April Fool's Day Facts- Roll Over With Laughter

Compiled by Sharon Supriya
'April Fools' Day' or 'All Fools' Day', is one of the most light hearted days of the year. Its origins is complex and a matter of much debate. So, let me not discuss about the topic I am not sure of. Here is a small feast of laughter and surprise. Read about the most hilarious pranks of the world

• The Spaghetti Harvest: Even after half a century, it remains one of the UK's most famous April Fool's Day jokes. Back in 1957, BBC news show Panorama announced, that Swiss farmers were enjoying a bumper spaghetti crop due to a very mild winter and the virtual elimination of the dreaded spaghetti weevil. It accompanied this announcement with footage of Swiss peasants pulling strands of spaghetti down from trees. Many called the BBC wanting to know how they could grow their own spaghetti tree. To this the BBC diplomatically replied that they should "place a sprig of spaghetti in a tin of tomato sauce and hope for the best."


• The First And Instant Colour TV: In 1962 there was only one TV channel in Sweden, and it broadcast in black and white. To lure the viewers with a title of 'fools' on April 1st, the station's technical expert, Kjell Stensson, appeared on the news to announce that, with the help of a new technology, viewers could convert their existing sets to display color reception. All they had to do was pull a nylon stocking over their TV screen. Stensson proceeded to demonstrate the process. Thousands of people believed Stensson and tried it at home. Regular color broadcasts only commenced in Sweden on April 1, 1970.
  
• A Whopper Just For Left Handed People: In 1998 Burger King published a full page advertisement in USA Today announcing the introduction of a new item to their menu, a "Left-Handed Whopper" specially designed for the 32 million left-handed Americans. Not only did customers order the new burgers, but some specifically requested the "old", right-handed burger.
  
• The Blue River: "97.3FM" in Brisbane, Australia reported the polluted Brisbane River to be a shining blue on April 1st, 2005. This was said to have been caused by a rare movement of the moon, causing high tides and the sea water to run upstream to the river to give it clean blue water. What an explanation !! Multiple personalities were carried away with the hoax and interviewed in the morning. The calls were screened so that those living by the river didn't ruin the joke. Some listeners, joined in and called in to report, how beautiful it was to see the river unpolluted and clear!
  
• Happy-Go-Nutty : On April 1st, 1997, Cartoon Network ran the 1944 Screwy Squirrel cartoon Happy-Go-Nutty repeatedly from 6 AM to 6 PM, suggesting that the cartoon character had taken over the network.
  
• Bill Gates Assassinated: In 2003, many South Korean and Chinese websites claimed that CNN reported the founder of Microsoft, Bill Gates, was assassinated, resulting in a 1.5% drop in the Korean stock market.
  
• The DEAD fairy: An illusion designer for magicians posted some images illustrating the corpse of an unknown eight-inch creation, which was claimed to be the mummified remains of a fairy on his website. The clever designer later sold the fairy on eBay for £280.
  
  So what are you guys upto this year … do let me know.