List of April Fool's Day jokes
Encyclopedia
By tradition, in some countries, April 1 or April Fools' Day
is marked by pranks and practical jokes.
has an annual tradition of celebrating April Fools' Day by tricking and fooling their audience by altering programs or airing different and obscure programs.
April Fools' Day
April Fools' Day is celebrated in different countries around the world on April 1 every year. Sometimes referred to as All Fools' Day, April 1 is not a national holiday, but is widely recognized and celebrated as a day when many people play all kinds of jokes and foolishness...
is marked by pranks and practical jokes.
Well-known pranks
- Write-only memory: SigneticsSigneticsSignetics, once a major player in semiconductor manufacturing, made a variety of devices which included integrated circuits, bipolar and MOS, the Dolby circuit, logic, memory and analog circuits. They developed microprocessors like the 2650, the bipolar 8X300 and had licensed Motorola 68000...
advertised write-only memory (WOM) ICIntegrated circuitAn integrated circuit or monolithic integrated circuit is an electronic circuit manufactured by the patterned diffusion of trace elements into the surface of a thin substrate of semiconductor material...
databooks in 1972 through the late 1970s. - Decimal timeDecimal timeDecimal time is the representation of the time of day using units which are decimally related. This term is often used to refer specifically to French Revolutionary Time, which divides the day into 10 decimal hours, each decimal hour into 100 decimal minutes and each decimal minute into 100 decimal...
: Repeated several times in various countries, this hoax involves claiming that the time system will be changed to one in which units of time are based on powers of 10. - Taco Liberty BellTaco Liberty BellThe Taco Liberty Bell was an April Fool's Day joke played by fast food restaurant chain Taco Bell. On April 1, 1996, Taco Bell took out a full-page advertisement in seven leading U.S. newspapers announcing that they had purchased the Liberty Bell to "reduce the country's debt" and renamed it the...
: In 1996, Taco BellTaco BellTaco Bell is an American chain of fast-food restaurants based in Irvine, California. A subsidiary of Yum! Brands, Inc., which serves American-adapted Mexican food. Taco Bell serves tacos, burritos, quesadillas, nachos, other specialty items, and a variety of "Value Menu" items...
took out a full-page advertisement in The New York TimesThe New York TimesThe New York Times is an American daily newspaper founded and continuously published in New York City since 1851. The New York Times has won 106 Pulitzer Prizes, the most of any news organization...
announcing that they had purchased the Liberty BellLiberty BellThe Liberty Bell is an iconic symbol of American Independence, located in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Formerly placed in the steeple of the Pennsylvania State House , the bell was commissioned from the London firm of Lester and Pack in 1752, and was cast with the lettering "Proclaim LIBERTY...
to "reduce the country's debtGovernment debtGovernment debt is money owed by a central government. In the US, "government debt" may also refer to the debt of a municipal or local government...
" and renamed it the "Taco Liberty Bell". When asked about the sale, White HouseWhite HouseThe White House is the official residence and principal workplace of the president of the United States. Located at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW in Washington, D.C., the house was designed by Irish-born James Hoban, and built between 1792 and 1800 of white-painted Aquia sandstone in the Neoclassical...
press secretary Mike McCurry replied tongue-in-cheek that the Lincoln MemorialLincoln MemorialThe Lincoln Memorial is an American memorial built to honor the 16th President of the United States, Abraham Lincoln. It is located on the National Mall in Washington, D.C. The architect was Henry Bacon, the sculptor of the main statue was Daniel Chester French, and the painter of the interior...
had also been sold and would henceforth be known as the Lincoln Mercury Memorial.
- Left-handed WhopperWhopperThe Whopper sandwich is the signature hamburger product sold by the international fast-food restaurant chain Burger King and its Australian franchise Hungry Jacks. Introduced in 1957, it has undergone several reformulations including resizing and bread changes...
s: In 1998, Burger KingBurger KingBurger King, often abbreviated as BK, is a global chain of hamburger fast food restaurants headquartered in unincorporated Miami-Dade County, Florida, United States. The company began in 1953 as Insta-Burger King, a Jacksonville, Florida-based restaurant chain...
ran an ad in USA TodayUSA TodayUSA Today is a national American daily newspaper published by the Gannett Company. It was founded by Al Neuharth. The newspaper vies with The Wall Street Journal for the position of having the widest circulation of any newspaper in the United States, something it previously held since 2003...
