10 Greatest April Fools Day Hoaxes Of All Time
7. Planetary Alignment Decreases Gravity (1 April 1976)
During an interview on BBC Radio 2, on 1 April 1976, the great British astronomer, Sir Patrick Moore, announced that due to a particular alignment of the planets the gravity would decrease on earth.
He said that at 9:47 a.m., planet Pluto would disappear behind Jupiter, and if everyone jumped at just the right time they would experience a strange floating sensation.
When 9:47 a.m. came the respected, Sir Patrick Moore, said, “Jump now!” And people did.
The switchboard lit up. A Dutch woman called to say she and her husband had floated around the room together. Someone called to say that they, along with eleven friends and the kitchen table they were sat around, ascended into the air.
There were complaints of course. One man called in to say he had lifted off the ground with such rapidity that he bumped his head on the ceiling.