No fooling: Caribou Coffee and Uber partner for skyway pedicab service in Minneapolis

It seemed like just another April Fools' Day prank when Uber Minnesota and Caribou Coffee tweeted early Friday that Minneapolites could grab pedicabs through the downtown skyway to shorten their commutes.

But for the jaded nonbelievers, the joke was on them.

During the busy lunch hours, Uber and Caribou with the help of Twin Town Pedicabs are providing free pedicab rides and "caramel Uber latte" for adventurous travelers in a limited part of the skyway system.

Uber users can also request pedicabs through the Uber mobile app.

"I seriously thought it was an April Fools' joke or something," said Nishant Gupta, 30, Minneapolis, after he received an e-mail from Uber about the service.

But then Gupta and a friend spotted a pedicab during their lunch break and decided to give it a try.

"It was definitely a unique experience," said Bill Volkmeier, 48, of Buffalo, Minn.

"I really hope this thing actually becomes a real thing; it would be awesome!" Gupta said.

If skyway goers still want to try to snag a ride before the 2 p.m. endtime, pedicabs can be hailed in the skyway at 50 6th Street, the RBC plaza and U.S. Bancorp building.

Besides coffee and pedicabs, other brands and businesses are getting in on the fun.

Como Zoo announced — in true April Fools' fashion — that they will be airlifting four Giraffes to a Kandiyohi County man in exchange for four alpacas and a bushel of Granny Smith apples.

Matt Reinartz, marketing and public relations manager for the zoo, said he made sure to throw hints into the release, but some people never got the joke.

Besides the alpaca-giraffe exchange rate, the top of their faux-release features a quotes from helicopter pilots with the nicknames "Maverick" and "Iceman," characters from the movie "Top Gun."

Zoo staff will also leave messages from phony animal-themed agents —like Mr. Wolf or Lion — to get people to call a line where they listen to a rendition of an animal signature sound before being informed they were pranked.

Hamburger Helper released a hip-hop mix-tape that is blowing up on Twitter. The album features five songs with titles like "Feed the Streets" and "In Love with the Glove," referencing the brand's mascot, Lefty. A few of the album's new disciples are saying it puts the mix tapes of real, well-known rap artists to shame.

Local coffee chain Dunn Bros announced a new Minnesota-grown coffee bean they describe as bland with flavor notes that are "more passive aggressive than aggressive. "

Leann Chin announced to Facebook that they are cancelling production of their cream cheese puffs due to a national cream cheese shortage. Commenters must not have checked their calendars, saying they have seen stacks of the dairy product at their local supermarkets.