April Fools’ Day comes around once a year, although sometimes it seems to come more often than that. Today, we are expected to play practical jokes, and to be the good-natured victims of jokes played by others. The tradition of practical joking on April 1 is less robust than it used to be, perhaps because every potential victim is poised to call his or her lawyer and sue for pain, humiliation or catastrophic injury. It’s safer to play jokes on your family and friends, if you have any friends left after last year. April Fool jokes vary from place to place. In Portugal, for example, I’m told that they throw flour at each other on this date. In France they secretly attach a paper fish to your back and cry out “ Poisson d’avril !” I know that sounds silly, but the French are fond of fish. Here in America you are more likely to be told that your shoelaces are untied, or have your clocks changed, or be inundated with mythical computer messages claiming that you have won the lottery or lost