Google announced they are skipping out on April Fools’ Day pranks this year because of the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic.
The giant tech, known for its elaborate April Fool’s Day jokes, will be stepping back from jokes this year “out of respect for all those fighting the COVID-19 pandemic,” according to memo obtained by Business Insider.
“Our highest goal right now is to be helpful to people, so let’s save the joke the jokes for next April, which will undoubtedly be a whole lot brighter than this one,” said Lorraine Twohill, Google’s head of marketing, in the email.
April Fools’ Day, also known as All Fools’ Day, is a popular annual tradition of playing practical jokes on each other on the first of April.
The day has been celebrated by many different cultures for several centuries and although where it originated from is still a mystery, historians believe the tradition dates back to 1582, according to History.com
Early pranks included taping paper fishes on people’s back – called poisson d’avril (April fish) – which symbolized an “easily hooked” fish and gullible person.
