April Fools Day is a day that all pranksters look forward to. Taking the chance to inject humour into an otherwise normal day. In America, a Museum of Hoaxes gets us to celebrate the best hoaxes.
Rumours include Pope Gregory XIII announced New Years would be January 1st instead of March 31st. If you forgot the date, you would be sent on fools errands. Another belief is that Geoffrey Chaucers Canterbury tales was behind it. In ‘The Nuns Tail’, Chaucers tells of a rooster who is tricked by a fox ’32 days after March begins’. This would correlate to April 1st.
The earliest origins can be tracked to the 1700’s, although April Fools origins have been lost through years of mythology and history.
The three best April Fools Day pranks
- Burger King release the left handed whopper.
Everything in the burger was rotated to make it suitable for left handed people. They put money into advertising this, even having a FULL PAGE ad in USA today. Later that day, Burger King announced “everyone knows it takes two hands for a whopper” - BBC Panarama
In 1957, BBC Panorama featured a report on people harvesting spaghetti from spaghetti trees. They claimed a spaghetti weevil was missing so it was a huge harvest this year. People believed this. They wrote in asking how to grow their own spaghetti tree. Panorama replied, put spaghetti in a tin of tomatoes and hope for the best. - Big Ben becomes Digital Dave
In 1988, the BBC revealed that Big Ben would no longer have bells chiming. It was going digital. This joke did not go down well with viewers, BBC presenters found themselves apologising to viewers for weeks.
What would you add to the list? Are there iconic April Fools Pranks that you remember to this day?
What about 2021?
Last year, many franchises chose to opt out of April Fools Day out of respect to those suffering with Covid. This year, April Fools have started, especially in the fast food market.
McDonalds announced a new fries box that will hold just 3 chips for people who ‘only want a few’. Subway dreamed the ‘helping hand’, a hand attachment that holds the sandwich while you zoom and lunch.
Thank you for reading 10 best pranks for April Fools Day !
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