Saturday 1 April 2023

Fool if you think it's over

Among this year's best April Fools' Day pranks I've seen so far:

Then there's Ant & Dec's elaborate article claiming they are going to be in the next James Bond movie:


[click to embiggen]

But nothing quite beats the "classics":

The Swiss Spaghetti Harvest

1957: In solemn tones, respected journalist and broadcaster Richard Dimbleby announced on Panorama 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. Many called the BBC wanting to know how they could grow their own spaghetti tree. To this the BBC diplomatically replied, "place a sprig of spaghetti in a tin of tomato sauce and hope for the best."


San Serriffe



1977: The Guardian published a special seven-page supplement devoted to San Serriffe, a small republic said to consist of several semi-colon-shaped islands located in the Indian Ocean. 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 phones rang all day as readers sought more information about the idyllic holiday spot. Only a few noticed that everything about the island was named after printer's terminology. The success of this hoax is widely credited with launching the enthusiasm for April Foolery that gripped the British tabloids in subsequent decades.

Planetary Alignment Decreases Gravity

1976: Astronomer Patrick Moore announced on BBC Radio 2 that at 9:47 AM a once-in-a-lifetime astronomical event was going to occur that listeners could experience in their very own homes. The planet Pluto would pass behind Jupiter, temporarily causing a gravitational alignment that would counteract and lessen the Earth's own gravity. Moore told his listeners that if they jumped in the air at the exact moment that this planetary alignment occurred, they would experience a strange floating sensation. When 9:47 AM arrived, the BBC began to receive hundreds of phone calls from listeners claiming to have felt the sensation. One woman even reported that she and her eleven friends had risen from their chairs and floated around the room.

There'll be more to come, no doubt...

14 comments:

  1. "Fool (If You Think It's Over)" was my earworm last month. I don't know why. It just moved in one day and wouldn't leave.

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    1. I think I'd object rather violently if Chris Rea was stuck in my ear, tbh. Jx

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  2. My fondest April Fools joke involved melted Tootsie Rolls.

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    1. If I had any clue as to what a "tootsie roll" was, I might understand. Jx

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  3. These are so good! Have you ever heard the old song “On Top of Spaghetti”? It talks about a meatball tree. I need Mads to explain the melted Tootsie Roll Aprils Fools joke. I THINK I may know it.

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    1. "On top of spaghetti all covered with cheese
      I lost my poor meatball when somebody sneezed
      It rolled off the table, it rolled on the floor
      And then my poor meatball rolled out of the door"


      Yes, I remember it - we had a radio show called "Junior Choice" when I was little, and that was one of the favourites they played.

      I had to look up "Tootsie Roll". Apparently it's some kind of chocolate-covered toffee sweet? We had something similar called "Curly-Wurly", but that's a more convoluted-shaped item.

      Anyway, I wait with bated breath to find out what kind of April Fool is involved. I hope it's worth the wait. Jx

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  4. I could have sworn I was looking at a new, streamlined edition Hannah Gadsby, but no, just Declan Donnelly. Oh, and a Tootsie Roll is a long, malleable, turd-shaped piece of chocolate flavored carmel. The prank possibilities are endless!

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    1. Hannah whooo?

      I think I can guess the possibilities for pranks - over here we have a chocolate and nut-covered sweet called "Lion Bar", and when I was younger someone floated one in our local outdoor lido. The pool soon cleared! Jx

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  5. I am such a sucker, I almost always fall for any April Fools prank.

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  6. When I hear 'Fool if you think it's over' playing in my head it's always Elkie Brooks.
    I often think it would be nice if some of the April fool jokes were true. Top-crimped pasties and putting the cream on a scone before the jam definitely should be made illegal

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    1. Elkie Brooks' voice improves any song, in my opinion.

      As for the "great scone debate", who cares which order things go? They all go down the same way. I've had some very nice top-crimped pasties, and some horrible side-crimped ones, too. Jx

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  7. I love the Guardian Font joke, it’s a thing of beauty!
    Sx

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    1. It is a helluva lot of work for an April Fool's joke, but I agree - brilliant. Jx

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