, 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 burgersHamburgerA hamburger is a sandwich consisting of a cooked patty of ground meat usually placed inside a sliced bread roll...
, but some specifically requested the "old", right-handed burger. - Apple buys the Beatles: In 2010, Bob LefsetzBob LefsetzBob Lefsetz is an American music industry figure and author of the email newsletter and blog, the Lefsetz Letter. Based in Santa Monica, California, Lefsetz worked previously as an entertainment business attorney, majordomo of Sanctuary Music's American division and as a consultant to major record...
released an April Fools' Day letter which had rumours circulating around the music industry. - In 1983, Australian millionaire businessman Dick SmithDick Smith (entrepreneur)Dick Smith, AO is an Australian entrepreneur, businessman, aviator, and political activist. He is the founder of Dick Smith Electronics, Dick Smith Foods and Australian Geographic, and was selected as the 1986 Australian of the Year.-Electronics:In 1968, Dick Smith founded electronics retailer...
claimed to have towed an icebergIcebergAn iceberg is a large piece of ice from freshwater that has broken off from a snow-formed glacier or ice shelf and is floating in open water. It may subsequently become frozen into pack ice...
from Antarctica to Sydney Harbour. He used a barge covered with white plastic and fire extinguisher foam to convince witnesses. - A 1985 issue of Sports IllustratedSports IllustratedSports Illustrated is an American sports media company owned by media conglomerate Time Warner. Its self titled magazine has over 3.5 million subscribers and is read by 23 million adults each week, including over 18 million men. It was the first magazine with circulation over one million to win the...
, dated April 1, featured a story by George PlimptonGeorge PlimptonGeorge Ames Plimpton was an American journalist, writer, editor, and actor. He is widely known for his sports writing and for helping to found The Paris Review.-Early life:...
on a baseballBaseballBaseball is a bat-and-ball sport played between two teams of nine players each. The aim is to score runs by hitting a thrown ball with a bat and touching a series of four bases arranged at the corners of a ninety-foot diamond...
player, Hayden Siddhartha FinchSidd FinchSidd Finch was a fictional baseball player, the subject of the notorious article and April Fools' Day hoax "The Curious Case of Sidd Finch" written by George Plimpton and first published in the April 1, 1985 issue of Sports Illustrated.-Hoax:...
, a New York MetsNew York MetsThe New York Mets are a professional baseball team based in the borough of Queens in New York City, New York. They belong to Major League Baseball's National League East Division. One of baseball's first expansion teams, the Mets were founded in 1962 to replace New York's departed National League...
pitchingPitcherIn baseball, the pitcher is the player who throwsthe baseball from the pitcher's mound toward the catcher to begin each play, with the goal of retiring a batter, who attempts to either make contact with the pitched ball or draw a walk. In the numbering system used to record defensive plays, the...
prospect who could throw the ball 168 miles per hour (270.4 km/h) and who had a number of eccentric quirks, such as playing with one barefoot and one hiking boot. Plimpton later expanded the piece into a full-length novel on Finch's life. Sports Illustrated frequently cites the story as one of the more memorable in the magazine's history.
By radio stations
- Jovian-Plutonian gravitational effectJovian-Plutonian gravitational effectThe Jovian–Plutonian gravitational effect, a hoax phenomenon stated to cause a noticeable short-term reduction in gravity on Earth, was an invention for April Fools' Day by the English astronomer Patrick Moore broadcast on BBC Radio 2 on 1 April 1976....
