30 most famous pranks in the history of mankind

2024 Author: Malcolm Clapton | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 03:44

Spaghetti tree, frog wave and Lenin at Disneyland - Lifehacker talks about the most interesting April Fools' jokes.

1. Frog tsunami

In 1906, the American newspaper Wichita Daily Eagle published information about a unique natural phenomenon on the front page. The publication reported that a huge wave 11 feet high (more than 3 meters) is moving south along the Arkansas River. Millions of frogs migrate towards it, to the north. Both waves, water and frog, will have to meet near the city of Wichita at about 10 am.

At the appointed hour, thousands of Kansas residents gathered near the river, wishing to witness the unprecedented event. But they did not wait for the frogs or the waves: after three hours the people dispersed.

2. Comic bomb

On April 1, 1915, at the height of the First World War, a French soldier made a rather harsh joke on the Germans. He threw a bomb from an airplane on their camp. The Germans fled in panic, but there was no explosion. It turned out that the "bomb" is a soccer ball on which is written: "From April 1!"

3. Destruction of the Capitol

In 1933, The Capital Times, published in Madison, Wisconsin, published a photograph of the destroyed Capitol. The signature stated that the building had been damaged by mysterious explosions, the cause of which was "a large amount of gas from violent discussions in the Senate."

The small lettering that this is an April Fool's joke, many readers did not see. Therefore, they believed in the news and later called the rally "tactless and disgusting."

4. Flyer on skis

In 1934, the German edition of the Berliner Illustrirte Zeitung published an unusual photo. It showed a man flying through the air, shod in skis, with a "fin" behind. In his hands he held a device that he blew into. The miraculous invention was powered by a stream of air from the lungs, activating the rotors. The skis served as the landing gear, and the "fin" regulated the height and angle of flight.

The comic photo was reprinted by many newspapers, including American ones, for example The New York Times.

5. A giant swarm of evil wasps

In 1949, a New Zealand radio presenter reported a swarm of dangerous wasps moving towards Auckland. The insect cloud was a mile in size, he said. The radio host advised residents going outside to tuck their trousers into their socks. Which many have done.

Not everyone was positive about this joke. Now on New Zealand radio stations there is a rule prescribing only the truth on the air on April 1.

6. Harvest spaghetti

On April 1, 1957, the BBC's Panorama program aired a story about a spaghetti crop in Switzerland. Farmers picked them straight from the trees. Journalists reported that they managed to get an unprecedented harvest thanks to the mild winter and the destruction of the weevil beetle.

The audience believed. They started calling the BBC asking how they could grow their tree. The company told them to put spaghetti in a jar with tomato sauce and "hope for the best."

7. TV stockings

In 1962, the Swedish TV channel SVT talked about how to use a nylon stocking to color an image. An expert named Kjell Stensson spoke in all seriousness about the latest technology and explained in detail how it works. According to him, the light waves are refracted through the fine mesh, resulting in color.

In order to see a color image, you need to tilt your head at a certain angle. The audience believed and went to the stores for stockings. But this did not help: color television broadcasting appeared in Sweden only in 1970.

8. Disease of redheads

On April 1, 1973, BBC radio went on to broadcast about Dutch tree disease affecting red-haired people. A guest of the studio, an academician, said that their hair turns yellow in a few days and then falls out. The man is going bald. The academician explained this feature by the fact that the blood formula of redheads is similar to the composition of the soil in the forest, where the trees were affected.

At the end of the broadcast, it turned out that the famous Irish writer and comedian Spike Milligan played the role of the academician.

9. Awakened volcano

On the morning of April 1, 1974, residents of Sitka, Alaska, were shocked. From the crater of the Edjkom volcano, which has been dormant since the 19th century, black smoke was coming out. People in panic began to pack their things and prepare for the evacuation.

Coast guard pilots who flew up to the volcano found out that this was not an eruption. A mountain of old tires burned on the slope. Nearby was a huge sign in the snow: "April Fool". It turned out that the "eruption" was arranged by a 50-year-old local resident Oliver Bikar. For four years he collected old tires, and then decided to prank his fellow countrymen.

