10 Greatest April Fools Day Hoaxes Of All Time

Nobody really knows when the April Fools’ Day tradition began. The first example in England was on 1 April 1698 when tickets were handed out inviting people to “See The Lions Washed!” at the Tower of London. Crowds of people came out to see the spectacle but, of course, nobody in their right mind would wash a lion.

Earliest mentions of the holiday go back to the 16th century. In 1508, French poet, Eloy d’Amerval, wrote of a poisson d’avril (fish of April). 30 years later a Flemish poet, Eduard de Dene, wrote of a nobleman would send his servants out on fool’s errands.

As the centuries have rolled on, the hoaxes and pranks have become more popular. Corporations, broadcasters, newspapers, scientists, respected historians, every man and his mother and brother, have plotted evil little schemes to trick and deceive one another.

We have reached a point now where, when April Fools’ Day comes around, we all read the newspapers with a healthy side of scepticism. Every text from a friend seems dubious. Every phone call is a potential hoax.

You have to be creative and cunning to pull off a successful April Fools’ Prank. These are ten of the best.

In 1957, BBC’s current-affairs programme Panorama aired a story about an exceptionally heavy spaghetti crop in Switzerland. It was seen by eight million people.

The segment was narrated by the trusted and respected presenter, Richard Dimbleby, and contained black and white news footage of women carrying baskets plucking lengths of spaghetti from trees. Dimbleby narrates, “… another reason this may be a bumper year lies in the virtual disappearance of the spaghetti weevil.”

The British public, back in 1957, had no reason to question the news story. Spaghetti was a relatively new thing in England and most were only familiar with tinned spaghetti in tomato sauce. Spaghetti was a new and exotic food.

Hundreds of people called the BBC to ask how they could grow their own spaghetti trees. “Place a sprig of spaghetti in a tin of tomato sauce and hope for the best,” was the usual reply.

Decades later CNN described the Spaghetti Harvest as, “The best hoax that any reputable news establishment ever pulled.”