: In 1976, British astronomer Sir Patrick Moore told listeners of BBC Radio 2BBC Radio 2BBC Radio 2 is one of the BBC's national radio stations and the most popular station in the United Kingdom. Much of its daytime playlist-based programming is best described as Adult Contemporary or AOR, although the station is also noted for its specialist broadcasting of other musical genres...
that unique alignment of two planets would result in an upward gravitational pull making people lighter at precisely 9:47 am that day. He invited his audience to jump in the air and experience "a strange floating sensation". Dozens of listeners phoned in to say the experiment had worked. - Operation Pallarax: In 1979, Capital RadioCapital RadioCapital London is a London based radio station which launched on 16 October 1973 and is owned by Global Radio. On 3 January 2011 it formed part of the nine station Capital radio network.- Pre-launch :...
staged an elaborate joke on their Sunday Soapbox, in which they told everybody about the government's plans to cancel the following two Thursdays. This so-called scheme was called Operation Parallax, and was the government's way of correcting errors that had occurred due to switching the clocks back and forth every year to account for British Summer TimeBritish Summer TimeWestern European Summer Time is a summer daylight saving time scheme, 1 hour ahead of Coordinated Universal Time. It is used in the following places:* the Canary Islands* Portugal * Ireland...
. 48 hours had accumulated altogether, and these needed to be spent, so the following two ThursdayThursdayThursday is the fourth day of the week according to the ISO 8601 international standard adopted in most western countries. In countries that use the Sunday-first convention and in the Judeo-Christian calendar it is the fifth day of the week. It falls between Wednesday and Friday...
s would be cancelled and the calendar would jump from WednesdayWednesdayWednesday is a day of the week in the Gregorian calendar. According to international standard ISO 8601, it is the third day of the week. This day is between Tuesday and Thursday...
to FridayFridayFriday is the day between Thursday and Saturday. In countries adopting Monday-first conventions as recommended by the international standard ISO 8601, it is the fifth day of the week. It is the sixth day in countries that adopt a Sunday-first convention as in Abrahamic tradition...
. As a result of this hoax being broadcast early on a Sunday morning, it fooled tens of thousands of Capital Radio's listeners, sparking panic. For a time, theatres cancelled their shows, airlines pulled flights, and emergency lines at Capital Radio and across LondonLondonLondon is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
were jammed for hours. Operation Parallax was subsequently nominated by The Sunday TimesThe Sunday TimesThe Sunday Times is a British Sunday newspaper.The Sunday Times may also refer to:*The Sunday Times *The Sunday Times *The Sunday Times *The Sunday Times...
as one of the top ten April Fool's jokes of all time. Capital Radio received numerous calls as a result of this announcement. One employer wanted to know if she had to pay her employees for the missing days. Another woman was curious about what would happen to her birthday, which fell on one of the cancelled days. - Space Shuttle lands in San Diego: In 1993, DJ Dave Rickards told listeners of KGB-FM in San Diego that Space Shuttle DiscoverySpace Shuttle DiscoverySpace Shuttle Discovery is one of the retired orbiters of the Space Shuttle program of NASA, the space agency of the United States, and was operational from its maiden flight, STS-41-D on August 30, 1984, until its final landing during STS-133 on March 9, 2011...
had been diverted from Edwards Air Force BaseEdwards Air Force BaseEdwards Air Force Base is a United States Air Force base located on the border of Kern County, Los Angeles County, and San Bernardino County, California, in the Antelope Valley. It is southwest of the central business district of North Edwards, California and due east of Rosamond.It is named in...
and would be landing at Montgomery FieldMontgomery FieldMontgomery Field is a public airport located in San Diego, California, United States, six miles north of the central business district of San Diego. The airport covers and has three runways and two helipads...
, a small municipal airport with a 4,577 foot runway. Thousands of people went to the airport to watch the purported landing, causing traffic jams throughout Kearny Mesa. There was no shuttle in orbit at the time. - Death of a mayor: In 1998, local WAAFWAAF (FM)WAAF is a Boston, Massachusetts, area commercial Album Oriented Rock/Active rock radio station that mixes music that is popular in the modern rock, heavy metal and classic rock genres....
shock jockShock jockShock jock is a slang term used to describe a type of any radio broadcaster who attracts attention using humor that a significant portion of the listening audience may find offensive. The term is usually used pejoratively to describe provocative or irreverent broadcasters whose mannerisms,...
s Opie and AnthonyOpie and AnthonyOpie and Anthony are the hosts of The Opie & Anthony Show, a talk radio program airing in the United States and Canada on XM Satellite Radio and Sirius Satellite Radio. Since the merger of the two satellite companies, this is now called Sirius/XM...
