April 1 Lifts the Lid on Workplace HumorApril 1 Lifts the Lid on Workplace Humor

Who doesn't like a good joke? Yes, there's are the humorless among us, but for the most part we'd prefer a few more grins and belly laughs in our lives. And today is the day for it. Amid concerns about political correctness, codes of conduct, and professional decorum, April Fool's Day is a welcome and sanctioned opportunity for a bit of fun.The best part of the April Fool's Day fun is that it's two sided. You can participate in crafting a prank, a hoax, a ruse that will dupe your colleagues, family, and management. But, it's often just as much fun to sit back and watch the mayhem and hijinks others create (and try not to get conned yourself).

The bar for top-notch April Fool's Day fun is pretty high. I'm not alone in thinking that George Plimpton's fabrication of Mets pitching prospect Sidd Finch for the April 1, 1985 edition of "Sports Illustrated" was a high-water mark. I'm also a fan of the bogus 1998 NPR story that the Boston Celtics were considering changing the pronunciation of the team name (from Sell-ticks, to Kell-ticks) to lure a 7-footer. For an exhaustive listing of April 1 deceptions, visit Museum of Hoaxes (though the site seems to be crashing a bit today -- go figure).

But that's in the past, what about this year?

Google has an established tradition of April Fool's Day trickery, from Gmail paper to Google Pigeon Rank to the Toilet ISP. This year, they've brought in a partner, Virgin founder Richard Branson, to announce Virgle, an ambitious plan to colonize Mars -- apply now to be a Virgle Pioneer.

On the security front, Sophos announced a new solution: RAPIL (Recognition and Analysis of Potentially Intruding Lifeforms), a facial recognition technology to thwart hackers. Check out the YouTube video.

There's also the storm worm threat that exploits our eagerness for April 1 fun.

Gadfly Robert Scoble announced he was bailing on Fast Company to launch a video site dedicated to his passion for ice cream.

Over at TechCrunch, Michael Arrington floated a $25 million suit against Facebook claiming damage to his image, poking a self-deprecating hole in his ego balloon.

BMW got into the act announcing a new technology -- the Canine Repellent Alloy Protection system -- that shocks dogs lifting a leg near the tire of your beloved beamer.

For political junkies, there's the McCain campaigning at Burning Man story -- why not?

Putting a damper on the fun are the curmudgeonly voices of Anil Dash, Cyndy Aleo-Carreira, Joshua Schachter, and Andy Baio. Though these four ranted about the stupidity of the April 1 tomfoolery, they also produced the best roundups of the various hoaxes.

The aforementioned cranks might well approve of the slideshow from our friends over at CRN, a compendium of real announcements that just sound like they could April Fool's Day hoax. Some tech heavy weights, including Dell, Microsoft, Intel, and Apple get the treatment in "11 True Stories That Sound Like April Fool's Jokes."Who doesn't like a good joke? Yes, there's are the humorless among us, but for the most part we'd prefer a few more grins and belly laughs in our lives. And today is the day for it. Amid concerns about political correctness, codes of conduct, and professional decorum, April Fool's Day is a welcome and sanctioned opportunity for a bit of fun.