It's 6 a.m. April 1, 1994. Bobby Rich has a list of headlines in his hand he plans to read until one flies. As the disc jockey goes on the air, he reads the first one.
"Lute Olson announced his retirement last night."
At the time, Olson, then basketball coach of the Wildcats, was in North Carolina, where his Cats were set to play in the Final Four.
"No sooner had we gone on the air and made the announcement than a listener called and played along. She said 'I was watching that on TV last night and I couldn't believe it.' We didn't put her up to it. She knew we were joking and she fed into it."
It was a practical joke that went totally out of control. News stations were parked in the radio station's lobby. Newspapers called. National news started calling the radio station.
People are also reading…
"Next thing I know, we were getting a call asking for confirmation of the Lute Olson retirement story," says Rich.
"I said, 'Please, note the date. It's April 1.'
"I never expected that to take off. I mean, they were on their way to the Final Four!"
Not all practical jokes take on such an active, expansive life. And Rich, now a jock from 5 to 9 a.m. on 94.9 Mix FM, doesn't recommend ones that might: He got in trouble with his boss, who just a few weeks before had posted a note that said no untruths should be uttered live on air. And enough of his listeners believed it and felt duped. It's bad customer service to make your listeners feel foolish, he says.
Since those days, Rich has learned the biggest rule when practicing the art of the practical joke: Intent.
"You don't want to hurt anybody or make them feel stupid," he says, "unless it's totally in an innocent or humorous way."
Tim Nyberg, author of a number of books on practical jokes, agrees.
"No permanent property or bodily damage" is the basic tenet of a good practical joke he says in an email interview.
The other basics: "Everyone has fun; no one lands in jail," said Nyberg, whose most recent book is "The Practical Joker's Handbook - The Sequel" (Andrews McMeel Publishing, 2010).
Here's some more words of wisdom from Nyberg, who first broke out on the funny-scene with his 1994 bestseller, "Duct Tape Guys," written with Tony Dierckins and Jim Berg:
How necessary are practical jokes to our lives - if at all?
"Entertainment, laughter and little breaks from our serious work-a-day world are very important. Especially in stressful, and/or tough economic times, humor can be a valuable tool to distract us, unite us, and even help us make it through."
Is it better to be on the receiving or giving end?
"You may have to prime the pump by starting the process. But, be prepared for retribution. And then, give the joker the satisfaction of you laughing at yourself falling for the prank. In other words, dish it out, but be ready to take it. There is nothing better than finding a good practical joke partner with whom you can continue alternating pranks."
Let's say you've pulled off the perfect practical joke, and the recipient finds absolutely nothing funny or redeeming about it. You are in deep trouble. What next?
"Cut your losses. Apologize to the person, assure that you meant it to be funny (and you now understand that it was apparently anything but). Then direct your future efforts at someone who has a more developed sense of humor."
Have you a favorite joke that's been pulled on you?
"A radio station scheduled an interview with me about 'The Practical Joker's Handbook' and they motor-mouthed over the entire interview, never letting me get a word in edgewise."
What are you doing April 1?
Nothing (as far as you know). That said … April 1st isn't really the best time to pull a practical joke - people are usually expecting it.
Humorous or damaging? Impact of practical joke depends on relationships
This joking stuff is serious business.
Moira Smith knows this. She's a librarian at Indiana University specializing in folklore and humor, among other subjects. She's written extensively on humor and is currently revising a manuscript on practical jokes and humor theory.
And the folklorist knows this:
Practical jokes have been around a long, long time.
"As soon as humans began to mess with language, they learned how to make jokes," said Smith in a phone interview last week.
"Practical jokes are related to play - it's a very fundamental thing."
It was a practical joke in her native New Zealand that piqued her interest and launched her into her field of study.
Since the 19th century, university students in New Zealand have had a tradition of holding a festival on "capping day" - the day they graduate.
In the '50s, Smith said, that fest turned into large scale practical jokes, called "capping stunts."
"This happened in 1974," said Smith, recalling her epiphanic moment.
"There was a Swine Flu epidemic that year. The students got a hold of fake letterhead that looked like it came from the Ministry of Health, wrote a notice on it and posted it all over town. It said they wanted to do a survey on the prevalence of Swine Flu. They asked everybody, on a specified day, to gather a urine sample of everyone in the household and take it to the nearest post office. Some saw that notice and knew it was students doing their silly stuff. But others did do it, and the post office had no idea what to do with all these samples."
Defining a practical joke isn't easy, says Smith.
"A narrow definition is a trick that is played for the purpose of amusement," she says. "A play activity in which one or two parties are unaware of the play."
And for academic purposes, they are very hard to measure because they are primarily private.
"We can measure a practical joke that's very public, one group against another. Those you can track."
One of the easiest to measure: those pulled by the media.
"It's gotten huge; it's worldwide," said Smith, noting that the jokes can be played through newspapers, radio, television and the internet.
"Every year there will be a rash of jokes from the media," she says.
"The classic one that is the Guardian's San Serriffe supplement."
On April 1, 1977, that British newspaper published a special advertising supplement touting the islands of San Serriffe.
The extensive supplement said San Serriffe (a take on sans serif, a type font) had two islands, Caissa Superiore (think upper case) and Caissa Inferiore (lower case).
The seven-page supplement told of the island culture, government, history … it went on and on in great detail, most names and places were printing puns or take-offs of printing terms.
"It fooled a lot of people," Smith says. "There were people who wanted to move and work there."
Whether the joke is big and elaborate, or small and personal, there are rules, says Smith.
"The key thing is not the joke, but the relationship between the parties. Practical jokers will tell you over and over, you have to know your target."
Contact reporter Kathleen Allen at kallen@azstarnet.com or 573-4128. Kathleen Allen