Tumblr's History of Zany April Fools' Pranks Takes A Silly Turn

The History of April Fools' Pranks on Tumblr

Every year on April 1st, internet platforms are flooded with pranks and jokes in celebration of April Fools' Day. The tradition of pulling April Fools’ pranks has become an integral part of internet culture. And Tumblr, known for its quirky and creative community, has seen some of the most elaborate and humorous April Fools’ hoaxes over the years.

Tumblr's First Major April Fools' Prank

Tumblr's first major April Fools' prank took place in 2011 when the site announced the Tumblphone - a fake smartphone that could be used to Tumbl "on the go." The satirical announcement included prototypes of the phone and details on supposed features like "flavors" that would release scents as you Tumbl'd.

The Tumblphone prank demonstrated Tumblr's early reputation for oddball humor. And it set the stage for more April Fools' tricks in later years.

Marvel and DC Tumblrs Get Swapped

In 2017, Tumblr staged an epic April Fools' stunt by swapping the official Marvel and DC Tumblr accounts for the day. Marvel's Tumblr displayed DC comics and characters while DC's featured Marvel content instead. Even the account descriptions were rewritten to reflect the opposite brand.

The switch delighted fans and demonstrated Tumblr's spirit of fun. The prank required coordination between high-profile brands, showing that Tumblr April Fools' jokes can transcend the platform.

tumblr april fools 2023

After over a decade of outrageous April 1st pranks, expectations were high for what Tumblr would do for April Fools' Day 2023. And this year's gag, while smaller in scale, still captured Tumblr's eccentric sense of humor.

Every Photo Gets a Crab

On April 1, 2023, Tumblrs across the platform noticed something strange happening with photos in their posts and reblogs. Every image was now featuring a small crab in the bottom right corner along with a joking caption about the crab.

The crab edit applied to millions of existing photos as well as any newly uploaded images. Users soon realized they had fallen victim to Tumblr's 2023 April Fools' trick.

Chaotic Crab Captions Cause Headaches

While the crab visual was funny enough, the added crab captions took the prank to another level. Phrases like "this is my house now" and "I live here rent free" appended existing photo captions with the part about the crab._

However, because captions differed across reblogs, fixing or removing the automatic crab text proved extremely tricky. Moderators had to manually edit every crab caption one by one.

Tumblr Tongue-in-Cheek Humor

In the end, the crab invasion captured Tumblr's unusual sense of humor. The visual gag paired with chaotic execution was weird yet funny. Just like Tumblr itself.

By midnight on April 1st the crabs disappeared, leaving only memories. And the door open for whatever oddball joke Tumblr cooks up next April Fools' Day.

FAQs

What exactly was Tumblr's 2023 April Fools' Day prank?

Tumblr's prank added an image of a small crab to the bottom corner of every photo across the platform along with an automatically generated silly caption about the crab now living there rent free or claiming the picture as its own house.

How long did the April Fools' crab edit last?

The prank with crabs on all photos started on April 1st and the effects automatically disappeared by midnight, though users had to manually remove the odd crab captions from their posts.

Could you turn off or opt out of Tumblr’s April Fools’ Day prank?

Unfortunately there was no way to prevent the crab image and captions from being added to photos during April Fools. It was a site-wide effect out of users’ control.

Did Tumblr do any previous April Fools’ Day pranks?

Yes, Tumblr has a long history of participating in April 1st with past pranks like 2017's swap of the official Marvel and DC Tumblr accounts and the 2011 April Fools' joke announcing the fake product the "Tumblphone."