Top 10 April Fool’s Day Pranks- No Joke!
Monday, March 31st, 2008
Here are 10 of the top April Fool’s Day pranks ever pulled off, as judged by the San Diego-based Museum of Hoaxes for their notoriety, absurdity, and number of people duped.
– In 1957, a BBC television show announced that thanks to a mild winter and the virtual elimination of the spaghetti weevil, Swiss farmers were enjoying a bumper spaghetti crop. Footage of Swiss farmers pulling strands of spaghetti from trees prompted a barrage of calls from people wanting to know how to grow their own spaghetti at home.
– In 1985, Sports Illustrated magazine published a story that a rookie baseball pitcher who could reportedly throw a ball at 270 kilometers per hour (168 miles per hour) was set to join the New York Mets. Sid Finch was said to have mastered his skill — pitching significantly faster than anyone else has ever managed — in a Tibetan monastery. Mets fans’ celebrations were short-lived.
– Sweden in 1962 had only one television channel, which broadcast in black and white. The station’s technical expert appeared on the news to announce that thanks to a newly developed technology, viewers could convert their existing sets to receive color pictures by pulling a nylon stocking over the screen. In fact, they had to wait until 1970.
– In 1996, Fast-food chain Taco Bell announced that it had bought Philadelphia’s Liberty Bell, a historic symbol of American independence, from the federal government and was renaming it the Taco Liberty Bell.
Outraged citizens called to express their anger before Taco Bell revealed the hoax. Then-White House press secretary Mike McCurry was asked about the sale and said the Lincoln Memorial in Washington had also been sold and was to be renamed the Ford Lincoln Mercury Memorial after the automotive giant.
– In 1977, British newspaper The Guardian published a seven-page supplement for the 10th anniversary of San Serriffe, a small republic located in the Indian Ocean consisting of several semicolon-shaped islands. A series of articles described the geography and culture of the two main islands, named Upper Caisse and Lower Caisse.
– In 1992, US National Public Radio announced that Richard Nixon was running for president again. His new campaign slogan was, “I didn’t do anything wrong, and I won’t do it again.” They even had clips of Nixon announcing his candidacy. Listeners flooded the show with calls expressing their outrage. Nixon’s voice actually turned out to be that of impersonator Rich Little.
– In 1998, a newsletter titled New Mexicans for Science and Reason carried an article that the state of Alabama had voted to change the value of pi from 3.14159 to the “Biblical value” of 3.0.
– Burger King published a full-page advertisement in USA Today in 1998 announcing the introduction of the “Left-Handed Whopper,” specially designed for the 32 million left-handed Americans. According to the advertisement, the new burger included the same ingredients as the original, but the condiments were rotated 180 degrees. The chain said it received thousands of requests for the new burger, as well as orders for the original “right-handed” version.
– Discover Magazine announced in 1995 that a highly respected biologist, Aprile Pazzo (Italian for April Fool), had discovered a new species in Antarctica: the hotheaded naked ice borer. The creatures were described as having bony plates on their heads that became burning hot, allowing the animals to bore through ice at high speed — a technique they used to hunt penguins.
– Noted British astronomer Patrick Moore announced on the radio in 1976 that at 9:47 am, a once-in-a-lifetime astronomical event, in which Pluto would pass behind Jupiter, would cause a gravitational alignment that would reduce the Earth’s gravity. Moore told listeners that if they jumped in the air at the exact moment of the planetary alignment, they would experience a floating sensation. Hundreds of people called in to report feeling the sensation.
John Mayer loves baseball… but he should stick to singing and songwriting. Branching out isn’t always the best idea- no matter who you are! Here he is calling a game the other day in Japan… and that happens… 
Time to update your Christmas card list and stockpile stamps. Apparently, we’re all related to each other. Or at least that’s what some people with too much time on their hands from the New England Historic Genealogical Society in Boston say. 
If you haven’t heard of “Chocolate Rain”… in about 30 seconds from now you’re either going to love me or want to gouge my eyes out for putting this little ditty in your head. Having said that, this “masterpiece” has won the YouTube award for Best Music Video in 2007. 
Oh Amy. What have you done to yourself? 
Yeah, I forgot to wear green… so to make up for my indiscretion I’m posting a list of 9 people and 1 thing that are even more useless than I am. And, I thought the “Guinness” was a nice tie in too…
That’s according to a new study in an upcoming issue of “Men’s Health” magazine. The publication ranked 100 large cities in America and Lubbock is the number one city with the worst teeth. El Paso is in the top ten, and Dallas and San Antonio fall into the top one-hundred. Lubbock blames the high level of fluoride in the water, as well as the rising cost of dental care. Some of the cities at the top of the list for best teeth are Madison, Wisconsin and Nashville, Tennessee. San Diego came in at #29…
I get razzed all the time around the office for my nails. Just the other day I had lunch with the gang and a record guy knew about my nails before I even arrived to the table. (Thanks Jen W, I know it was you). 
Any make-up brand that can take a face like mine in the morning- nothing short of looking like a close relative to the crypt keeper-and turn it into something human is worthy of my undying love. Not to mention all the great fundraising they do. Fergie looks amazing in her Viva Glam!