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In the Middle Ages, New Year's Day was celebrated on the 25th of March in most European towns.<ref>Groves, Marsha, ''Manners and Customs in the Middle Ages'', p. 27, 2005.</ref> In some areas of France, New Year's was a week-long holiday ending on the 1st of April.<ref name="Santino"/> So it is possible that April Fools originated because those who celebrated on the 1st of January made fun of those who celebrated on other dates.<ref>[http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/30821/April-Fools-Day April Fools' Day], ''Encyclopædia Britannica''</ref> The use of the 1st of January as New Year's Day was common in France by the mid-sixteenth century,<ref name="Hoax"/> and this date was adopted officially in 1564 by the [[Edict of Roussillon]]. |
In the Middle Ages, New Year's Day was celebrated on the 25th of March in most European towns.<ref>Groves, Marsha, ''Manners and Customs in the Middle Ages'', p. 27, 2005.</ref> In some areas of France, New Year's was a week-long holiday ending on the 1st of April.<ref name="Santino"/> So it is possible that April Fools originated because those who celebrated on the 1st of January made fun of those who celebrated on other dates.<ref>[http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/30821/April-Fools-Day April Fools' Day], ''Encyclopædia Britannica''</ref> The use of the 1st of January as New Year's Day was common in France by the mid-sixteenth century,<ref name="Hoax"/> and this date was adopted officially in 1564 by the [[Edict of Roussillon]]. |
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==Well-known pranks== |
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{{Example farm|date=May 2010}} |
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* '''[[Write-only memory]]''': [[Signetics]] advertised write-only memory (WOM) [[Integrated circuit|IC]] databooks in 1972 through the late 1970s.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.national.com/rap/Story/WOMorigin.html|title=The origin of the WOM - the "Write Only Memory"|accessdate=2007-03-29}}</ref> |
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* '''[[Decimal time]]''': Repeated several times in various countries, this hoax involves claiming that the time system will be changed to one in which units of time are based on powers of 10.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.museumofhoaxes.com/hoax/Hoaxipedia/April_Fools_Day_-_1993/|title=April Fools' Day, 1993|publisher=Museum of Hoaxes|accessdate=2008-04-02}}</ref> |
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* '''[[Taco Liberty Bell]]''': In 1996, [[Taco Bell]] took out a full-page advertisement in ''[[The New York Times]]'' announcing that they had purchased the [[Liberty Bell]] to "reduce [[government debt|the country's debt]]" and renamed it the "Taco Liberty Bell". When asked about the sale, [[White House]] press secretary [[Mike McCurry (press secretary)|Mike McCurry]] replied tongue-in-cheek that the [[Lincoln Memorial]] had also been sold and would henceforth be known as the Lincoln Mercury Memorial.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.museumofhoaxes.com/hoax/Hoaxipedia/Taco_Liberty_Bell/ |title=Entry at Museum of Hoaxes|accessdate=2008-04-02}}</ref><br />[[File:Wikipedia Main Page April Fools' Day 2007.png|thumb|right|Wikipedia's [[Main Page]] on the 1st of April, 2007. The [[Wikipedia:TFA|featured article]] write-up deliberately confuses [[President of the United States|U.S. President]] [[George Washington]] with [[George Washington (inventor)|an inventor of the same name]].]] |
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* '''Left-handed [[Whopper]]s''': In 1998, [[Burger King]] ran an ad in ''[[USA Today]]'', saying that people could get a Whopper for [[left-handedness|left-handed]] people whose condiments were designed to drip out of the right side.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.prnewswire.co.uk/cgi/news/release?id=39523|title=Original press release|accessdate=2007-03-29}}</ref> Not only did customers order the new [[hamburger|burgers]], but some specifically requested the "old", [[right-handedness|right-handed]] burger.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.prnewswire.co.uk/cgi/news/release?id=43688|title=Follow-up press release, revealing the joke|accessdate=2008-02-07}}</ref> |
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*'''[[Apple Inc.|Apple]] buys the Beatles''': In 2010, [[Bob Lefsetz]] released an April Fools' Day letter which had rumours circulating around the music industry.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.njnnetwork.com/2010/04/did-apple-buy-beatles-label-emi/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=twitter&utm_campaign=Feed%253A+njnnetwork%252FkczP+(NJN+Network) |title=Did Apple buy Beatles label EMI? |publisher=NJN Network |date=2010-04-01 |accessdate=2011-03-31}}</ref> |
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*In 1983, Australian millionaire businessman [[Dick Smith (entrepreneur)|Dick Smith]] claimed to have towed an [[iceberg]] from [[Antarctica]] to [[Sydney Harbour]]. He used a barge covered with white plastic and fire extinguisher foam to convince witnesses.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.smh.com.au/articles/2003/03/28/1048653853668.html |title=Just tip of the iceberg ... |publisher=smh.com.au |date=2003-03-29 |accessdate=2011-03-31}}</ref> |
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===By radio stations=== |
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* '''[[Jovian-Plutonian gravitational effect]]''': In 1976, British astronomer [[Sir Patrick Moore]] told listeners of [[BBC Radio 2]] that unique alignment of two planets would result in an upward gravitational pull making people lighter at precisely 9:47 a.m. that day. He invited his audience to jump in the air and experience "a strange floating sensation". Dozens of listeners phoned in to say the experiment had worked.<ref>[http://books.guardian.co.uk/extracts/story/0,,2046440,00.html Fooling around], book extract in ''The Guardian'' dated 30th of March, 2007, online at books.guardian.com (accessed 29 March 2009)</ref> |
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* '''Space Shuttle lands in San Diego''': In 1993, DJ Dave Rickards told listeners of KGB-FM in [[San Diego]] that [[Space Shuttle Discovery]] had been diverted from [[Edwards Air Force Base]] and would be landing at [[Montgomery Field]], a small municipal airport with a 4,577 foot runway. Thousands of people went to the airport to watch the purported landing, causing traffic jams throughout Kearny Mesa.<ref>{{cite web|author=uxcast.com - info@uxcast.com |url=http://www.gilroydispatch.com/lifestyles/152157-happy-april-fools-day |title='Happy' April Fools' Day |publisher=GilroyDispatch.com |date= |accessdate=2011-03-31}}</ref> Moreover, there wasn't even a shuttle in orbit at the time.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.museumofhoaxes.com/hoax/aprilfool/comments/885/ |title=Space Shuttle Lands in San Diego |publisher=Museumofhoaxes.com |date= |accessdate=2011-03-31}}</ref> |
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* '''Death of a mayor''': In 1998, local [[WAAF (FM)|WAAF]] [[shock jock]]s [[Opie and Anthony]] reported that [[Boston, Massachusetts|Boston]] mayor [[Thomas Menino]] had been killed in a car accident. Menino happened to be on a flight at the time, lending credence to the prank as he could not be reached. The rumor spread quickly across the city, eventually causing news stations to issue alerts denying the hoax. The pair were fired shortly thereafter.<ref>{{cite news| url=http://nl.newsbank.com/nl-search/we/Archives?p_text_direct-0=0EADF91DBB78428F&p_field_direct-0=document_id |title=Error}}</ref> |
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* '''Phone call''': In 1998, UK presenter [[Nic Tuff]] of [[West Midlands (region)|West Midlands]] radio station pretended to be the British Prime Minister [[Tony Blair]] when he called the then South African President [[Nelson Mandela]] for a chat. It was only at the end of the call when Nic asked Nelson what he was doing for April Fools' Day that the line went dead.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.garfnet.org.uk/new_mill/timeline/199804.htm|title=Millennium TimeLine - 1998 April|accessdate=2007-03-29}}</ref> |