10.100 minute hour

On April 1, 1975, the main Australian television channels announced the introduction of a new time system. A minute now included not 60, but 100 seconds, and an hour - not 60, but 100 minutes. Local authorities have announced that in addition to this, a 20-hour working day will be introduced.

This information was confirmed by the Premier of South Australia, Desmond Corcoran, who announced the effectiveness of the new system. The plot showed how a new watch with a 10-division dial was installed in Adelaide. The audience was shocked.

11. Weakening of gravity

In 1976, British astronomer Patrick Moore announced an unusual phenomenon on BBC radio. According to him, Pluto and Jupiter were located relative to the Earth in a special way - so that the combined forces of gravity of celestial bodies weakened the gravitational field. And if the inhabitants of the Earth jump at exactly 9:47 am, they will experience a "strange feeling."

Listeners who called the radio station confirmed that this was the case. Many have claimed that they even managed to fly around the room.

12. Paradise country

In 1977, the British edition of The Guardian published a seven-page insert describing the small republic of San Serriffe, which occupies several islands in the Indian Ocean. The country was described as paradise: with wonderful landscapes, friendly people. The two main islands on which the state was located were called Upper Caisse and Lower Caisse, they were in the form of a point and a comma.

Readers cut off the newspaper's phones, trying to find out how to get to San Serriffe and how much it costs to rest there. The journalists later admitted that they were joking and used professional terms. San Serriffe is a modified name for the Sans Serif font, Upper Caisse from upper case and Lower Caisse from lower case.

13. Electronic Big Ben

On April 1, 1980, the BBC reported that the famous Big Ben clock would become electronic. This news caused a storm of indignation among the listeners.

The BBC Japan office, which reiterated this message, added that the shooters will be sold to four listeners who will be the first to call the studio. All were outstripped by a sailor who sent an application in Morse code to a teleprinter.

14. Clipping guards helmets

In 1980, Soldier magazine published the sensational news that the fur helmets of the Irish guards guarding Buckingham Palace needed to be cut regularly. The publication reported that bearskin contains a hormone that is responsible for hair growth. And this discovery can radically solve the problem of baldness.

This information was believed not only by the readers of Soldier, but also by the London Daily Express, which made a reprint.

15. Defective bras

On April 1, 1982, the British newspaper Daily Mail reported the sale of 10,000 defective bras. The publication claimed that they used copper wire for the supporting frame, which was supposed to go to the manufacture of fire alarms. And copper, interacting with nylon and heated by body heat, can produce static electricity. The owners of defective bras thus interfered with TV and radio stations.

They say that even experts believed this joke. For example, British Telecom's chief engineer allegedly ordered a check to see if the company's employees were wearing brass underwear.

16. Terrible hot-headed ice axes

In 1985, the April issue of Discover Magazine published an article about the discovery of a new species of mammals living in Antarctica. Biologist April Pazzo called the animals hot-headed ice axes: they melted ice and attacked penguins.

“They are disgusting: about six inches long, weighing several ounces, have a very high metabolic rate - their body temperature is 110 degrees, they live in labyrinths in ice. They radiate a huge amount of heat through the “plate” on the head,”the scientist said.

Pazzo suggested that it was these terrible animals that could have caused the disappearance of the explorer of Antarctica Philip Poisson in 1837. Discover Magazine acknowledged that this article received the largest number of reader responses in the history of the publication.

17. Dismantling the Eiffel Tower

In 1986, the French newspaper Le Parisien announced the dismantling of the Eiffel Tower. The famous structure must be transported and reassembled at the Disneyland under construction. And on the site of the tower, it was planned to build a stadium for the Olympics. Many Parisians believed in the drawing and were very indignant.

18. Buying Maradona

In 1988, on April 1, the Izvestia newspaper distinguished itself. She published the news that Diego Maradona is moving to Spartak Moscow for a very decent fee - $ 6 million. The Associated Press picked up the news and spread around the world. This was the first draw on the pages of the Soviet press.

19. Tattoo discount

On April 1, 1994, National Public Radio issued a statement that several large companies, including Pepsi, had decided to appeal to young consumers in an original way. They promised to give a lifetime 10 percent discount to those who get their ears tattooed with the company logo.

Despite the clarification that it was a joke, those wishing to save money attacked tattoo parlors.