reported that Boston mayor Thomas MeninoThomas MeninoThomas Michael "Tom" Menino is the mayor of Boston, Massachusetts, United States and the city's first Italian-American mayor...
had been killed in a car accident. Menino happened to be on a flight at the time, lending credence to the prank as he could not be reached. The rumor spread quickly across the city, eventually causing news stations to issue alerts denying the hoax. The pair were fired shortly thereafter. - Phone call: In 1998, UK presenter Nic TuffNic TuffNic Tuff is a British radio DJ with a career spanning two decades.His first foray into broadcasting came when, at the age of 11, he co-hosted a competition on his local radio station, Radio Bristol, along with veteran broadcaster Roger Bennett...
of West MidlandsWest Midlands (region)The West Midlands is an official region of England, covering the western half of the area traditionally known as the Midlands. It contains the second most populous British city, Birmingham, and the larger West Midlands conurbation, which includes the city of Wolverhampton and large towns of Dudley,...
radio station pretended to be the British Prime Minister Tony BlairTony BlairAnthony Charles Lynton Blair is a former British Labour Party politician who served as the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 2 May 1997 to 27 June 2007. He was the Member of Parliament for Sedgefield from 1983 to 2007 and Leader of the Labour Party from 1994 to 2007...
when he called the then South African President Nelson MandelaNelson MandelaNelson Rolihlahla Mandela served as President of South Africa from 1994 to 1999, and was the first South African president to be elected in a fully representative democratic election. Before his presidency, Mandela was an anti-apartheid activist, and the leader of Umkhonto we Sizwe, the armed wing...
for a chat. It was only at the end of the call when Nic asked Nelson what he was doing for April Fools' Day that the line went dead. - BBC Radio 4 (2005): The Today Programme announced in the news that the long-running serial The ArchersThe ArchersThe Archers is a long-running British soap opera broadcast on the BBC's main spoken-word channel, Radio 4. It was originally billed as "an everyday story of country folk", but is now described on its Radio 4 web site as "contemporary drama in a rural setting"...
had changed their theme tune to an upbeat disco style. - National Public Radio: Every year, National Public Radio in the United States does an extensive news story on April 1. These usually start off more or less reasonably, and get more and more unusual. A recent example is the story on the "iBod," a portable body control device. In 2008 it reported that the IRS, to assure rebate checks were actually spent, was shipping consumer products instead of checks. It also runs false sponsor mentions, such as "Support for NPRNPRNPR, formerly National Public Radio, is a privately and publicly funded non-profit membership media organization that serves as a national syndicator to a network of 900 public radio stations in the United States. NPR was created in 1970, following congressional passage of the Public Broadcasting...
comes from the SoylentSoylentSoylent may refer to:* Soylent Communications, creators of the rotten.com website* Soylent Green, a 1973 dystopian science fiction film starring Charlton Heston...
Corporation, manufacturing protein-rich food products in a variety of colors. Soylent GreenSoylent GreenSoylent Green is a 1973 American science fiction film directed by Richard Fleischer. Starring Charlton Heston, the film overlays the police procedural and science fiction genres as it depicts the investigation into the murder of a wealthy businessman in a dystopian future suffering from pollution,...
is People". - Three-dollar coin: In 2008, the CBC RadioCBC RadioCBC Radio generally refers to the English-language radio operations of the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation. The CBC operates a number of radio networks serving different audiences and programming niches, all of which are outlined below.-English:CBC Radio operates three English language...
program As It HappensAs It HappensAs It Happens is a long-running interview show on CBC Radio One in Canada. Its 40th anniversary was celebrated on-air on 18 November 2008. It has been one of the most popular and acclaimed shows on CBC Radio; it is also distributed in the United States by Public Radio International.The bulk of the...
interviewed a Royal Canadian MintRoyal Canadian MintThe Royal Canadian Mint produces all of Canada's circulation coins, and manufactures circulation coins on behalf of other nations. The Mint also designs and manufactures: precious and base metal collector coins; gold, silver, palladium, and platinum bullion coins; medals, as well as medallions and...
spokesman who broke "news" of plans to replace the Canadian five-dollar bill with a three-dollar coin. The coin was dubbed a "threenie", in line with the nicknames of the country's one-dollar coin (commonly called a "loonieLoonieThe Canadian 1 dollar coin is a gold-coloured, bronze-plated, one-dollar coin introduced in 1987. It bears images of a common loon, a bird which is common and well known in Canada, on the reverse, and of Queen Elizabeth II on the obverse.The design for the coin was meant to be a voyageur theme,...