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* '''BBC Radio 4 (2005)''': ''[[The Today Programme]]'' announced in the news that the long-running serial ''[[The Archers]]'' had changed their theme tune to an upbeat disco style.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.bbc.co.uk/radio4/today/reports/arts/archers_20040401.shtml |title=New Archers Theme Tune |publisher=[[BBC Radio 4]] |title=. |accessdate=2007-07-05}}</ref> |
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* '''National Public Radio''': Every year, [[National Public Radio]] in the United States does an extensive news story on April 1. These usually start off more or less reasonably, and get more and more unusual. A recent example is the story on the "iBod," a portable body control device.<ref>{{cite web|author=Weekend Edition Saturday |url=http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=5317505 |title=www.npr.org IBOD story |publisher=Npr.org |date=2006-04-01 |accessdate=2011-03-31}}</ref> In 2008 it reported that the IRS, to assure rebate checks were actually spent, was shipping consumer products instead of checks.<ref>{{cite web|last=Gagliano |first=Rico |url=http://marketplace.publicradio.org/display/web/2008/04/01/april_1st/ |title=IRS making sure your rebate gets spent | Marketplace From American Public Media |publisher=Marketplace.publicradio.org |date=2008-04-01 |accessdate=2011-03-31}}</ref> It also runs false sponsor mentions, such as "Support for [[NPR]] comes from the [[Soylent]] Corporation, manufacturing protein-rich food products in a variety of colors. [[Soylent Green]] is People".<ref>{{cite web|author=Weekend Edition Sunday |url=http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=9458666 |title=npr.org |publisher=www.NPR.org |date=2007-04-08 |accessdate=2011-03-31}}</ref> |
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* '''Three-dollar coin''': In 2008, the [[CBC Radio]] program ''[[As It Happens]]'' interviewed a [[Royal Canadian Mint]] spokesman who broke "news" of plans to replace the Canadian five-dollar bill with a three-dollar coin. The coin was dubbed a "threenie", in line with the nicknames of the country's one-dollar coin (commonly called a "[[loonie]]" due to its depiction of a [[common loon]] on the reverse) and two-dollar coin ("[[toonie]]").<ref>{{cite news| url=http://www.cbc.ca/radioshows/AS_IT_HAPPENS/20080401.shtml }} {{Dead link|date=August 2010|bot=RjwilmsiBot}}</ref> |
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* '''Country to metal''': [[Country music|Country]] and [[Southern gospel|gospel]] [[WIXE]] in [[Monroe, North Carolina|Monroe]], North Carolina does a prank every year. In 2009, midday host Bob Rogers announced he was changing his show to [[heavy metal music|heavy metal]]. This resulted in numerous phone calls, but about half were from listeners wanting to request a song.<ref>[http://www.charlotteobserver.com/faith/story/641779.html Mark Washburn, "Fewer Tuning in for Most Local News", ''The Charlotte Observer'', April 4, 2009].</ref> |
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* '''U2 live on rooftop in Cork''': In 2009, hundreds of [[U2]] fans were duped in an elaborate prank when they rushed to a shopping centre in [[Cork (city)|Cork]] believing that the band were playing a surprise rooftop concert. The prank was organised by Cork radio station [[RedFM]]. The band were in fact just a tribute band called U2opia.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.independent.ie/entertainment/news-gossip/no-u2-on-the-horizon-as-fans-rattled-by-hoax-1695077.html|title=No U2 on the horizon as fans rattled by hoax |date=2009-04-02|work=Irish Independent|accessdate=2009-04-02}}</ref> |
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* '''Cellphone ban''': In [[New Zealand]], the radio station [[The Edge (radio station)|The Edge's]] Morning Madhouse enlisted the help of the Prime Minister on April 1st to inform the entire country that cellphones are to be banned in New Zealand. Hundreds of callers rang in disgruntled at the new law.{{Citation needed|date=March 2011}} |
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=== By television stations === |
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* '''[[Leaning Tower of Pisa|Tower of Pisa]]''': The [[The Netherlands|Dutch]] television news reported in the 1950s that the Tower of Pisa had fallen over. Many shocked people contacted the station.{{Citation needed|date=March 2011}} |
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* '''[[Spaghetti tree]]s''': The [[BBC]] television programme ''[[Panorama (TV series)|Panorama]]'' ran a famous hoax in 1957, showing [[Swiss]] harvesting [[spaghetti]] from trees. They had claimed that the despised pest, the spaghetti weevil, had been eradicated. A large number of people contacted the BBC wanting to know how to cultivate their own spaghetti trees. It was, in fact, filmed in [[St Albans]].<ref>[http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/southern_counties/3591687.stm Still a good joke - 47 years on] ([[BBC News]], April 1, 2004)</ref> |
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* In 1962, the [[Sveriges Television|Swedish national television]] did a 5-minute special<ref>{{cite web|url=http://svtplay.se/v/1370561/oppet_arkiv/nylonstrumpan |title=Nylonstrumpan - Öppet arkiv | SVT Play |publisher=Svtplay.se |date= |accessdate=2011-03-31}}</ref> on how one could get color TV by placing a nylon stocking in front of the TV. A rather in-depth description on the physics behind the phenomenon was included. |
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* '''[[Smell-o-vision]]''': In 1965, the [[BBC]] purported to conduct a trial of a new technology allowing the transmission of [[odor]] over the airwaves to all viewers. Many viewers reportedly contacted the BBC to report the trial's success.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.museumofhoaxes.com/af_1965.html|title=April Fools' Day, 1965|publisher=Museum of Hoaxes|accessdate=2007-03-29}}</ref> In 2007, the BBC website repeated an online version of the hoax.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.bbc.co.uk/home/images/main_promo/picture_promo/april_fool_first.jpg |title=BBC Smell-o-vision |date= |accessdate=2011-03-31}}</ref> |
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* '''[[Television license|TV license fee evasion discovery]]''': In 1969, the Dutch TV news notified the public of a new device that would be handed out to civil servants tasked with finding TV license fee evaders. This device would be able to detect the presence of a television set in the house from the outside. Asked whether there was nothing that citizens could do about this, the interviewed "civil servant" said 'No', as - he said - it would be unlikely that people would be willing to wrap their TVs in aluminum foil. The next day aluminum foil was sold out in most stores in a matter of hours.<ref>{{nl}} [http://vorige.nrc.nl/media/article1830284.ece/Nepberichten_zijn_Nederlandse_traditie Nepberichten zijn Nederlandse traditie], NRC, 21 August 2007</ref> |
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* In 1980, the [[BBC]] reported a proposed change to the famous clock tower known as [[Big Ben]]. The reporters stated that the clock would go digital.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.spoonfed.co.uk/spooners/spoonfed-holidays-3349/london-april-fools-929/ |title=London April Fools |publisher=Spoonfed.co.uk |date= |accessdate=2011-03-31}}</ref> |
