Every April 1st, brands, news outlets, and legendary tricksters try to pull one over on the public. While most of us are on high alert, some pranks are so elaborate, so audacious, or in one case so surprisingly real, that they leave an entire nation scratching its head. From “spaghetti trees” to “left-handed burgers,” here are eight of the most legendary April Fools’ moments in history.
1. The BBC Spaghetti Tree Harvest (1957)
Back in the days before international travel was so common, the BBC broadcast a three-minute report about Swiss farmers harvesting spaghetti from trees. Thousands of British viewers were fooled, and the BBC received hundreds of phone calls about how to grow a spaghetti tree. The BBC replied with a joke? “Put a sprig of spaghetti in a tin of tomato sauce and hope for the best.”
2. Sweden’s Color TV Stocking Trick (1962)
Sweden only had a single black-and-white TV channel in 1962. On April 1st, their technical advisor declared that you could have a color TV instantly by placing a pair of nylon stockings over the screen. Many Swedes were caught in the act of ripping up stockings and taping them to their TVs. Sweden didn’t get actual color TV until 1970.
3. The Day Gravity Stopped (1976)
Astronomer Patrick Moore of the BBC announced that at exactly 9:47 AM, Earth’s gravity would be diminished due to a rare alignment of Pluto and Jupiter. He told listeners that if they jumped at that exact moment, they would experience a floating sensation. Within minutes, hundreds of callers reported feeling as though they were floating around the room or like a feather, the power of suggestion at work.
4. The Taco Liberty Bell (1996)
Taco Bell took corporate trolling to a new level when they took out full-page ads claiming they had purchased the Liberty Bell to help reduce the national debt, renaming it the “Taco Liberty Bell.” The stunt sparked a national outcry, with thousands of angry Americans calling the White House and the National Park Service in Philadelphia to demand answers.
5. The Left-Handed Whopper (1998)
Burger King introduced a new menu item: the Whopper for the 32 million left-handed Americans. The ad stated that all toppings had been turned upside down for “southpaws”. Many customers reportedly rushed to their local restaurants to try the new burger, while others demanded the “original” right-handed version.
6. Nixon’s 1992 Presidential “Comeback”
NPR’s Talk of the Nation shocked listeners by announcing that Richard Nixon was running for president again. They even aired a “speech” with the slogan: “I didn’t do anything wrong, and I won’t do it again.” Listeners panicked and flooded NPR with angry phone calls before it was revealed that the voice was actually comedian and impressionist Rich Little.
7. The Gmail Launch Nobody Believed (2004)
On April 1, 2004, Google introduced Gmail with a then-ridiculous 1GB of free storage – and the internet was convinced it was a hoax. Other email providers at the time offered 2MB. The date and the “too good to be true” storage capacity led to days of speculation about the joke, only to find it was all true.
8. The San Diego Zoo “Release” (2013)
A fake breaking news alert once claimed that the San Diego Zoo had released all of its animals into the wild to “re-wild” the urban landscape. 911 calls spiked across the city as terrified residents reported seeing lions on their cars and elephants in their cul-de-sacs. Thankfully, the only thing “wild” about the story was the imagination of the person who started it.
