Google Puts Their April Fools Pranks On Hold

Every year, Google has been part of the fanfare when it comes to charging up a ton of April Fools Day Jokes. This year, there is been a dark cloud hanging over the world, hence Google has decided to ditch April Fools Day out of respect to those battling the pandemic in its many forms.

One of their most memorable April Fools Day gags was Gmail Paper, which would have allowed users to send their email via standard post — on “94% post-consumer organic soybean sputum,” with sputum being the mucus you cough up when making a phlegm bomb.

According to a leaked memo obtained by Business Insider, there once again will not be a Google April Fools’ Day prank this year. This is now the second year in a row and only the second time since 2004 that Google has not participated in the tradition.

Google later confirmed the authenticity of that memo. In the letter to Google employees, Google VP Marvin Chow has this to say:

Throughout the past year, I have been so inspired by how helpful our products, programs, and people have been during humanity’s toughest times. We’ve done it with sensitivity and empathy, reflecting the range of challenging experiences so many are experiencing globally. As you will remember, last year we made the decision to pause our longstanding Google tradition of celebrating April Fools’ Day, out of respect for all those fighting COVID-19. With much of the world still grappling with serious challenges, we feel we should again pause the jokes for April Fools’ Day this year. Like we did last year, we should continue to find appropriate ways to bring moments of joy to our users throughout the year.

Added additional confirmation from Google.

“In 2020, we made the decision to pause our longstanding Google tradition of celebrating April Fools’ Day, out of respect for all those fighting COVID-19. With much of the world still grappling with serious challenges, we will again pause the jokes for April Fools’ Day in 2021,”