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* In 1989, a fight broke out on air between staff in the newsroom behind presenter [[Des Lynam]] on the BBC sports programme, [[Grandstand (BBC)|Grandstand]]. This was later revealed to be an April Fool's Day joke <ref>{{cite news|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/media/video/39435000/rm/_39435946_fight_1_cut_vi.ram |title=April Fool's day fight - unbroadcast version |date= |accessdate=2011-03-31}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/media/video/39435000/rm/_39435958_fight_2_cut_vi.ram |title=April Fool's day fight - fit for broadcast version |date= |accessdate=2011-03-31}}</ref> |
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* On Comedy Central, the creators of ''[[South Park]]'' aired a fake episode of ''[[Terrance and Phillip]]'' titled "[[Terrance and Phillip in Not Without My Anus]]" instead of running the season premiere which was supposed to reveal the father of [[Eric Cartman]]. This caused angered fans to write about 2,000 complaints to [[Comedy Central]] in the week following the broadcast.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Feran |first=Tom |title="Tom Jones" big, bawdy, well done |date=1998-04-04 |work=[[The Plain Dealer]] |location=[[Cleveland, Ohio]] |page=1F}}</ref> The incident was parodied in the Season 13 episode "[[Eat, Pray, Queef]]", the first episode to broadcast on April Fool's Day since the incident. |
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* ''[[The Trouble with Tracy]]'': In 2003, [[The Comedy Network]] in Canada announced that it would produce and air a remake of the 1970s Canadian [[sitcom]] ''The Trouble with Tracy,'' widely considered to be one of the worst sitcoms ever produced. Series star [[Diane Nyland]] Procter even gave interviews and [[press conferences]] promoting the alleged "revival", and several media outlets fell for the hoax.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.thestar.com/Article/190744|title=Something fishy about finale|publisher=Toronto Star|accessdate=2007-03-29 | first=Vinay | last=Menon | date=March 12, 2007}}</ref> |
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* In 2004, British breakfast show [[GMTV]] produced a story claiming that Yorkshire Water were trialing a new 'diet tap water' that had already helped one customer lose a stone and a half in four months. After heralding the trial as successful, it was claimed that a third tap would be added to kitchen sinks, allowing customers easy access to the water. Following the story, Yorkshire Water received 10,000 enquiries from viewers.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.gm.tv/index.cfm?articleid=10244 |title= "Diet tap water" - retrieved 02-04-2009 |publisher=gm.tv |date= |accessdate=2011-03-31}}</ref> |
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* In 2004, the Italian television station [[Rai 2]] reported that NASA discovered crude oil on Mars.<ref name="Oil on Mars">{{cite web|url = http://www.margheritacampaniolo.it/marte/mars_details_014.htm|accessdate = 2011-03-05|title=Occhio ai pecchio ai pesci d'aprile, al TG2 persino il petrolio su marte | language=Italian |year = 2011}}</ref> |
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* In 2006, the same station reported the invention of a miraculous diet pill that should be accompanied to a diet rich of fish.<ref name="April 1, 2006 (complete list)">{{cite web|url = http://encycl.opentopia.com/term/April_1,_2006_%28complete_list%29|accessdate = 2011-03-05|title=April 1, 2006 (complete list) |year = 2011}}</ref> |
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* In 2006, the [[BBC]] reported that the door to No. 10 Downing Street, the official residence of the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, had been painted red. They showed footage of workmen carrying a red door. Red was the official colour of the political party which formed the government at the time. The same story was also reported in the British newspaper, ''[[The Daily Mail]]'' which credited the new design to April Fewell. The door is in fact black.<ref>{{cite news|last=Parkinson |first=Justin |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/4867512.stm |title=Have you been April fooled? - BBC |publisher=BBC News |date=2006-04-01 |accessdate=2011-03-31}}</ref> |
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* In 2008, the [[BBC]] reported on a newly discovered colony of [[flying penguins]]. An elaborate video segment was even produced, featuring [[Terry Jones]] (of ''[[Monty Python]]'' fame) walking with the penguins in Antarctica, and following their flight to the Amazon rainforest.<ref>{{cite web|last=Midgley |first=Neil |url=http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml?xml=/news/2008/04/01/npenguin101.xml |title=Flying penguins found by BBC programme |publisher=Telegraph |date=2008-04-01 |accessdate=2011-03-31}}</ref> |
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* In 2008, [[Nick at Nite]] made a joke suggesting that it would disappear forever. This was seen on a few of Nick at Nite's promos for its April Fools Day marathon. |
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* In 2010, [[The One Show]] did a part on "Cloned Unicorns" and then revealed that it was an April Fool's Day joke.{{Citation needed|date=March 2011}} |
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* In 2010, [[Tony Kornheiser]] and [[Dan LeBatard]] of [[ESPN]]'s ''[[Pardon the Interruption]]'' reported that at the [[Masters Tournament|Masters]] tournament, which began that day, [[Tiger Woods]] had requested that the news media refer to him by his given name of Eldrick in an attempt to distance himself further from his recent [[Tiger woods#Marital infidelity and career break|personal difficulties]]. The hosts then debated the advantages and disadvantages before revealing that the story was a joke.{{Citation needed|date=March 2011}} |
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===By newspapers=== |
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In ''[[The Guardian]]'' newspaper, in the United Kingdom, on April Fool's Day, 1977, a fictional mid-ocean state of [[San Serriffe]] was created in a seven-page supplement.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.metro.co.uk/news/130213-top-ten-april-fools-day-jokes?ITO=edchoice|title=Top Ten April Fools' Day Jokes|publisher=Metro|accessdate=1 April 2011}}</ref> |
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In 2010, British newspaper ''[[The Sun (United Kingdom)|The Sun]]'' ran an article about its new "Scratch and Sniff" paper, providing a sample of plain newspaper. This led to a lot of readers sniffing the paper in an attempt to smell the scent.{{Citation needed|date=March 2011}} |
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In 2011, ''[[The Telegraph]]'' posted an internal labour memo advertising a party requirement to celebrate the marriage of [[Ed Miliband]] and [[Justine Thornton]] by ordering trifle and having a street party. {{ref|http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/politics/ed-miliband/8419140/Labour-memo-celebrate-Ed-Milibands-wedding-with-street-party.html}} |
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===By game shows=== |
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* ''[[Jeopardy!]]'' and ''[[Wheel of Fortune (U.S. game show)|Wheel of Fortune]]'' |
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** As part of an April Fools' joke, on April 1, 1997, [[Alex Trebek]] and [[Pat Sajak]] switched hosting duties. Sajak hosted ''Jeopardy!'' that day (which featured several ''Wheel''-inspired categories) and Trebek hosted ''Wheel of Fortune'' where Sajak and [[Vanna White]] played as contestants. Jeopardy! announcer [[Johnny Gilbert]] did double duties that day while regular ''Wheel'' announcer [[Charlie O'Donnell]] announced some parts, including the opening with Gilbert, as well as telling Sajak and White that they won $25,000 in the bonus round, which they split with their respective [[charities]] in addition to their main game winnings. A puzzle during the episode also featured [[Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious]] as an answer, with the category being "Really Long Title".<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.tv.com/jeopardy!/show/5409/episode_guide.html&printable=1|accessdate=2007-03-29|title=Jeopardy! Episode Guide|publisher=TV.com}}</ref> |
