From a Swiss “spaghetti harvest” to a drink designed by Google to make you more intelligent, these pranks went above and beyond.
1. Pasta grows on trees. On April 1, 1957, the BBC ran a segment about the Swiss spaghetti harvest enjoying a “bumper year” thanks to mild weather and the elimination of the spaghetti weevil.
2. Left-handed toilet paper. Why should right-handers be closer to cleanliness? In 2015, Cottonelle tweeted that it was introducing left-handed toilet paper for all those southpaws out there.
Wipe away those left-handed bathroom struggles with new Charmin Lefty. #LefthandersDay #TheStruggleIsReal pic.twitter.com/SoohfYUfAj
— Charmin (@Charmin) August 13, 2014
3. Big Ben goes digital. In 1980, the BBC’s overseas service said the iconic clock tower was getting a digital update. The joke did not go over well, and the BBC apologized.
Did you know in 1980, BBC News announced that the iconic Big Ben Clock in London was going digital as an April Fool's joke? The joke resurfaced again in 2014, once again fooling (and firing up) the public! pic.twitter.com/1esrmworet
— Otto (@ActivatorOtto) April 1, 2020
4. The Space Needle falls down. In 1989, a Seattle comedy show went on the air and said the city’s Space Needle had fallen down. It even had pictures. The news was a joke, of course, but that was little comfort to 700 panicky callers alarmed by the story.
5. Google Gulp. In 2005, Google said it was branching out with a new drink: Google Gulp. It would help “to achieve maximum optimization of your soon-to-be-grateful cerebral cortex.”
On April 1st, 2005 #Google announced "Google Gulp" - A drink that would make you "more intelligent and less thirsty
— A Silly Point (@a_sillypoint) July 12, 2020
They had a scientific explanation - https://t.co/TBSDIiDq0u
Turned out to April fools' prank.
SILLY, but A POINT #aSillyPoint pic.twitter.com/PWAo6Z1dIq
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