Famous April Fool’s Day Pranks

Though nobody really knows how the tradition started, April 1 is widely recognized by most of the world as a day dedicated to tricking your friends. And while an intimate joke is enough to get most people whooping, a hoax implemented by a newspaper or well-known company really ups the ante by fooling the masses. Below, check out how BBC, Burger King and other big-time players have successfully pulled our legs.

1957

The BBC airs video of families harvesting "spaghetti trees." When hundreds of viewers call asking how to grow their own, the BBC tells them to put a noodle into a can of sauce. Photo: Michael Austin

1976

A BBC astronomer reports that, at 9:47 a.m., Pluto and Jupiter will align, creating a gravitational effect on Earth that will cause people who jump at that moment to float. Photo: Shutterstock

1992

Posing on the radio as Richard Nixon, impressionist Rich Little announces his run for President, saying, "I did not do anything wrong, and I promise never to do it again." Photo: iStockphoto

1996

Taco Bell takes out full-page ads in several newspapers, stating that it has purchased the Liberty Bell "to help the national debt" and renamed it the Taco Liberty Bell.

1997

Readers notice something funny about their comics when characters pop up in the wrong strips (Garfield appears in Blondie, Nancy dresses as Darth Vader in FoxTrot).

1998

Burger King announces a Left-Handed Whopper—with condiments rotated 180 degrees to "result in fewer condiment spills for lefthanded hamburger lovers." Photo: Shutterstock

2000

Google asks users to project a mental image of what they're looking for, then click an icon. The response: "Brainwaves received in analog. Please rethink in digital."

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