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** On April 1, 2008, Alex Trebek appeared on ''Jeopardy!'' wearing a false mustache. Also, ''Wheel of Fortune'' host Pat Sajak wore a bald cap underneath a wig he later removed.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o9YB7LfCqQ8|title=Wheel of Fortune - April Fools 2008 - Pat Sajak's Toupée|accessdate=2009-10-15}}</ref> |
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** On April 1, 2010, Sajak appeared during Trebek's introduction during the opening of ''Jeopardy!''. At other non-critical points in the game, such as reading the round's categories, other people appeared in place of Trebek, including [[Jeff Probst]] and [[Neil Patrick Harris]]. On that day's ''[[Wheel of Fortune (U.S. game show)|Wheel of Fortune]]'', people were alerted to find 10 things "out of the ordinary" with that day's episode; the show's website even included a printable checklist noting when each abnormality would occur (but not what it would be). On April 2, the site posted a photo gallery showing all 10 mistakes, as well as the end of that day's episode in which Pat & Vanna went over each change. The gags involved Sajak, White, and announcer [[Charlie O'Donnell]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.wheeloffortune.com/minisites/aprilfools/ |title=April Fools |publisher=Wheel of Fortune |date= |accessdate=2011-03-31}}</ref> |
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** On April 1, 2011, All of the puzzles on the day's episode of Wheel of Fortune with the exception of the bonus puzzle featured the word "fool". |
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*''[[The Price Is Right (U.S. game show)|The Price Is Right]]'' has often celebrated the day by featuring [[The Showcase|Showcases]] with assortments of gags, which have often included joke prizes (such as cheap items or trips to fictitious locations), or gags involving their presentation (such as most of the prizes being destroyed throughout the course of the skit). In most cases, once the contestant learned that it was an April Fools' joke, the real Showcase would consist of extravagant prizes, such as luxury and sports cars. The practice is best known from the 1980s, but was revived during the [[Drew Carey]] era; though all the prizes presented now are real, the prizes may have funny connections or may be presented in some comical way. |
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** In 2009 and 2010, [[Kathy Kinney]], in character as Carey's nemesis Mimi Bobeck from ''[[The Drew Carey Show]]'', appeared to taunt Carey. |
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*** The 2009 episode featured ''[[Match Game]]'''s think music for games using think music, Bobeck stripping tires from one car prize, placing a wheel lock on another, unusual sound effects on the Showcase Showdown wheel, incorrect photographs for trip videos, and one Showcase where all prizes were facing the wrong way. |
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*** The 2010 episode featured all contestants referred as one name (although the CBS PR showed the real names), Mimi seizing the show as executive producer as well as the "mighty sound effects lady" in One Away. Pick-a-Pair used various holiday-themed grocery products while [[Plinko]] used "As Seen on TV"-themed small prizes. The [[Barker's Beauties|models]] traded places with stagehands, with the One Bid placards and their holders not matching (six distinct placard designs were adopted early 2009, each with various colors and designs; they are required to match). Finally, the day's two Showcases were nearly identical, resulting in Carey being stuck on the turntable when he attempted to call out Bobeck for two identical Showcases, when a second car was added on the second Showcase. |
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***The 2011 episode featured a 10,000th of something that was set to occur sometime during the normal course of the show. But [[Murphy's Law|anything that could go wrong wound up going wrong]] and the show's staff worked to keep the show going around it. This included the models breaking a new plasma TV, the turntable getting stuck, the mechanism for door #2 breaking down requiring it to be pushed open, a model crashing a new car into door #3 destroying it, and the displays on Contestant's Row malfunctioning requiring a stagehand to manually write down each contestant's bid. At the end of Showcase Showdown #1, Drew began explaining how to sign up for tickets on CBS.com with explicit detail while the crew worked behind him to dismantle the big wheel prop. At the end of the second showcase showdown, a light in the studio malfunctioned and crashed to the ground plunging the studio into darkness until halfway through the first showcase being revealed. The models also accidentally set the set for the second showcase on fire. At the end of the show, the 10,000th thing never occurred but Drew remarked "Maybe tomorrow" (itself a mistake because it was a Friday episode). |
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*''[[Hollywood Squares]]'' featured April Fools' gags on three occasions: |
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**In 1987, it was announced that the returning champion was ill, and another contestant went on in his place. After the first question of the game, the contestant's female opponent accused him of cheating, and the confrontation grew more heated until the male contestant was pushed off the elevated contestant platform, completely stunning host [[John Davidson]]. Afterwards, it was revealed that the "substitute" contestant was a stuntman, and his opponent an actress. |
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**In 1988, center square [[Joan Rivers]] swapped places with Davidson to be the show's host that day (Davidson called out "April Fools!", after being introduced in his square during the opening). |
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**In 2003, producers [[Henry Winkler]] and Michael Leavitt played an April Fools' joke on host [[Tom Bergeron]] and the stars by booking two of the most difficult contestants ever, one quite obnoxious and the other overly emotional, who thoroughly tested Bergeron's patience. In reality, the contestants were actors ([[E. E. Bell]] and Carrie Armstrong), similar to the 1987 gag on the Davidson version. |
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*Other game shows: |
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** In 1987, an audience polling group of 10 [[engaged]] men on ''[[Card Sharks]]'' was asked how many of them would eat real ants dipped in chocolate if their [[fiancé]] asked them to. Afterwards, one of the men actually was asked to do so by his fiancé and reluctantly complied, only to learn afterwards that it was just an April Fools' gag. |
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** In 1991, contestants on ''[[The Challengers (game show)|The Challengers]]'' were surprised to see the gameboard reveal such extremely difficult categories as "Pre-Colombian Architecture", "Existential Poets", and "The Politics of Burundi"; after the first contestant chose a category, a large graphic appeared on the screen to let him know it was April Fools' Day. Having realized something was amiss when the joke categories did not match up with what he was seeing on his card, host [[Dick Clark]] asked head writer and series judge Gary Johnson if he had anything to do with it, which Johnson admitted and then expressed disappointment at not being able to find out more about Burundi politics. Clark then responded, "Yeah...go to your room, will you?" |
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** On April 1, 2003, the hosts of [[Game Show Network]] original programs guest hosted on other hosts' shows similar to 1997 when Pat Sajak hosted ''Jeopardy!'' and Alex Trebek hosted ''Wheel of Fortune'': |
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*** [[Graham Elwood]] from ''[[Cram (game show)|Cram]]'' guest hosted ''[[Whammy! The All-New Press Your Luck]]''. |
