April Fool Pranks can be hilarious and fun holiday activities that encourage comedy and trickery.
For years, corporations, news outlets, governments, and other groups have staged various gags to fool the public on April 1 every year.
The list below contains some of the most famous and notorious April Fool’s Day pranks.
- Macaroni grows on trees
- Big Ben has become digital
- America is losing its gold
April Fowles test day! Test your knowledge with this fun quiz about the annual day
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1. Noodles grow on trees
April Fool’s Day United kingdom It has a deep history dating back to the 18th century, when it was usually observed by light tricks for about two days.
One of the most famous April Fools’ pranks of recent decades occurred in 1957 on the BBC daytime television program “Panorama” regarding a group of pasta farmers in Switzerland.
The BBC has staged some notorious April Fools’ Day pranks over the years. (iStock)
The network published a report on April Fools’ Day that showed a Swiss family harvesting a record number of spaghetti crops from an alleged ‘spaghetti tree’. In the footage, farmers discuss how to grow a length of spaghetti noodles and the necessary planting process for the trees.
Millions of people across Britain watched the report, as the BBC was the country’s largest broadcaster at the time.
Hundreds of people have contacted the network asking how to grow their own spaghetti tree.
The BBC did not release a statement before issuing a three-minute report that it was actually a sarcastic April Holiday joke.
Many UK citizens during this period had limited knowledge of pasta. So, hundreds of people contacted the network asking how they grow their own spaghetti trees before the BBC clarified that it was a joke.
2. Big Ben has gone digital
Another infamous April Fools’ Day gag was made in the UK by the BBC decades later in 1980, when the network reported that Big Benthe legendary clock tower in the heart of London, will be replaced by a digital clock.
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The report stated that the clock hanging above the Palace of Westminster will move to a digital reading of the time instead of a typical clock.
The BBC Radio report also told listeners that they could win against the clock if they were among the first four listeners who called in to the programme.
BBC listeners were not happy when, in April 1980, the news outlet reported that the famous Big Ben clock tower would move to a digital readout. (Chris J. Ratcliffe/Bloomberg via Getty Images)
Overall, this prank was not taken lightly by much of the British public, who regard Big Ben as an important historical symbol.
The BBC issued an apology shortly after it received a negative response in the UK.
3. America is losing its gold
One of the most famous pranks that fooled Americans and Europeans was in April 1905, when the Berliner Tagblatt newspaper published an article about a group of thieves stealing American silver and gold from the US Federal Treasury building in Washington, DC.
The story was significant for its time because this was before the federal government moved the nation’s silver and gold stocks to Fort Knox, Kentucky.
For years, corporations, news outlets, governments, and other groups have staged various gags to fool the public on April 1 every year. (iStock)
The newspaper reported that the thieves dug a huge tunnel over the course of three years under the treasury building – and managed to steal more than $ 268 million in gold and silver.
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News of the robbery quickly spread across Europe as many believed that a nationwide manhunt by American law enforcement was under way to find the thieves.
Readers soon discovered that the story was a hoax when its author used a false name.