The Biggest April Fools Pranks of All Time

10. Aligned Planets Decrease Earth's Gravitational Field - 1976 - England

British astrologist Patrick Moore announced on the BBC2 Radio that, due to Pluto's alignment with Jupiter as they passed each other at approximately 9:47am, the Earth's gravitational field would be compromised. Anyone who jumped in the air at that exact moment would experience a nifty floating sensation. Although it was not true, hundreds of folks called in to the BBC to report that it worked - and some of them even reported floating around their homes.

9. Hot Headed Naked Ice Borers - 1995 - Antarctica

Discover magazine reported that wildlife biologist Dr. Aprile Pazzo had discovered a new species in Antarctica that sort of resembled a rhinoceros. The new creature had bony plates on its head that could heat up and melt the ice in order to create tunnels at rapid speed. The magazine went on to say that Dr. Pazzo speculated the hot headed naked ice borers were behind the mysterious disappearance of Antarctic explorer Philippe Poisson in 1837.

8. Left-Handed Whopper - 1998 - USA

Via a full-page ad in the NY Times, Burger King announced the arrival of their newest menu item - the left handed Whopper. This burger was specifically designed for left handed eaters due to the placement of its condiments being rotated at 180 degrees. Thousands of customers went into their local Burger King establishments, wanting to order one of these special burgers. Just about as many righties showed up demanding a right handed version as well.

7. Alabama's Piece of Pi - 1998 - USA

Physicist named Mark Boslough penned a satire article stating that the Alabama legislature had changed the value of pi from 3.14159 to the Biblical version of 3.0. The article was meant to poke fun at the legislature's stance on teaching evolution. The article appeared in the newsletter New Mexicans For Science and Reason and then it exploded onto the Internet. No one was aware of the fuss the article had caused until agitated readers began to file complaints with the state's legislature.

6. Nixon's Second Run - 1992 - USA

NPR's show Talk of The Nation announced that Richard Nixon was going to run for presidential office once again. His new campaign slogan was to be, "I didn't do anything wrong and I won't do it again." Voice clips of 'Nixon' delivering his candidacy message were also played on the program. Those clips were created using the voice of Rich Little. Irate listeners lit up the phone lines to express their disgust and outrage. The hoax was revealed toward the end of the show.

5. Punctuation Paradise - 1977 - England
The Guardian newspaper devoted a seven page feature to a fictitious chain of semi-colon shaped islands located in the Indian Ocean. The island chain was called San Serriffe. Nobody noticed the names of all the geographical regions of the chain were all derived from printer's terminology. The largest two islands were named Upper Caisse and Lower Caisse and the leader was General Pica. Readers called into the station by the droves, wanting to know more information about this newfound paradise.

4. Give Me Taco Bell or Give Me Death - 1996 - USA

The Taco Bell Corporation announced that it had purchased the Liberty Bell from the National Historic Park in Philadelphia and re-named it The Taco Liberty Bell. Of course, the park office was flooded with calls from upset patriots. This went on for a few hours, until Taco Bell revealed it was all a hoax.

3. Control Top TV - 1962- Sweden

In 1962, the only TV station in Sweden broadcast in black and white. The tech expert for that station made an appearance on the local news to tell the country about his technological discovery - color TV - and how they, too, could get in on the action. All they had to do was stretch a nylon stocking over their TV screens and everything would then appear in Technicolor! The good news was short lived - and future TV pranks were not delivered in color in Sweden until 1970.

2. Record-breaking Monk - 1985 - USA

Sports Illustration ran a profile for a rookie pitcher named Sidd Finch, who was to have signed with the Mets. Finch was reported to pitch a ball at 168mph - an unheard of speed at the time. The previous record was only 103mph. The article went on to say Finch had never played a game of baseball before. He learned how to pitch - and only pitch - at a monastery in Tibet. Requests came from all over, wanting more information about this Golden Child of Pitch - but the only information left to give was that he never existed.

1. Sowing Spaghetti - 1957 - Switzerland

BBC reported that Swiss spaghetti farmers were enjoying a bumper crop of spaghetti that season, due to a mild winter and the eradication of the spaghetti weevil. The report was complete with video showing farmers pulling the strands of noodles down from trees. Excited viewers immediately began to call the station to ask where they could get their hands on one of those spaghetti trees. They were instructed by the BBC to place a strand of spaghetti in a can of tomato sauce and hope for the best.

Source:
Museum of Hoaxes