With April fool’s day just a couple of months away, it is time to get our game on. We should first warm up with some simple practical joke training before moving on to the more serious exercises.  These five practices that I will share today are great for around the house–easily executed on family or roommates.

1. In the kitchen-The kitchen is a target rich environment for practical jokers.  You can control the outcome of someone’s eating experience and leverage the element of surprise to your advantage.  The best way to do this is to change drastically, the way something tastes.   If it is normally sweet, add copious amounts of salt.  If it is salty, add something sweet.  A good example of this is a dollop of honey in the middle of a tuna fish sandwich.  While it does not sound to drastic, just try it and watch the face of someone eating your newly crafted creation.  Habanero pepper extract is a must-have in any practical joker’s toolbox.  Put a drop of that inside just about anything and sit back and watch the fireworks.
2. For the absent minded-This one works well for those of us living with someone who is highly absent minded.  What you do is save today’s newspaper in a pristine state.  Then tomorrow replace the newspaper with a newspaper that is a day old.  For someone that is always asking, “Is today Tuesday or Wednesday?” this will only add to the fun.  The beauty of this trick is that it is perpetual.  Once you feed that first day old newspaper into the system, you will get a new replacement every day.  You just have to be able to retrieve it before the victim does.
3. In the bathroom – Ah, the bathroom is another target rich environment where you can catch your victim off guard.  And where is someone more off guard that taking care of business on the porcelain hopper?  Most people have had the frustration of trying to tear of a new sheet of toilet paper off a new role. How about creating that setting on a daily basis?  It is pretty easy to do.  Of course you will want your own private stash of toilet paper is you share the bathroom where you are about to work your expertise.  Take the target roll of TP.  Along the edge of the most recent tear, poke three or four deep holes with a pin. Then place a drop of super glue (or any other glue that flows easily) and place a small drop in each hole.  For maximum enjoyment, repeat at least once a week.
4. Still in the bathroom – Brushing your teeth can be made much more exciting with just a few modifications to the procedure.  Extract a small bit of toothpaste from the tube.  If you can, leave a cavity at the opening.  That will really come in handy a little later.  To your small toothpaste sample, add generous amounts of salt, onion powder, and garlic powder. I will not specify the quantities as I do not wish to stifle your creativity.  Once you have the proper proportions, mix thoroughly.  Remember that this is not a heartless gag but a bighearted labor of love for a roommate or family member. When properly blended, work the mixture back into the toothpaste tube.  If done right, exclamations of glee should emanate from bathrooms all through your house…heck bathrooms all through your neighborhood.  If you don’t have access to your target’s toothpaste tube, soak their toothbrush in highly concentrated salt water for a few minutes.  When done properly, a simple rinse of water will not free the toothbrush from the over-powering salty taste.
5. In the mailbox – Again, this is most easily done when you share access to the same mailbox as your target.  If you are in a rush just buy magazine that would not be appreciated by your victim, add a mailing label and put your final product in the mailbox.  The easiest way to generate a mailing label would be to strip one from a letter or magazine they have just received.  In a pinch, you could make your own with a computer and some printable mailing labels.  The magazine you use will be up to your imagination.  Again, I don’t wish to stifle your creativity.  The most obvious ones would be those of an embarrassing nature but there is quite a selection of mags out there these days and you may score on a bigger laugh by finding that perfect mismatch.  The manly man in your life might enjoy a copy of American Girl or Hopscotch (I am not making that up) magazine.  Your vegetarian roommate might appreciate a cooking magazine with a thick steak on the cover.  Who knows?