by 
On this Day:
On April 1, 1970 John Lennon and Yoko Ono released a hoax that they were having dual sex change operations.
April Fools’ Day—celebrated on April 1 each year—has been celebrated for several centuries by different cultures, though its exact origins remain a mystery. April Fools’ Day traditions include playing hoaxes or practical jokes on others, often yelling “April Fools!” at the end to clue in the subject of the April Fools’ Day prank. While it’s exact history is shrouded in mystery, the embrace of April Fools’ Day jokes by the media and major brands has ensured the unofficial holiday’s long life.
April Fools’ Day Pranks
In modern times, people have gone to great lengths to create elaborate April Fools’ Day hoaxes. Newspapers, radio and TV stations and websites have participated in the April 1 tradition of reporting outrageous fictional claims that have fooled their audiences.
In 1957, the BBC reported that Swiss farmers were experiencing a record spaghetti crop and showed footage of people harvesting noodles from trees. In 1985, Sports Illustrated writer George Plimpton tricked many readers when he ran a made-up article about a rookie pitcher named Sidd Finch who could throw a fastball over 168 miles per hour.
In 1992, National Public Radio ran a spot with former President Richard Nixon saying he was running for president again… only it was an actor, not Nixon, and the segment was all an April Fools’ Day prank that caught the country by surprise.
In 1996, Taco Bell, the fast-food restaurant chain, duped people when it announced it had agreed to purchase Philadelphia’s Liberty Bell and intended to rename it the Taco Liberty Bell. In 1998, after Burger King advertised a “Left-Handed Whopper,” scores of clueless customers requested the fake sandwich. Google notoriously hosts an annual April Fools’ Day prank that has included everything from “telepathic search” to the ability to play Pac Man on Google Maps.
For the average trickster, there is always the classic April Fools’ Day prank of covering the toilet with plastic wrap or switching out sugar and salt (per History.com).
First, a Story:
On April 1, a couple of pranksters broke into the local police station and stole all the lavatory equipment.
A spokesperson was quoted as saying: “We have absolutely nothing to go on.”
Second, a Song:
TheRichest on YouTube.com states:
“What are the biggest April Fools pranks ever pulled? Well, these 10 April Fools were pulled on the entire world. It is a popular day for everyone. We’re in a pretty surreal world these days where sometimes we can’t tell fact from fiction or truth from falsehood.
There was a time when the only reason people created fake news was for fun. And they were harmless pranks that didn’t have career-ending repercussions or result in a lifetime of issues for the victim. The ultimate occasion for these mischievous misadventures was April Fool’s Day. There were always a few eager instigators who waited for April First to come around so that the ultimate prank would result in a place on the podium of infamy and be the recipient of praise from the peers until the date rolled around again.
Sadly, while April Fool’s Day is still around, it doesn’t have the same impact, and much of this is due to social media. Too much false information has rushed to take the place of the traditional fib that existed only for our entertainment. And what we now call fake news is regenerated by clockwork with more unscrupulous motives in mind, whether they be to woo audiences to a political cause or ridicule those who have a different outlook. Back then it was called yellow journalism, but other labels that have since surfaced can’t be used in more family-friendly media.
It’s also sad that the art of executing the hoax is lost, because the best April Fool’s Day pratfalls ever conceived required a great imagination and an eloquent enough presentation to convince the masses. Here, we uncover the best ever April Fools, clever enough to dupe the planet, and yet funny enough to ensure we never need to take ourselves so seriously. Enjoy.”
So here are the 10 Biggest April Fools Pranks The Entire World Fell For”. I hope you enjoy this!
(https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lL7siVnNYQU)
Thought for the Day:
“Here cometh April again, and as far as I can see the world hath more fools in it than ever.” – Charles Lamb
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Have a great day!
Dave & Colleen
© 2022 David J. Bilinsky and Colleen E. Bilinsky
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