01 April,2011 06:31 AM IST | | The Guide
On the occasion of April Fools' Day, we look back at five of the best all-time hoaxes from Spaghetti-growing trees to a ufo landing in the middle of a field
April Fools' or All Fools' Day is the one day in the year that practical jokers have the license to pull off their biggest gags, and nobody will mind.
Well, not too much anyway.u00a0 Even newspapers and news agencies pitch in with fake stories to capitalise on the spirit. Here's our list of the top five gags that could easily have us fooled.
The Taco Liberty Bell (1996)
The Taco Bell Corporation announced it had bought the Liberty Bell and was renaming it the Taco Liberty Bell. This angered several people who called the National Historic Park in Philadelphia where the bell was housed. Things only calmed down after Taco Bell revealed that it was all a practical joke, a few hours later.
Spaghetti grows on trees (1957)
The BBC news show Panorama announced that Swiss farmers were enjoying a bumper spaghetti crop, thanks to a very mild winter and the virtual elimination of the dreaded 'spaghetti weevil'. It accompanied the announcement with footage of Swiss peasants pulling strands of spaghetti down from trees. Several viewers called in, wanting to know how they could grow their own spaghetti tree.
Penguins that fly(2008)
The BBC announced that camera crews filming near the Antarctic for its natural history series Miracles of Evolution had captured footage of Ad ufffdlie penguins flying in the air. The alleged video clip of these flying penguins became one of the most-viewed videos on the Internet. Presenter Terry Jones explained that instead of huddling together to endure the Antarctic winter, these penguins took to the air and flew thousands of miles to the rainforests of South America where they "spend the winter basking in the tropical sun".
UFO in London (1989)
British entrepreneur, Richard Branson, pulled a fast one on thousands of motorists driving on the highway outside London, who looked up in the air to see a glowing flying saucer descending on their city. Many of them pulled to the side of the road to watch the bizarre craft float through the air. The saucer finally landed in a field on the outskirts of London. When the door to the craft popped open, a small, silver-suited figure emerged. Turns out, the saucer was a hot-air balloon that had been specially built to look like a UFO by Branson, whose plan was to land the craft in London's Hyde Park on April 1. Unfortunately, the wind blew him off course, and he was forced to land a day early in the wrong location.
Left-Handed Whopper (1998)
Burger King published a full-page advertisement in a US magazine announcing a new item on their menu: a Left-Handed Whopper, especially designed for their left-handed patrons. According to the advertisement, the whopper included the same ingredients as the original one, but all the condiments were rotated 180 degrees. The following day Burger King issued a release revealing that although the Left-Handed Whopper was a hoax, thousands of customers had visited their outlets, requesting for it. Others just went ahead and asked for the Right-Handed Whopper, instead.
Happy Fools Day
No one really knows for sure how April Fools' Day originated, however, some claim that it began in the 1500s, the time the Gregorian calendar took over the Julian. Those who forgot the change and attempted to celebrate New Year's (previously celebrated on April 1) Day on the wrong date were teased as 'April Fools'.
