England has brought the world more that just fish and chips, James Bond, and the Beatles. England has also had a rich history of April Fool's pranks. In some countries, including England, April Fool's jokes can only be played until noon on April first. After noon, someone trying to play a joke will be called the April fool. The fool is then taunted with" April Fool's Day is past and gone, You're the fool for making one."
Over the years, British media has been the chief instigator in numerous April Fool's Day jokes. On April 1, 1957, the BBC broadcast a documentary about spaghetti crops growing in Switzerland. Women were shown carefully plucking spaghetti strands from trees and laying them in the sun for drying. It was explained that March was a very anxious time for spaghetti farmers as an early frost could damage the flavor of the spaghetti. Two types of calls came into the station. The one group called to chastize the station for using such a serious medium for a joke. The second group called to learn how they could aquire their own spaghetti tree. This is believed to be the first time television was used for a prank.
The naysayers couldn't keep the BBC down as they continued their gags. On April Fool's Day in 1965, they were back at it. This time they revealed the new technology known as smellovision. Smellovision gave the networks the ability to broadcast aromas that were produced in the television studio. On that day, the BBC interviewed the inventor of this exciting new technology. To illustrate its power, the inventor brewed a pot of coffee and chopped up some onions while being televised. Viewers called into the station to confirm that they had indeed received these powerful transmissions and had smelled the aromas being transmitted.
On April 1, 1977, the Guardian newspaper featured a story on the tenth anniversary of the independence of San Serriffe island. The account was full of typography puns and mention of sans serif. The dominant population on the island are from Europe and these colonists were known as colons. There is also a large mixed-race group on the island known as semi-colons. This story was run in tandem with a series of reviews of foreign countries.
The Guardian was back again in 1981 when it revealed that a machine had been invented that could control the weather. The article went on to explain how Britain would benefit from longer summers and rain that fell only at night. Also, scientists working on the machine promised to program it to deliver snow every Christmas. A picture of the "inventor" was provided with the article and the caption announced sunshine in Pershore and an upcoming blizzard in Marseilles.
To keep up with the times, the Guardian made another surprising announcement on April Fool's Day of 2009. From that date forward, the newspaper would only be available via Twitter. Experts were quoted as saying that any story can be told in 140 characters or less. Using the technology of twitter, the newspaper can better blast out late breaking events as they happen.
Wherever you live, good luck this April Fool's Day.
Over the years, British media has been the chief instigator in numerous April Fool's Day jokes. On April 1, 1957, the BBC broadcast a documentary about spaghetti crops growing in Switzerland. Women were shown carefully plucking spaghetti strands from trees and laying them in the sun for drying. It was explained that March was a very anxious time for spaghetti farmers as an early frost could damage the flavor of the spaghetti. Two types of calls came into the station. The one group called to chastize the station for using such a serious medium for a joke. The second group called to learn how they could aquire their own spaghetti tree. This is believed to be the first time television was used for a prank.
The naysayers couldn't keep the BBC down as they continued their gags. On April Fool's Day in 1965, they were back at it. This time they revealed the new technology known as smellovision. Smellovision gave the networks the ability to broadcast aromas that were produced in the television studio. On that day, the BBC interviewed the inventor of this exciting new technology. To illustrate its power, the inventor brewed a pot of coffee and chopped up some onions while being televised. Viewers called into the station to confirm that they had indeed received these powerful transmissions and had smelled the aromas being transmitted.
On April 1, 1977, the Guardian newspaper featured a story on the tenth anniversary of the independence of San Serriffe island. The account was full of typography puns and mention of sans serif. The dominant population on the island are from Europe and these colonists were known as colons. There is also a large mixed-race group on the island known as semi-colons. This story was run in tandem with a series of reviews of foreign countries.
The Guardian was back again in 1981 when it revealed that a machine had been invented that could control the weather. The article went on to explain how Britain would benefit from longer summers and rain that fell only at night. Also, scientists working on the machine promised to program it to deliver snow every Christmas. A picture of the "inventor" was provided with the article and the caption announced sunshine in Pershore and an upcoming blizzard in Marseilles.
To keep up with the times, the Guardian made another surprising announcement on April Fool's Day of 2009. From that date forward, the newspaper would only be available via Twitter. Experts were quoted as saying that any story can be told in 140 characters or less. Using the technology of twitter, the newspaper can better blast out late breaking events as they happen.
Wherever you live, good luck this April Fool's Day.
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For your own April Fool's jokes. Stop the April Fools Everyday site where you can find practical joke ideas.