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*** [[Todd Newton]] from ''Whammy!'' guest hosted ''[[Russian Roulette (game show)|Russian Roulette]]''. |
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*** [[Mark Walberg]] from ''Russian Roulette''' guest hosted on ''[[Friend or Foe?]]''. |
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*** [[Lisa Kennedy Montgomery|Kennedy]] from ''Friend or Foe?'' guest hosted ''[[WinTuition]]''. |
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*** [[Marc Summers]] from ''WinTuition'' guest hosted ''[[Cram (game show)|Cram]]''. |
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*** Meanwhile, ''[[Lingo (US game show)|Lingo]]'' was still hosted by [[Chuck Woolery]] but had Newton announcing and the other GSN hosts (Walberg and Summers on the yellow team, and Kennedy and Elwood on the red team) playing a charity game. |
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===By websites=== |
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<!--PLEASE do NOT add pranks without references: the article needs to be well referenced to reach Featured Article status--> |
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* '''[[Kremvax]]''': In 1984, in one of the earliest on-line hoaxes, a message was circulated that [[Usenet]] had been opened to users in the [[Soviet Union]].<ref>[[Eric S. Raymond|Raymond, E. S.]]: "The [[Jargon File]]", [http://catb.org/~esr/jargon/html/K/kremvax.html Kremvax entry], 2006</ref> |
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* The Canadian news site, bourque.org announced in 2002 that [[Minister of Finance (Canada)|Finance Minister]] [[Paul Martin]] had resigned "in order to breed prize Charolais cattle and handsome Fawn Runner ducks".<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.ctv.ca/servlet/ArticleNews/story/CTVNews/20020401/ctvnews855221?s_name=.&no_ads=|title=Traders have last laugh, drive down loonie in wake of April Fools' prank|accessdate=2007-03-29}}</ref> |
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* '''SARS infects Hong Kong''': In 2003, during the time when Hong Kong was seriously hit by [[Severe acute respiratory syndrome|SARS]], it was rumoured that many people in Hong Kong had become infected with SARS and become uncontrolled, that all immigration ports would be closed to quarantine the region and that [[Tung Chee Hwa]], the [[Chief Executive of Hong Kong]] at that time, had resigned. Hong Kong supermarkets were immediately overwhelmed by panicked shoppers. The Hong Kong government held a press conference to deny the rumour. The rumour, which was intended as an April Fools' prank, was started by a student imitating the design of the ''[[Ming Pao]]'' newspaper website. He was charged and found guilty for this incident.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.info.gov.hk/gia/general/200304/01/0401187.htm|title=Announcement of Hong Kong Government denying this rumor|accessdate=2007-03-29}}</ref> |
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* '''[[Assassination]] of [[Bill Gates]]''': In 2003, many Chinese and South Korean websites claimed that [[CNN]] reported Bill Gates, the founder of [[Microsoft]], was assassinated, resulting in a 1.5% drop in the South Korean stock market.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/business/2916135.stm|title=Bill Gates hoax hits Korean market|accessdate=2007-03-29 | work=BBC News | date=2003-04-04}}</ref> |
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* [[Jennifer Government: NationStates|NationStates]] runs an annual hoax on April 1. In 2004, the hoax was that there was a population bug and all nations' populations would be reset to 5 million people. In 2005, there was a message (supposedly from the [[Department of Homeworld Security]]) that NationStates was illegal by US law. In 2008, NationStates created a new "[[Jennifer Government: NationStates#World Assembly|World Assembly]]" in the place of the United Nations, as they had received a cease and desist notice from the United Nations for using its name without consent.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.nationstates.net/unlegal.pdf|format=PDF|title=NationStates: The World Assembly|publisher=NationStates|accessdate=2008-01-28}}</ref> This was later revealed to be a non-hoax, and that the inspiration to use it as an April Fools' joke came from the assumption it was too unbelievable.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.maxbarry.com/2008/04/02/news.html|title=Max Barry - News Archive|accessdate=2008-04-11}}</ref> |
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* '''Water on Mars''': In 2005, a news story was posted on the official [[NASA]] website purporting to have pictures of water on [[Mars]]. The picture actually was just a picture of a glass of water on a [[Mars Bar|Mars candy bar]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap050401.html|title=APOD: 2005 April 1 - Water on Mars|publisher=NASA|accessdate=2007-03-29}}</ref> |
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* [[Howstuffworks|www.howstuffworks.com]] does an annual bogus article. In 2006, it was "How Animated Tattoos Work"; in 2007 "How Phone Cell Implants Work"; in 2008 "How the Air Force One Hybrid Works"; in 2009, "How Rechargeable Gum Works"; in 2010, "How the Twapler Works".<ref>{{cite web|url=http://blogs.howstuffworks.com/2009/04/01/chew-on-this-rechargeable-gum/|title=Chew On This: Rechargeable Gum|accessdate=2009-04-01}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://electronics.howstuffworks.com/gadgets/high-tech-gadgets/twapler.htm|title=How the Twapler Works|accessdate=2010-04-01}}</ref> |
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* [[RISKS Digest]] often publishes a special April 1 issue.<ref>[http://catless.ncl.ac.uk/Risks Risk Index of back issues] [http://catless.ncl.ac.uk/Risks/24.22.html April 1, 2006] [http://catless.ncl.ac.uk/Risks/24.61.html April 1, 2007 (March 31, 2007)]</ref> |
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* '''[[Dead fairy hoax]]''': In 2007, an illusion [[designer]] for magicians posted on his website some images illustrating the corpse of an unknown eight-inch creation, which was claimed to be the [[mummified]] remains of a [[fairy]]. He later sold the fairy on [[eBay]] for £280.<ref name="BBC1">" [http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/england/derbyshire/6545667.stm April fool fairy sold on internet]" from [[BBC News]]. Retrieved on July 31, 2007.</ref> |
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* '''[[Motoshi Sakriboto]]''': In 2007, the [[Square Enix]] fansite Square Haven reported that game music composers [[Motoi Sakuraba]] and [[Hitoshi Sakimoto]] had announced a merger. The resulting amalgamated life form was named Motoshi Sakriboto. The hoax played off the fact that when rival role-playing game developers Square and Enix merged on April 1, 2003, many believed the news to be an April Fools' joke.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.squarehaven.com/news/?id=1252|title=Hitoshi Sakimoto and Motoi Sakuraba announce merger|accessdate=2007-06-28}}</ref> |
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* [[IGN]], a video game website, released a realistic-looking [[Legend of Zelda]] movie trailer on April Fool's Day 2007. Many people were excited and tricked into believing that a real Legend of Zelda movie was coming out, but IGN revealed that it was a fake. Later rumours were spread that a ''real'' Legend of Zelda film is going to be made.{{Citation needed|date=May 2009}} |