20. Vodka bars

Another draw was arranged in 1994 by the ITAR-TASS agency. It announced the release of new sweets specially for Russia - "vodka bars". It was a kind of response to Mars and Snickers.

The agency has promised that the bars will come in three flavors: pickles, lemon and coconut. And in the near future, instant vodka in tea bags will appear in stores.

21. Buying Lenin's body

The Irish Times in 1995 decided to "relocate" Lenin's embalmed body from the mausoleum. The newspaper published the news that the management of Disneyland wants to buy it out for any amount and negotiations are already underway. The new mausoleum was supposed to become an original attraction in the park under construction.

22. General cleaning of the Internet

In 1997, Internet users on behalf of the Network Services Group at MIT received e-mails stating that a "spring cleaning" would be carried out from March 31 to April 2. The authors recommended disconnecting all computers from the network.

As stated in the letter, large-scale preventive work was required to cleanse the Internet of electronic waste that had accumulated over several years of work. Five powerful Japanese robots Toshiba ML-2274 were supposed to remove inactive email addresses, dead sites and web resources of hackers.

Subscribers of telephone exchanges were previously played in a similar way. They were asked to wrap telephone tubes in plastic bags to collect dust that might spill out during preventive maintenance.

23. Corrected Pi

In 1998, Alabama legislators decided to "change mathematics, science and the world forever." And they said that from now on the number Pi will not be equal to 3, 14159 … but 3, 0. This decision was argued by the fact that 3 is more consistent with the "biblical meaning of the number Pi".

The legislators themselves learned that they had made such a decision after a barrage of angry calls and letters that fell upon them. The news about Pi's number was published in local newspapers. Thus, the scientist Mark Boslow decided to protest against attempts to cancel the study of the theory of evolution in school.

24. Hamburger for left-handers

Also in 1998, an advertisement for Burger King appeared in USA Today. The company announced a special offer on the menu - a hamburger for left-handers. The bun and the filling in it were turned 180 degrees to make it easier to dine.

The ad was believed: for a long time, Burger King had visitors wishing to order a "left-handed hamburger".

25. Guinness time

And one more loud rally in 1998. Guinnes Brewing Company sent out a press release on the eve of April 1 stating that it had become a sponsor of the Royal Observatory in Greenwich. And thanks to this, for the whole year, Greenwich Mean Time will be renamed Guinness Time. This news was published by the reputable publication The Financial Times.

26. Viagra for hamsters

In 2000, no less respectable British edition The Independent published information about the creation of "Viagra" for shy hamsters and other rodents. Scientists from Florida thus decided to save pets who suffer from feelings of sexual inferiority. Animal rights activists were shocked.

27. Carrots with holes

In 2002, the British supermarket chain Tesko announced in the Sun newspaper about a new type of carrot - with holes, thanks to which you can whistle through the root crop. And the Waitrose retail chain advertised a pineapple-banana hybrid - pinan. The newspaper's readers have been looking for new products in stores for a long time.

28. Unfulfilled Dream

In 2003, more than 3 thousand people gathered in Prague for the opening of the Czech Dream supermarket. Not long before that, billboards appeared in the city promising record low prices. As a result, the ribbon was cut in front of a huge poster placed in the middle of the field.

The drawing was organized by the students of the directing department. They decided to conduct a social experiment to create a utopia and made a film about the Czech Dream.

29. Flying Penguins

In 2008, the BBC channel in one of the episodes of the Miracles of Evolution program talked about flying penguins. They were found near Antarctica. The video, posted to YouTube on March 31st, quickly became a hit.

The host of the program, Terry Jones, said that the penguins decided to escape the cold and flew to the forests of South America to bask in the tropical sun.

30. Inventions of Google

Google was also noted with draws. In 2011, the company released a video about Gmail Motion, a new email tool. Users had to show certain gestures in front of the webcam.

The fact that it was a joke, many did not believe: the news of Gmail Motion quickly spread through the media. But the idea was quickly implemented. ICT employees wrote a program that really allowed you to control the Gmail mail service using body movements and a Kinect controller.

In 2013, Google announced the launch of the Google Nose service, which transmitted odors to the user's device. The video, which tells about the new product, is made quite convincingly.