Joke's on you: Some of the best (and worst) April Fool's pranks pulled in Oklahoma history

Every April 1, people around the world have to watch out for pranks, schemes and jokes that signal the cheesiest holiday of the year: April Fool's Day.

While April Fool's pranks in the internet age have become a common way to meme yourself (or your company) into global virality, the day has a rich history going back centuries.

Oklahoma has seen its fair share of decent jabs. Here are some April Fool's Day pranks from Oklahoma history.

Hello, zoo? Put me through to Ellie Phant

Prank calls were all the rage back in the 1990s, and the Oklahoma City Zoo fell victim to some of that light-hearted pranking.

The jokesters would leave messages with people urging them to call a phone number and ask for an individual. Unbeknownst to the target, they would be calling the Oklahoma City Zoo. The message asked them to return a call from Don Key. Or Ellie Phant. Sometimes it was Flo Mingo.

Zoo staff told The Oklahoman that they sometimes fielded 500 calls on April Fool's Day. That is, until they set up a recorded line to deter the unsuspecting prank callers.

The Sooners' new Amish football star

Mike Steely, host of The Sport Animal's Morning Animals show, made the surprise announcement in 1994 that the University of Oklahoma Sooners would be recruiting an Amish tailback from Pennsylvania who had "built up his arms churning butter and building barns."

The player, Steely reported, was named Zechariah Leviticus. He told his audience that there was no game film since the Amish believed that captured video would capture your soul. Stretching the joke a bit, he also said that OU agreed to send Leviticus to nearby road games on a horse and buggy instead of on modern transportation.

'Sucker's Convention' comes to Enid

Oklahomans' sense of humor even dates back to before statehood. On April 1, 1905, local pranksters convinced some of the most prominent people in Enid to attend what was later dubbed a "Sucker's Convention."

According to a retelling of the complicated joke in the Enid News & Eagle, the town jailer came across an empty beer bottle near the jail. In those days, apparently, it was common to refer to empty bottles as "dead soldiers." The prank began when the jailer convinced an attorney friend that a dying soldier was in the jail and wanted to write down his will. Once the attorney arrived, he found the bottle tucked neatly under blankets inside of a cell.

The pair decided to continue the joke, and convinced at least nine other local attorneys to rush to the jail for the same reason. Next it was time to prank doctors, who were told of a nasty fight. Seven of them hurried to the jail. By the end of the day, the prank would also snag local bankers, a man known to be a gunfighter, the funeral director, and a local grain dealer. The editor of Enid newspaper, hearing about a "hot story" developing at the jail, arrived in time to document the events.

Town panics as students told to repeat year

Not every prank has a happy ending. In April 2020, just as the COVID-19 pandemic was ramping up and kids were being sent home from school, a newspaper in Sapulpa published an article online that warned parents that the school year would need to be repeated.

The article didn't stay up for long, and the Sapulpa Times issued this apology:

"The story was meant as an innocent April Fools’ Day joke and was an attempt to draw some humor into a time where it’s sorely needed. In hindsight, publishing the story was a mistake and the joke was not funny to a lot of the anxious parents and teachers who are dealing with preparing for distance learning next week. We sincerely apologize for any grief or stress the story may have caused."

Sheriff introduces 'tactical police cats'

In 2022, the Oklahoma County Sheriff's Office announced it would be retiring its K-9 officers in favor of a new feline program.

Staff Sgt. and "feline handler" Bradley Wynn debuted two of the new police cats, reportedly named Cujo and Bloodfang, in a Facebook video.

"The ancient Egyptians worshipped cats because of their loyalty and grace, but also because of their keen sense of smell that led them to find spices that were used back then," Wynn explained. "We are capitalizing on those natural abilities to produce the best tactical feline program in the country. It's the future of policing!"