If elaborate pranks aren’t your style, you can’t go wrong with a good old-fashioned whoopee cushion. But before planting one, why not sit down (on a perfectly harmless chair) and enjoy these breezy ...

April Fools' pranks come and go, but one joke item that's stood the test of time is the whoopee cushion. Today, we trace its history from ancient Rome to now. Where did it come from? Why is it funny?

This archived news story is available only for your personal, non-commercial use. Information in the story may be outdated or superseded by additional information. Reading or replaying the story in ...

Who was Santa, really? Aged eight, I devised a cunning plan to catch him in the act, involving a booby trap and a camera. Unfortunately, the joke was on me … It was Christmas Eve, 1987. The cold war ...