Alphabet (NASDAQ: GOOG)(NASDAQ: GOOGL) doesn't think the coronavirus is a laughing matter, so its Google division is cancelling its annual April Fools' pratfalls "out of respect for all those fighting the COVID-19 pandemic." According to an internal memo first reported on by Business Insider, Google is nixing its usual corporate light-hearted fare and is also asking employees to "suss out those efforts and make sure your teams pause on any jokes they may have planned -- internally or externally." Image source: Getty Images. A time and place for laughter Google has run April Fools' Day pranks for two decades -- even after the September 11 terrorist attacks -- and they usually span all of its properties. However, there has never been a national, let alone global, emergency playing itself out during the immediate period ahead of the holiday. While some have tried to cancel April Fools' jokes in past years for various reasons, others argue pulling pranks on friends, family, and colleagues -- even on the internet itself -- is simply harmless fun. During periods of unrelenting dour news, it is a useful relief valve, a sort of gallows humor that breaks the oppressive gloom of the situation. "Our highest goal right now is to be helpful to people, so let's save the jokes for next April, which will undoubtedly be a whole lot brighter than this one," Google's internal memo said. There is certainly some sense to Google postponing such festivities, as it is busy ensuring critical, potential lifesaving information is readily available on the internet. It is developing websites to serve as a national clearinghouse for the coronavirus, risks, and testing. 10 stocks we like better than Alphabet (C shares)When investing geniuses David and Tom Gardner have a stock tip, it can pay to listen. After all, the newsletter they have run for over a decade, Motley Fool Stock Advisor, has tripled the market.* David and Tom just revealed what they believe are the ten best stocks for investors to buy right now... and Alphabet (C shares) wasn't one of them! That's right -- they think these 10 stocks are even better buys. See the 10 stocks *Stock Advisor returns as of March 18, 2020 Suzanne Frey, an executive at Alphabet, is a member of The Motley Fool's board of directors. Rich Duprey has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool owns shares of and recommends Alphabet (A shares) and Alphabet (C shares). The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.Source