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*[[Wookieepedia]], the [[Star Wars]] Wiki has pulled numerous April Fools pranks. In 2007, Wookieepedia's name was changed to "Katarnipedia" after Star Wars character Kyle Katarn.<ref>{{Sww|Wookieepedia:April Fools' Day 2007}}</ref> In 2008, they changed all the text of their main page to the [[Aurebesh]] language, and directed vistitors to Wookieepedia's sister site Darthipedia (which was actually the Star Wars Humor Wiki) to see English language versions of Wookieepedia articles.<ref>{{Sww|Wookieepedia:April Fools' Day 2008}}</ref> In 2009, Wookieepedia announced that they would no longer accept [[expanded universe]] material as [[Canon (fiction)|canon]] and that the site would only accept information from the Star Wars films, rejecting their long-held policy of treating expanded universe material as equal to film material.<ref>{{Sww|Wookieepedia:April Fools' Day 2009}}</ref> In 2011, the entire wiki was converted to "3-D" in coordination with Lucasfilm's desire to re-release the entire saga in 3-D. A mock "cease and desist" announcement was also posted on the Main Page briefly after midnight Eastern time, and the Mofference page also was filled with jokes.<ref>{{Sww|Wookieepedia:Main Page}}{{Sww|Wookieepedia:Mofferences}}</ref> |
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* '''[[Microsoft Research]] reclaims value of pi''': In 2008, an executive with the [[Microsoft]] Institute for Advanced Technology in Governments posted on his personal blog an updated spoof of the 1998 April Fools' hoax claiming Alabama's state legislature had rounded the value of pi to the "Biblical value of 3". The 2008 hoax claimed that Microsoft Research had determined ''the true-up value of pi to be a definitive 3.141999, or as expressed in company literature, "Three easy payments of 1.047333".''<ref>{{cite web|url=http://lewisshepherd.wordpress.com/2008/04/01/microsoft-research-reclaims-value-of-pi|title=Microsoft Research Reclaims Value of Pi|accessdate=2007-04-01}}</ref> |
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* In 2008, Australian video gaming website company MyMedia, released information and previews on MyMedia: The Movie, the supposed upcoming movie was to be animated and produced by the [[Australian Film Commission]]. It was confirmed fake a few days after.<ref name="MyWii News">{{cite web|url=http://www.mywii.com.au/NewsDetail.aspx?id=1679|title=April Foolz - MyMedia: The Movie|accessdate=2008-04-01}}</ref> The movie was supposedly based on a comic series created by one of the site's editorial staff, Matt Kelly.<ref name="MyMedia Comics">{{cite web|url=http://www.mywii.com.au/BlogsTag.aspx?t=comics|title=MyMedia Comic Series|accessdate=2008-09-01}} {{Dead link|date=September 2010|bot=H3llBot}}</ref> This has since become an on going website ''gag'' about over hyping the non-existent movie through various additional trailers.<ref name="Additional MyMedia Fake Trailers">{{cite web|url=http://www.mywii.com.au/VideoDetail.aspx?id=3651|title=MyMedia: The Movie Teaser Trailer - Star Trek Edition|accessdate=2008-09-01}}</ref> |
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* On April 1, 2008, [[Blizzard]] released images and articles onto their website depicting a new Hero class for [[World of Warcraft]], that was to go along with the Death Knight in the expansion pack [[Wrath of the Lich King]]. They also released an article on the Starcraft II website for the new "Tauren Marine" for the Terrans. |
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* ScoringSessions.com announced that composer [[John Williams]] was replaced by [[Danny Elfman]] on the upcoming ''[[Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull]]'' - and provided photos from the scoring sessions.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.scoringsessions.com/news/132|title=Elfman replaces Williams on Indiana Jones; Shaiman and Newman team up to write songs|accessdate=2008-04-15}}</ref> |
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* [[YouTube]]: |
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** – In 2008, all featured videos on YouTube's front page hyperlinked to the [[Rickroll]]. The prank began with international YouTube portals before appearing on the main site.<ref>{{cite web | last =Arrington| first =Michael| authorlink=Michael Arrington|title =YouTube RickRolls Users| publisher =[[TechCrunch]]| date =2008-03-31| url =http://www.techcrunch.com/2008/03/31/youtube-rickrolls-users/| accessdate = 2008-04-01}}</ref> |
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** – In 2009, the videos, links and most text (using [[Unicode]] substitution{{Citation needed|date=May 2010}}) were turned upside down and there was also a link to help users view the new site layout with hints such as hanging the monitor upside-down or moving to Australia. |
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** – In 2010, a new option was created in the video quality settings called "TEXTp". Clicking on this option showed a message under the video which read "By using text-only mode, you are saving YouTube $1 a second in bandwidth costs. Click here to go back to regular YouTube and happy April Fools Day!"<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.thestandard.com/news/2009/04/01/youtubes-upside-down-april-fools-joke-bests-last-years-rickrolling-trick |title=The Industry Standard Channel - InfoWorld |publisher=Thestandard.com |date= |accessdate=2011-03-31}}</ref> |
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** – In 2011, YouTube contained featured videos on the homepage which were supposedly Viral Videos from 1911. YouTube Also added an option to all videos that did not contain ads that would mute the audio, give the video a grainy sepia-toned quality, and play jaunty piano music in a style similar to early 1900's silent movies. |
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*[[deviantART]] deviantART's most infamous April Fools' joke was in 2008, when all members' icons were changed to "So I herd u liek mudkipz". In 2010, each member's avatar was changed to any of a set of icons depicting [[Team Jacob]], [[Team Edward]], [[Legend of the Seeker]], and [[Lady Gaga]], along with signatures to match the icons. |
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* '''President [[Barack Obama]] pulls fundings for [[NASCAR]]''': On April 1, 2009, on the heels of the [[Automotive industry crisis of 2008–2009|auto industry bailout]], ''[[Car and Driver]]'' claimed on its website that President Barack Obama had ordered [[Chevrolet]] and [[Dodge]] to pull NASCAR funding. The article was removed from the website and replaced with an apology to readers, after upset NASCAR fans protested on the ''Car and Driver'' website.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2009/04/01/obama-nascar-in-april-foo_n_181891.html |title=Obama, Nascar In April Fools Prank "Gone Too Far", April 1, 2009 |publisher=Huffingtonpost.com |date= |accessdate=2011-03-31}}</ref> |
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* [[ThinkGeek]] sends an e-newsletter containing mostly false products each year. However, several of these products have eventually been produced due to customer demand. Most famous of these was the the [[Tauntaun]] Sleeping Bag (based on a well-known scene from ''[[The Empire Strikes Back]]''). The item was initially a prank, but the overwhelming response spurred ThinkGeek to seek permission from [[Lucasfilm]] to produce it. Lucasfilm eventually agreed, and ThinkGeek began selling actual Tauntaun sleeping bags in October of that same year.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.thinkgeek.com/tauntaun/index.html |title=Tauntaun Sleeping Bag |publisher=ThinkGeek |accessdate=2011-03-31}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|author=Rosa Golijan |url=http://gizmodo.com/#!5378464/drop-the-knife-the-tauntaun-sleeping-bag-is-now-real |title=Drop The Knife, The Tauntaun Sleeping Bag Is Now Real |publisher=Gizmodo.com |date=2009-10-09|accessdate=2011-03-31}}</ref> Similarly, in 2007, ThinkGeek advertised an [[8-Bit]] necktie that was later realized due to customer demand.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.thinkgeek.com/stuff/looflirpa/ |title=April Fool's Products |publisher=ThinkGeek |date= |accessdate=2011-03-31}}</ref> |
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* [[Expedia]] ran a prank on April 1 2009, offering flights to Mars. This was internally known as [[Project Dawnstar]]. |
