Of course Americans are easy targets for these pranks, but the one Taco Bell pulled on 1996 would have fooled many. The American fast food chain announced in six major newspapers that “in effort to help with national debt” they were going to buy one of the country’s most historic treasures- the Liberty Bell. They proclaimed they were going to rename it the “Taco Liberty Bell”. Thousands of infuriated buffoons called up to express their anger. The best line of the day came when a member White House press was asked about the sale. Thinking on his feet, he responded that the Lincoln Memorial had also been sold.
During an interview on BBC Radio 2, Patrick Moore (a British astronomer) broadcast that an exceptional astronomical occurrence would take place at exactly 9:47 am. Pluto was to pass directly behind Jupiter, in relation to the Earth resulting in temporarily cancelling out Earth’s own gravity, making people weigh less. Of course it was not true. However the BBC received hundreds of calls from people claiming it had worked! A Dutch woman called up and stated that her husband and she floated around the room together. One man even complained he had risen so suddenly that he hit his head and wanted compensation. What fools!
However my personal favourite prank was when the BBC aired a story about the Swiss spaghetti crop (clearly a fabricated plant), it was presented as a food source that was having a bumper year. The show included footage of Italian citizens picking spaghetti right of the trees! They encouraged viewers to grow their own spaghetti garden; again the BBC was bombarded with calls from curious viewers wanting to know more about the subject. If only there was such a thing as a spaghetti harvest...
April fool’s day is a perfect opportunity to get some laughs and make people look ridiculous. What if April fool’s day isn’t a special occasion at all and just something someone made up that the whole world has fallen for..?
