According to Wikipedia the earliest recorded association between April 1 and foolishness can be found in Chaucer's Canterbury Sales (1392). Many writers suggest that the restoration of January 1 as New Year's Day in the 16th century was responsible for the creation of the holiday, but this theory does not explain earlier references.
The First April Fool's Day
Then in 1562, Pope Gregory introduced a new calendar for the Christian world, and the new year fell on January first. There were some people, however, who hadn't heard or didn't believe the change in the date, so they continued to celebrate New Year's Day on April first. Others played tricks on them and called them "April fools." They sent them on a "fool's errand" or tried to make them believe that something false was true.~ about.com
Some of the Infamous April Fool's Hoax of all time:
The Swiss Spaghetti Harvest 1957:
The respected BBC news show Panorama announced that thanks to a very mild winter and the virtual elimination of the dreaded spaghetti weevil, Swiss farmers were enjoying a bumper spaghetti crop. It accompanied this announcement with footage of Swiss peasants pulling strands of spaghetti down from trees. Huge numbers of viewers were taken in. Many called the BBC wanting to know how they could grow their own spaghetti tree. To this the BBC diplomatically replied, "place a sprig of spaghetti in a tin of tomato sauce and hope for the best."Drunk Driving on the Internet 1994:
An article by John Dvorak in PC Computing magazine described a bill going through Congress that would make it illegal to use the internet while drunk, or to discuss sexual matters over a public network. The bill was supposedly numbered 040194 (i.e. 04/01/94), and the contact person was listed as Lirpa Sloof (April Fools backwards). The article said that the FBI was going to use the bill to tap the phone line of anyone who "uses or abuses alcohol" while accessing the internet. Passage of the bill was felt to be certain because "Who wants to come out and support drunkenness and computer sex?" The article offered this explanation for the origin of the bill: "The moniker 'Information Highway' itself seems to be responsible for SB 040194... I know how silly this sounds, but Congress apparently thinks being drunk on a highway is bad no matter what kind of highway it is." The article generated so many outraged phone calls to Congress that Senator Edward Kennedy's office had to release an official denial of the rumor that he was a sponsor of the bill.
TACO LIBERTY BELL
In 1996 executives at Taco Bell pulled off an April Fools' Day joke that took in millions of people. The fast-food chain placed a full page ad in the New York Times announcing it had purchased the Liberty Bell.
The ad proclaimed the historic attraction would be called the Taco Liberty Bell. The company said it was just doing its part to reduce the national debt.
The prank was met with mixed reaction. Some said it was in bad taste while others thought it was pretty funny.
Left-Handed Whoppers
In 1998, Burger King ran an ad in USA today, saying that people could get a Whopper for left-handed people whose condiments were designed to drip out of the right side. Not only did customers order the new burgers, but some specifically requested the "old", right-handed burger.Apple buys the Beatles:
In 2010, Bob Lefsetz released an April Fools' Day letter which had rumours circulating around the music industry.April 1, 2011 Pranks that you might want to check out:
Hulu.com~ has gone back in time, The home page — in fonts, layout, and video offerings — has mysteriously gone back to 1996.
Join us on facebook for exclusive deals and Prizes!
livingsocial.comSpa-Lami "Pate Facial" & Swedish Meatball Massage"
Ultimate Protein Package
thinkgeek.comis “offering” some truly inspired bogus products, including the Apple Store Playmobil Set, Edible Gummy iPhone cases
WholeFoods“Insects Raised With Compassion,” “Save Money with Refurbished Spices,” and a new option to “have your whole paycheck automatically converted to a Whole Foods Market gift card.”
Kodak.com "Relationshiffft"Kodak’s Web designers went into overdrive creating a Web site for a new fantasy service called Relationshiffft: Automated Person Purge. “An app to instantly remove that certain someone from all your photos and videos, no matter where they’re posted!”
Youtube.com "Top 5 Viral Pictures of 1911.”The fake video includes grainy, black-and-white “films” from 100 years ago.
Don't be fooled twice!=)
Happy April Fools & Have a Great Weekend!
Join us on facebook for exclusive deals & prizes.
Debbie P.
"My Life is Beautiful"
www.jewelrydays.com
Sources: Wikipedia.com
livingsocial.com
hulu.com
youtube.com
wholefoods.com
thinkgeek.com
kodak.com
about.com
No comments:
Post a Comment