April Fools' Day is one day away, and you can expect April Fools' Day pranks, practical jokes, and other shenanigans coming from a wide variety of sources. There's the traditional sources for April Fools' Day gags, such as friends and coworkers, but with the growth of the Internet, and the opportunity for web traffic, don't be surprised if some big media outlets try playing you for a fool on April 1, 2008.

April Fools' Day can be a fun time playing jokes on friends and family, but don't be surprised to see April fools pranks coming from major media sources online, particularly with stories that appear rather outlandish. It can be hard to tell which stories may be pranks or true, especially since there's so much you're never going to believe this type of news appearing these days.

Consider news aggregating websites like Truemors (cofounded by Guy Kawasaki), that features stories on a regular basis with titles such as: Python Eats Alligator and Explodes, Smoking Safer Than Cell Phones, Supermarket Selling Stolen Credit Cards, and British Students Create Cat Dentures (note: these were actual recent headlines and none are related to April fools).

With a presidential election approaching this year, there's no doubt that someone will attempt a political April fools joke, involving news of one of the three (or maybe even all three) presidential hopefuls (Clinton, Obama, McCain). The way things spread so quickly on the Internet, I imagine a politically based April fools prank could result in a sticky situation for the prankster, prankstees, or both.

Were sure to hear about some new Internet service or a new mobile device that features some kind of unbelievable service. I also expect there will be April fools jokes played involving popular social media sites such as Facebook, MySpace, and Digg.

(photo: Know of any chiropractic offices that have hired canines to work as massage therapists?)

I don't know what pranksters have in store for us this April Fools Day, but let's hope it doesn't involve anybody getting injured, ill, or put in danger. Pranks using laxatives are caffeine are not uncommon, but they can prove to be dangerous for some individual (especially when mixed with other medications).

This being a chiropractic website, I have to mention that chiropractors are most likely to fall for April Fools' Day phone calls from their colleagues and patients. I can recall two that have been popular over the years. They both involve calling the chiropractor's office and scheduling for a new appointment. One involves a sense of urgency as the person calling has "thrown their back out" lifting large sacks of money. The caller wants to know if the office accepts cash for payment (most offices do) which is followed by gratefulness and praise from the caller, since the individual is on their way after just having robbed a local bank.