Truth be told, April Fool's Day is a big deal in my house.
And while I'm certainly not above pulling a good prank or three or six, it's not really me who sets the tone on this one.
You see, my wife Melissa is chief prankster in our house and has tried to pass along this important trait to each of our kids. This is the woman who once dropped something in the basement resulting in a loud clang, heard me yell down to see if she was OK and didn't respond.
As I raced to the stairs, I found her lying on the floor motionless. But before I could reach her she sat up and started to laugh. It wasn't even April 1.
So that's what I'm dealing with. There have been countless kind of gags over the years. I have repeatedly washed my hands with pancake syrup, which was put in the soap dispenser, one year until I realized what was going on. That was a tag-team effort between my wife and my kids.
There are just so many.
So it gave me a chuckle this year when I saw that a regional brewer, Great Lakes Brewing Co., had decided to start putting their products in plastic pouches ala Capri Sun.
Complete with one of those little straws that make you face look funny when you use them.
Thanks to my years of training while being married to a champion prankster, I was on high alert on April 1 for any and all nonsense. So when that came through on my Facebook feed, I chuckled and then clicked on the image.
It was a good one.
Full disclosure, I'm aware of at least one person on the Plastics News staff that thought this was legit. For the sake of all involved, I'll keep that source anonymous.
So take a look and enjoy, even though it's no longer April Fool's Day. Here's a link to the company's Facebook page. Just scroll down a bit and you will see the pouch. For some extra entertainment, take a few minutes to read the comments. You won't be disappointed.
This year, thanks to April Fool's Day also being Easter, the high jinks were kept to a minimum at my house as other activities served to divert attention. It was only with this divine intervention that I was spared maple smelling hands this time around.
But I'll be on high alert next year, trust me, and I'll be ready with some pancakes if necessary.