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* On April 1, 2009, [http://gonullyourself.org/ gonullyourself.org] appeared to be "infected" by [[Conficker]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://gonullyourself.org/409/ |title=409 Not Clean |publisher=Gonullyourself.org |date= |accessdate=2011-03-31}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.f-secure.com/weblog/archives/00001645.html |title=April Fools Jokes and Conficker - F-Secure Weblog : News from the Lab |publisher=F-secure.com |date=2009-04-01 |accessdate=2011-03-31}}</ref> |
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* On April 1, 2010, the first letter of each headline on every tab of [[Fark]] comprised an [[acrostic]], such as "All Hail [[Hypnotoad]]". The hidden message on the main page was "There is no [[Drew Curtis|Drew]] only [[Zuul]], Happy April Fool's Day from Fark".<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.fark.com/cgi/comments.pl?IDLink=5166892 |title=(5166892) Thanks for an enjoyable April Fool's Day |publisher=FARK.com |date=2010-04-01 |accessdate=2011-03-31}}</ref> |
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* On April 1, 2010, the official ''[[Ghostwatch]]: Behind the Curtains'' blog reported that writer [[Stephen Volk]] was set to contribute to an upcoming episode of [[The Simpsons]] for Hallowe'en and that he would make a cameo appearance as himself alongside fictional character, Pipes. A hidden message on the site read, "...April Fools', Ghostwatchers!"<ref>{{cite web|author=GhostwatchBtC |url=http://ghostwatchbtc.blogspot.com/2010/03/ghostwatch-animated-series-sort-of.html |title=Ghostwatch: Behind the Curtains: Ghostwatch: The Animated Series... sort-of |publisher=Ghostwatchbtc.blogspot.com |date=2010-03-31 |accessdate=2011-03-31}}</ref> |
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* [[April Fools' Day RFC]] |
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* [[Google's hoaxes]] |
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* [[Neopets]]: The popular site Neopets runs regular hoaxes, year after year. These can be anything from changes in site design to announcements of free prizes. In fact, when new designs for the Neopets pets were released, several users complained and demanded to know if it was a "late April Fool's joke". It wasn't. |
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*NASA's [[Astronomy Picture of the Day]] posts a comical image with a seemingly serious description on April the 1st, with examples including '[http://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap100401.html Evidence mounts for water on the Moon]' and '[http://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap090401.html Astronaut's head upgraded during spacewalk]'. |
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*The administration team of [[eJahan]] online social strategy game announced that they will implement [http://www.ejahan.com/article-15535.html some destructive updates on game], many players believed them and started even to boycott the game and many players left the game. After 15 hours, on 04:00 Apr. 1st, 2011, they revealed the trick they used in that announcement [http://blog.ejahan.com/index.php/about-our-last-article/ in their blog]. They linked '''A''' & '''PR''' (The first '''P''' wasn't linked) in the word '''Approximately''' to the April fools' day page of Wikipedia! |
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<!-- PLEASE do NOT add pranks without references: the article needs to be well referenced to reach Featured Article status --> |
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*Gmail.com suggested a new update to the software, an "Gmail Motion", which was a touch screen, but once the link is clicked, the screen shows "April Fools", and lets you return to the real page. |
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*MechQuest, an online RPG, replaces their sound systems (battle sounds include explosions and lasers), with home recorded human voices, startling many players. |
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==Real news on April Fools' Day== |
==Real news on April Fools' Day== |
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Revision as of 19:39, 2 April 2011
| April Fools' Day | |
|---|---|
 April 1, 2001, in Denmark, regarding Copenhagen's new metro | |
| Also called | All Fools' Day |
| Type | Cultural, western |
| Significance | Practical pranks |
| Observances | Humor |
| Date | April 1 |
April Fools' Day is celebrated in different countries around the world on the April 1 of every year. Sometimes referred to as All Fools' Day, April 1 is not a national holiday, but is widely recognized and celebrated as a day when many people play all kinds of jokes and foolishness. The day is marked by the commission of good humoured or funny jokes, hoaxes, and other practical jokes of varying sophistication on friends, family members, teachers, neighbors, work associates, etc.
The earliest recorded association between April 1 and foolishness can be found in Chaucer's Canterbury Tales (1392). Many writers suggest that the restoration of January 1 as New Year's Day in the 16th century was responsible for the creation of the holiday, but this theory does not explain earlier references.
Origins
In Chaucer's Canterbury Tales (1392), the "Nun's Priest's Tale" is set Syn March bigan thritty dayes and two.[1] Modern scholars believe that there is a copying error in the extant manuscripts and that Chaucer actually wrote, Syn March was gon.[2] Thus the passage originally meant 32 days after March, i.e. May 2,[3] the anniversary of the engagement of King Richard II of England to Anne of Bohemia, which took place in 1381. However, readers apparently misunderstood this line to mean "32nd of March," i.e. 1st April.[4] In Chaucer's tale, the vain cock Chauntecleer is tricked by a fox.
In 1509, a French poet referred to a poisson d’avril (April fool, literally "April fish"), a possible reference to the holiday.[3] In 1539, Flemish poet Eduard de Dene wrote of a nobleman who sent his servants on foolish errands on the 1st of April.[3] In 1686, John Aubrey referred to the holiday as "Fooles holy day", the first British reference.[3] On 1st April, 1698, several people were tricked into going to the Tower of London to "see the Lions washed".[3] The name "April Fools" echoes that of the Feast of Fools, a Medieval holiday held on the 28th December.[5]
In the Middle Ages, New Year's Day was celebrated on the 25th of March in most European towns.[6] In some areas of France, New Year's was a week-long holiday ending on the 1st of April.[5] So it is possible that April Fools originated because those who celebrated on the 1st of January made fun of those who celebrated on other dates.[7] The use of the 1st of January as New Year's Day was common in France by the mid-sixteenth century,[3] and this date was adopted officially in 1564 by the Edict of Roussillon.
Real news on April Fools' Day
The frequency of April Fools' hoaxes sometimes makes people doubt real news stories released on April 1.
- The April 1, 1946 Aleutian Island earthquake tsunami that killed 165 people in Hawaii and Alaska resulted in the creation of a tsunami warning system, the Pacific Tsunami Warning Centre, established in 1949 for Pacific Ocean countries. The tsunami in question is known in Hawaii as the "April Fools' Day Tsunami" due to people drowning because of the assumptions that the warnings were an April Fools' prank.
- The death of King George II of Greece was on April 1, 1947.
- The AMC Gremlin was first introduced on April 1, 1970.[8]
- In 1979, Iran declared April 1 its national Republic Day. Thirty-two years on, this continues to be mistaken for a joke.[9]
- On April 1, 1984, singer Marvin Gaye was shot and killed by his father. Originally, people assumed that it was a fake news story, especially considering the bizarre aspect of the father being the murderer.
- On April 1, 1991, news emerged that David Icke, the British sports reporter, had announced that he was the son of God and that the world was about to end in an apocalypse. Not surprisingly, many people took the reports as an April Fool. Icke has, however, continued to expound his views.
