then, serve them up to your victims.^{[32]
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Honk and Wave Prank Place a sign on the back of a friend’s car that says, “Please honk and wave—April Fools’ prank!” As your friend drives around town, they’ll be so confused as to why everyone is being so friendly.^{[33]
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Candy Palooza Prank Mix together M&M’s, Skittles, and Reese’s Pieces in one bowl. Then, wait for unsuspecting victims to have a taste. This prank is perfect for at home or the office.^{[34]
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- Make sure no one has any allergies to the combined candies before doing this prank.
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Bug Ice Prank Fill up an ice tray with water and then drop a few plastic bugs into the tray. Wait for the ice to form. Then, place the ice in your victims’ cups to get their reactions!^{[35]
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Swap Kids Prank Do you have multiple kids? Are they heavy sleepers? If so, switch them in their sleep! Place each kid in a different bed in the middle of the night, so when they wake up, they won’t know what happened.^{[36]
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- You know your kids better than anyone else, so only do this prank if you think they’ll find it fun, not scary.