April Fools’ Day pranks on the web imply that we’re not trying to fool each other every day in web design anyway. Indeed, one of my favorite comments I received on an article was, “I can’t believe my eyes!” You shouldn’t, since web design relies on fooling the user’s brain by manipulating the way we process visual information via Gestalt laws , which make a website feel real. April Fools’ Day on the web exemplifies what philosopher Jean Baudrillard called a deterrence machine — a single day on the calendar to celebrate funny fake news is like a theme park designed to make the fake constructs beyond its gates seem real by comparison. And oftentimes, the online pranks on April 1st are indistinguishable from the bizarreness that ensues all year round in the “real” virtual world. Real things that looked like April Fools’ pranks Tech has a history of April Fools’ Day announcements that remind me of what Philip K.…