- On April 1, 1993, NASCAR Winston Cup Series Champion Alan Kulwicki was killed in a plane crash involving Hooters of America executives in Blountville, Tennessee near the Tri-Cities Airport. The party were travelling to the Food City 500 qualifying scheduled for the next day.
- The suicide death of Deathrock legend Rozz Williams was on April 1, 1998.
- On April 1, 1999, the Canadian Northwest Territories was split, and the territory now known as Nunavut came to be.
- Gmail's April 1, 2004 launch was widely believed to be a prank, as Google traditionally perpetrates April Fools' Day hoaxes each April 1, and the announced 1GB online storage was at the time vastly more than existing online email services (see Google's hoaxes.) Another Google-related event that turned out not to be a hoax occurred on April 1, 2007, when employees at Google's New York City office were alerted that a ball python kept in an engineer's cubicle had escaped and was on the loose. An internal e-mail acknowledged that "the timing…could not be more awkward" but that the snake's escape was in fact an actual occurrence and not a prank.[10]
- On April 1, 2008, it was reported that UEFA would require the Swedish fast food chain Max to close their restaurant at the Borås Arena during the European Under-21 Football Championship due to a conflict with official sponsor McDonald's and a requirement that only official sponsors may operate around the arena. The arena was later replaced as a tournament site.[11]
- On April 1, 2008, Persch announced that the GNOME desktop web browser Epiphany would be switched from Mozilla's Gecko engine to the WebKit engine used by Safari and KDE's equivalent application Konqueror.[12]
- Also, on April 1, 2009, a Virus/Worm called Conficker was released in December 2008 but reports about its spread to millions of computers, releasing personal info and deleting files came out on April 1st. This was supposed to be a joke, but random computers throughout America were hit. Before this happened, news media like NBC, Fox News, ABC and CBS told the viewers to install firewalls and updates to their Windows computers before it hit.[citation needed]
- On April 1, 2011, word of Betty White to host a prank show called Betty White's Off Their Rockers hit the news.[13]
Other prank days in the world
Iranians play jokes on each other on the 13th day of the Persian new year (Norouz), which falls on April 1 or April 2. This day, celebrated as far back as 536 BC, is called Sizdah Bedar and is the oldest prank-tradition in the world still alive today; this fact has led many to believe that April Fools' Day has its origins in this tradition.[14]
The April 1 tradition in France and French-speaking Canada includes poisson d'avril (literally "April's fish"), attempting to attach a paper fish to the victim's back without being noticed. This is also widespread in other nations, such as Italy, where the term Pesce d'aprile (literally "April's fish") is also used to refer to any jokes done during the day. In Spanish-speaking countries, similar pranks are practiced on December 28, día de los Santos Inocentes, the "Day of the Holy Innocents". This custom also exists in certain areas of Belgium, including the province of Antwerp. The Flemish tradition is for children to lock out their parents or teachers, only letting them in if they promise to bring treats the same evening or the next day.
Under the Joseon dynasty of Korea, the royal family and courtiers were allowed to lie and fool each other, regardless of their hierarchy, on the first snowy day of the year. They would stuff snow inside bowls and send it to the victim of the prank with fake excuses. The recipient of the snow was thought to be a loser in the game and had to grant a wish of the sender. Because pranks were not deliberately planned, they were harmless and were often done as benevolence towards royal servants.[citation needed]
In Poland, prima aprilis ("April 1" in Latin) is a day full of jokes; various hoaxes are prepared by people, media (which sometimes cooperate to make the "information" more credible) and even public institutions. Serious activities are usually avoided. This conviction is so strong that the anti-Turkish alliance with Leopold I signed on April 1, 1683, was backdated to March 31.
In Scotland, April Fools' Day is traditionally called Hunt-the-Gowk Day ("gowk" is Scots for a cuckoo or a foolish person), although this name has fallen into disuse. The traditional prank is to ask someone to deliver a sealed message requesting help of some sort. In fact, the message reads "Dinna laugh, dinna smile. Hunt the gowk another mile". The recipient, upon reading it, will explain he can only help if he first contacts another person, and sends the victim to this person with an identical message, with the same result.
In Denmark, the 1st of May is known as "Maj-kat", meaning "May-cat", and is historically identical to April Fools' Day. However, Danes also celebrate April Fools' Day ("aprilsnar"), and pranks on May 1, are much less frequent.
In Spain and Ibero-America, an equivalent date is December 28, Christian day of celebration of the Massacre of the Innocents. The Christian celebration is a holiday in its own right, a religious one, but the tradition of pranks is not, though the latter is observed yearly. After somebody plays a joke or a prank on somebody else, the joker usually cries out, in some regions of Ibero-America: "Inocente palomita que te dejaste engañar" ("You innocent little dove that let yourself be fooled"). In Spain, it is common to say just "Inocente!" ("Innocent!"). Nevertheless, in the Spanish island of Menorca, "Dia d'enganyar" ("Fooling day") is celebrated on the 1st of April because Menorca was a British possession during part of the 18th century.[citation needed]
See also
- April Fool is the codename for a spy and double agent who allegedly played a key role in the downfall of the Iraqi President Saddam Hussein.
- Edible Book Day
- Fools Guild, entertainment troupe which holds a party in Los Angeles every April Fool's Day
- Fossil Fools Day
- Google's hoaxes
- Jafr alien invasion
- Pigasus Award, a tongue-in-cheek honour presented on April 1 in the field of "Paranormal fraud".
- Sizdah Bedar, the last day of two-week springtime celebrations for the Persian New Year is a day of pranks, very similar to April Fools' Day.
References
- This article incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain: Chisholm, Hugh, ed. (1911). Encyclopædia Britannica (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press.
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- ^ The Canterbury Tales, "The Nun's Priest's Tale" - "Chaucer in the Twenty-First Century", University of Maine at Machias, September 21, 2007
- ^ Carol Poster, Richard J. Utz, Disputatio: an international transdisciplinary journal of the late middle ages, Volume 2, pp. 16-17 (1997).
- ^ a b c d e f Boese, Alex (2008) "April Fools Day - Origin " Museum of Hoaxes
- ^ Compare to Valentine's Day, a holiday that originated with a similar misunderstanding of Chaucer.
- ^ a b Santino, Jack, All around the year: holidays and celebrations in American life, p. 97, 1972
- ^ Groves, Marsha, Manners and Customs in the Middle Ages, p. 27, 2005.
- ^ April Fools' Day, Encyclopædia Britannica
- ^ "Vance, Bill. "AMC Gremlin, 1970-1978"". Canadian Driver,. July 19, 2004. Retrieved 2008-05-30.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: extra punctuation (link) - ^ "CIA fact book. Iran, Government, National Day". Cia.gov. Retrieved 2011-03-31.
- ^ "Rumormonger: Python on the loose at Google". Valleywag. Retrieved 2007-04-01.
- ^ "Borås loses out in Uefa burger battle". The Local. The Local Europe. 21 July 2008. Retrieved 3 December 2008.
- ^ "Announcement: The Future of Epiphany". Mail.gnome.org. 2008-04-01. Retrieved 2011-03-31.
- ^ Betty White to prank unsuspecting youth in new hidden camera show
- ^ "The History of April Fools' Day". Life123. Retrieved 2011-03-31.