Last night I became statistic. I became one of the 18 million Americans who have been “Rickrolled.” I’m still recovering from the traumatic experience.

So, what is Rick Rolling, you wonder? According Wikipedia:

 Rickrolling is a prank and Internet meme involving the music video for the 1987 Rick Astley song “Never Gonna Give You Up“. The meme is a classic bait and switch: a person provides a Web link they claim is relevant to the topic at hand, but the link actually takes the user to the Astley video. The URL can be masked or obfuscated in some manner so that the user cannot determine the true source of the link without clicking (and thus satisfying their curiosity). By extension, it can also mean playing the song loudly in public in order to be disruptive.^[1] A person who falls for the prank is said to have been “Rickrolled”. 

Here’s how it happened to me. I was chilling out last night, perusing jokes on Comic Wonder, when I clicked on one of StabbytheClown’s jokes. Half way through the joke, out of nowhere, BAM!—I got Rickrolled.

Here’s a link to the offending joke: http://www.comicwonder.com/joke/8a46a9b4a. If anything, it’s a great way to learn how to set up a Rickroll. Also, here’s another link to Rickrolling: http://www.yougotrickrolled.com/

Me, I’ve learned two things from this episode: One is never trust a clown. The other thing I’ve learned is that …

 Time and time again it’s true
Girl I want to be with you
Every night and every day, yeah

And girl, therefore:

Never gonna give up on love
(I’ll never)
Never gonna give up on you
Never gonna give up on us
(I’ll never)
After all we’ve been through
Never gonna give up my heart
(I’ll never)
To no one but you
Never gonna give up on love
Never gonna give up on you, yeah 

Oh the humanity! Will somebody please get this song out of my head! Curse you, StabbytheClown, whoever you are!

One of the benefits of my job is that I get to work in the comfort of my home. If I want to take a break I can just kick back and relax on the sofa, I work in my sweats more often than I probably should and I don’t have to deal with sitting in traffic trying to get to an office. I typically sit at my kitchen table (which causes me to eat way more than I should) and work while watching the neighbors mow their lawns and walk their dogs. It’s a pretty nice gig, I must admit.

That is until something like today happens…I look out my window and see a neighbor’s dog doing his business in my yard and the guy DOESN’T pick it up! And let me tell you friends, it was no small dog – if you get what I’m saying. What am I supposed to do, run out there and say something? Offer up a baggie? I don’t have a dog for the very reason I don’t want to deal with this situation, let alone a strangers dogs. Is there dog poo etiquette? Maybe I should post it in my yard…yeah, that won’t make me look crazy.

I read a while ago that some cities where dog poo-ing and lazy owners live, people have come to the point where they put peanut butter on the poo so the dogs then come back and eat it. But, I don’t think I can torture the dog for the owner’s stupidity and I don’t think I want to come that close to the poo. Yuck, I would probably gag. Being that I’m not very confrontational, I haven’t yet gone running out to yell at the people I see doing this, or I mean letting their dog do it. What really is the difference though - they might as well be the ones poo-ing. Actually, that’s a pretty bad image - scratch that thought. Instead, I think one of these days I’ll follow them to see where they live and the next time we have a summer bash, my husband and all his friends can go relieve themselves on their lawn. They really can’t get mad, can they?!

So - if you have a dog and you walk it to do its business – don’t forget people do work from home and can see you!

Speaking of dogs, there are a lot of great dog jokes on the site, click here to check them out!

Everyone knows that April Fools’ Day is a celebration of jokes, tricks, pranks and “pulling one over” on others .

For the Top 100 April Fool’s Day hoaxes of all time - click here.

But, where did it all begin? Its origins are actually uncertain. Some see it as a celebration related to the turn of the seasons (people’s general joy and lightheartedness at the coming of spring), while others believe it stems from the adoption of a new calendar. Ancient cultures, including those as varied as the Romans and the Hindus, celebrated New Year’s Day on or around April 1. It closely follows the vernal equinox (March 20th or March 21st.) In medieval times, much of Europe celebrated March 25, the Feast of Annunciation, as the beginning of the new year.

In 1582, Pope Gregory XIII ordered a new calendar (the Gregorian Calendar) to replace the old Julian Calendar. The new calendar called for New Year’s Day to be celebrated Jan. 1. That year, France adopted the reformed calendar and shifted New Year’s day to Jan. 1.

