Every year, just about this time, 10-year-old Jon Calvin plans a special shopping trip.

While he is a growing boy, he doesn’t need new clothes. There is no urge to replenish the school supplies or even track down the latest video game. No, Calvin has a much more important reason for his trip. Jokes.

Not just any jokes, we’re not talking comedy books with 1001 knock knock jocks already told by millions of 10-year-olds around the world. Oh, no. We’re talking tricks of the trade, things to make parents and older sisters squirm, scream and then turn around partially mad but laughing.

That’s right, Calvin is a connoisseur on the hunt for the perfect April Fool’s Day joke. When he needs something good, the Palo Alto resident shops in Redwood City at House of Humor.

Calvin is a huge fan of the shocking jokes, but this year is going for a fake burger patty trick. There were even a couple of fake fish in his basket of fun. One for him, another for a friend.

The store boasts a wide variety of novelty items from shocking gum to fake kitty poop. For 21 years, House of Humor owner Jack Greenbaum made it his business to make people smile.

When he bought the store it was a magic shop that was converted into a novelty store. Greenbaum said he always liked a little bit of trouble and the store was just fun.

“It was very fun and I got carried away,” he said.

Now the store has everything from a huge variety of over 600 wigs to extreme amounts of costumes and professional makeup options.

Even with just a couple of bucks, a person can get something to help play a fun joke on a friend.

Manager Robin Wright said she’s seen a number of jokes work really well on unsuspecting people.

The best selling item is the remote-controlled fart boom box. Rather than a traditional whoopee cushion, which still works well when blown up and slyly placed under a couch cushion, using a remote-controlled fart machine will allow a stealth approach to repeatedly embarrassing a friend.

An average looking, but plastic, bagel is placed on a small white paper plate. When Wright lifts it, however, a cockroach flies out from underneath.

“I’ve actually seen that work on lots of grown women,” she said with a smile.

The staff was also big fans of winning lottery tickets. Take the Lucky Day scratcher, which boasts a prize of up to $10,000. Scratch off the six numbers within the leprechaun’s pot of gold and match three numbers to win.

The directions said prizes can be claimed at “Ya Mama’ House!” or by mail using a claim form supplied by the tooth fairy. Mailed in forms are addressed to Santa Clause in the North Pole. And the catch is, the prize must be claimed within 30 seconds of scratching.

When Anna Ayala found a severed finger in her chili at a San Jose Wendy’s restaurant last year, sales for plastic bloody fingers went way up, said Wright.

Instead of messing with someone’s food, try screwing with a drink. Plastic ice cubes with bugs are classic or pick up a small vile at the store that turns any liquid into a gel. This makes drinking a bit difficult.

Worker Liz Villalobos said get a little creative with a disguise. Use a wig and some glasses and wander behind a friend or family member.

Just not a stranger.

That might be creepy.

If anyone still needs ideas, Greenbaum said stop on by and the staff would be happy to help with suggestions.

House of Humor is at 747 El Camino Real, Redwood City. For more information call 368-5524.

Heather Murtagh can be reached by e-mail: heather@smdailyjournal.com or by phone: (650) 344-5200 ext. 105. What do you think of this story? Send a letter to the editor: letters@smdailyjournal.com.

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Top five best jokes

5. In 1977, the British newspaper “The Guardian” published a special seven-page supplement in honor of the 10th anniversary of San Serriffe, a small republic located in the Indian Ocean consisting of several semi-colon-shaped islands. A series of articles affectionately described the geography and culture of this obscure nation. Its two main islands were named Upper Caisse and Lower Caisse. Its capital was Bodoni, and its leader was General Pica. The Guardian’s phones rang all day as readers sought more information about the idyllic holiday spot. Few noticed that everything about the island was named after printer’s terminology.

4. In 1996, the Taco Bell Corporation announced it had bought the Liberty Bell from the federal government and was renaming it the Taco Liberty Bell. Hundreds of outraged citizens called up the National Historic Park in Philadelphia where the bell is housed to express their anger. Their nerves were only calmed when Taco Bell revealed that it was all a practical joke a few hours later.

3. In 1962, there was only one television channel in Sweden, and it broadcast in black and white. The station’s technical expert, Kjell Stensson, appeared on the news to announce that thanks to a newly developed technology, all viewers could now quickly and easily convert their existing sets to display color reception. All they had to do was pull a nylon stocking over their TV screen, and they would begin to see their favorite shows in color. Stensson then proceeded to demonstrate the process. Reportedly, hundreds of thousands of people, out of the population of seven million, were taken in.

2. In its April 1985 edition, “Sports Illustrated” published a story about a new rookie pitcher who planned to play for the Mets. His name was Sidd Finch and he could reportedly throw a baseball with startling, pinpoint accuracy at 168 mph (65 mph faster than anyone else has ever been able to throw a ball). Surprisingly, Sidd Finch had never even played the game before and mastered the “art of the pitch” in a Tibetan monastery under the guidance of the “great poet-saint Lama Milaraspa.” Mets fans everywhere celebrated at their team’s amazing luck at having found such a gifted player.

1. In 1957, the respected BBC news show “Panorama” announced that thanks to a very mild winter and the virtual elimination of the dreaded spaghetti weevil, Swiss farmers were enjoying a bumper spaghetti crop. It accompanied this announcement with footage of Swiss peasants pulling strands of spaghetti down from trees. Huge numbers of viewers were taken in, and many called up wanting to know how they could grow their own spaghetti trees. To this question, the BBC diplomatically replied that they should “place a sprig of spaghetti in a tin of tomato sauce and hope for the best.”

Worst hoaxes ever

2. Inspired by a scene from the film “National Lampoon’s Vacation,” Paul Goobie tied a dead Chihuahua to the bumper of his co-worker’s car. His co-worker, Kevin Meloy, got in the car and drove off, unaware that the Chihuahua was there. Obviously passing motorists were horrified. But what made the situation even worse was that Meloy was deaf, so he couldn’t hear the other motorists frantically honking at him. Happily he drove on for miles until finally someone was able to get his attention. Police charged Goobie with unlawful disposal of a dead animal.

1. Saddam Hussein and his sons may have been ruthless, power-hungry dictators, but that didn’t stop them from trying to give the people of Iraq a good chuckle every April Fool’s Day. On April 1, 1998 the “Babil” newspaper, owned by Hussein’s son Uday, informed its readers that President Bill Clinton had decided to lift sanctions against Iraq, only to admit later that it was just joking. The laughs continued in 1999 when Uday mischievously announced that the monthly food rations would be supplemented to include bananas, Pepsi, and chocolate. Both jokes were used again in the following years.

Tricks to try

• Unscrew a friend’s shower head then put a couple jolly ranchers inside. Put the shower head back on. When the person uses the shower it will spray sugar water on them. All day the person will be sticky and not know why.

• If it’s an office joke needed try leaving a message that a Mr. Seal or Mr. Bear called for whatever reason, but give them the San Francisco Zoo’s phone number. The number, by the way, is (415) 753-7080.

• Buy a remote control fart machine. Put the fart machine in the clean diaper of a baby, preferably one who had recently relieved itself, then pass the baby around to friends and family. Have fun with the remote and watch the faces grimace as they continue to chat in baby voices.

• Know someone who just bought new carpet? Give some fake cigarette burns a try.

• How about a new car? Bullet hole stickers are cheap and easy to place.

• Got a roommate who takes too long in the bathroom? Untearable toilet paper is the ticket. Just chuckle as they scramble for some kind of paper product. Smart people would clear those paper products, including emptying the trash can, prior to setting up this joke.