According to a popular explanation, many people either refused to accept the new date, or did not learn about it, and continued to celebrate New Year’s Day on April 1. Other people began to make fun of these traditionalists, sending them on “fool’s errands” or trying to trick them into believing something false. Eventually, the practice spread throughout Europe.

There are at least two difficulties with this explanation. The first is that it doesn’t fully account for the spread of April Fools’ Day to other European countries. The Gregorian calendar was not adopted by England until 1752, for example, but April Fools’ Day was already well established there by that point. The second is that we have no direct historical evidence for this explanation, only conjecture, and that conjecture appears to have been made more recently. For more info, go to http://www.infoplease.com/spot/aprilfools1.html.

If the joke is on you this April Fools’ Day, take the advice of Max Eastman, “It is the ability to take a joke, not make one, that proves you have a sense of humor.”

With all that is weighing on the mind of the average American — from the war to an unstable economy, few could argue that what we need is a good laugh. Unfortunately, the one day each year dedicated to humor — April Fools’ Day — has become such a theatrical production that most ignore it altogether. Thankfully, Comic Wonder offers just what we need to get back to what April Fools is really about.

Instead of figuring out how to reassemble a car inside your boss’ office or mock-up divorce papers in Photoshop, Comic Wonder is delivering all that is needed to get people laughing this April Fools’ Day and it doesn’t require elaborate schemes or plots. Comic Wonder suggests we get back to the roots of April Fools’ Day and simply tell a good joke.

“The magic behind good humor, whether a complicated prank or just a good joke, is the element of surprise,” said Mark Metcalf, Head of Humor for Comic Wonder. “When it comes to joke telling, there’s an art to ensuring you hook your audience enough to surprise them at the end.” Metcalf is best known for his roles as Neidermeyer in Animal House and as “The Maestro” on Seinfeld.

Chris “Captainhilariousness” Cashman, agrees that one of the most important elements of good joke telling is the art of “fooling” people. “The best way to catch someone off guard is to turn a joke into a believable story,” said Cashman, a Seattle native who was voted the 2007 Comic Wonder of the Year. “I often take a joke I’ve read or heard and turn it into a personal anecdote. That way when you get to the punch line, it hits them right between the eyes. That’s the surprise I’m looking for. It’s more effective than a tired whoopee cushion or the painful ‘A guy walks into a bar’ routine.”

Cashman suggests inserting yourself, a friend, or relative into the narrative, as he did with his award-winning joke titled “Puzzled Sister.” The personalized story recounts one fateful evening when Cashman’s ditzy sister suggested an alternative activity — assembling a puzzle — to replace their weekly movie night.

To help those desperately seeking funny and surprising jokes, Cashman offers five tips to make this April Fools’ Day a success.

1. Choose Your Material Carefully

There are plenty of text jokes waiting to be brought to life by a joke-teller. Visit your inbox, Google or check out Comic Wonder’s “Joke Limbo” area to find material to work with. If you really want to fool someone, create a story that they can start to believe. If you don’t have a boat, don’t start with “I was hanging out on my yacht with the Pope … ” as this will immediately tip off the victim. And, finally, does the material have a good opportunity for a great surprise twist at the end?

2. Personalize/Localize

Instead of the obvious, “A guy walks into a bar … ” customize it to, “Last weekend, my buddies and I stopped by Chasers for a drink after the game … ” If the joke is about the debacle or debauchery of one of our fine elected public servants, localize it by using the name of a well-known local politician.

3. Transform the “Joke” into a Believable Story

Details can transform a funny “joke” into a memorable story. Use situations and details that people know. Get them nodding their head in agreement while the story unfolds. Elaborate. Instead of, “I was in an accident recently.” Try, “You’re not going to believe this. I had a car accident the other day — on the corner of Fifth St. and Main — you know that really busy intersection ….”

4. Develop Characters

Elevate your joke-telling performance by becoming the characters. Avoid the “he said, she said, and they replied” type dialogue. That won’t cut it. Develop a character voice that fits each person in the story. Now you’re acting out the dialogue instead of reading it like a newspaper story. Instead of saying “my wife was really angry with me,” act out exactly how angry your wife was using a caricature of her voice. (You may not want to use this method if you are telling the joke to your wife.)

5. Learn from Listening

Build your joke-telling skills by listening to good joke performances. This allows you to fine-tune the performance and the material. Comic Wonder has tons of categorized audio joke performances to learn from and laugh at. You don’t have to copy someone else’s style, but you can learn from, improve it and build your own joke-telling repertoire.