" due to its depiction of a common loon on the reverse) and two-dollar coin ("toonieToonieThe Canadian 2 dollar coin, commonly called Toonie, was introduced on February 19, 1996 by Public Works minister Diane Marleau. The Toonie is a bi-metallic coin which bears an image of a polar bear, by Campbellford, Ontario artist Brent Townsend, on the reverse. The obverse, like all other current...
"). - Country to metal: CountryCountry musicCountry music is a popular American musical style that began in the rural Southern United States in the 1920s. It takes its roots from Western cowboy and folk music...
and gospelSouthern GospelSouthern Gospel music—at one time also known as "quartet music"—is music whose lyrics are written to express either personal or a communal faith regarding biblical teachings and Christian life, as well as to give a Christian alternative to mainstream secular music...
WIXEWIXEWIXE in Monroe, North Carolina is a radio station at 1190 AM. It broadcasts a country music as well as a local talk format and is currently under ownership of Monroe Broadcasting...
in MonroeMonroe, North CarolinaMonroe is a city in Union County, North Carolina, United States. The population was 36,397 as of the 2010 census. It is the seat of government of Union County and is also part of the Charlotte-Gastonia-Rock Hill, NC-SC Metropolitan area.-Geography:...
, North Carolina does a prank every year. In 2009, midday host Bob Rogers announced he was changing his show to heavy metalHeavy metal musicHeavy metal is a genre of rock music that developed in the late 1960s and early 1970s, largely in the Midlands of the United Kingdom and the United States...
. This resulted in numerous phone calls, but about half were from listeners wanting to request a song. - U2 live on rooftop in Cork: In 2009, hundreds of U2U2U2 are an Irish rock band from Dublin. Formed in 1976, the group consists of Bono , The Edge , Adam Clayton , and Larry Mullen, Jr. . U2's early sound was rooted in post-punk but eventually grew to incorporate influences from many genres of popular music...
fans were duped in an elaborate prank when they rushed to a shopping centre in CorkCork (city)Cork is the second largest city in the Republic of Ireland and the island of Ireland's third most populous city. It is the principal city and administrative centre of County Cork and the largest city in the province of Munster. Cork has a population of 119,418, while the addition of the suburban...
believing that the band were playing a surprise rooftop concert. The prank was organised by Cork radio station RedFM. The band were a tribute band called U2opia. - Cellphone ban: In New ZealandNew ZealandNew Zealand is an island country in the south-western Pacific Ocean comprising two main landmasses and numerous smaller islands. The country is situated some east of Australia across the Tasman Sea, and roughly south of the Pacific island nations of New Caledonia, Fiji, and Tonga...
, the radio station The Edge'sThe Edge (radio station)The Edge FM is a MediaWorks New Zealand New Zealand youth radio network, playing predominantly pop, rock and R&B. The network's flagship is The Morning Madhouse with Jay Jay Feeney, Mike Puru and Dom Harvey....
Morning Madhouse enlisted the help of the Prime Minister on April 1 to inform the entire country that cellphones are to be banned in New Zealand. Hundreds of callers rang in disgruntled at the new law.
By television stations
- Spaghetti treeSpaghetti treeThe spaghetti tree hoax is a famous 3-minute hoax report broadcast on April Fools' Day 1957 by the BBC current affairs programme Panorama. It told a tale of a family in southern Switzerland harvesting spaghetti from the fictitious spaghetti tree, broadcast at a time when this Italian dish was not...
s: The BBCBBCThe British Broadcasting Corporation is a British public service broadcaster. Its headquarters is at Broadcasting House in the City of Westminster, London. It is the largest broadcaster in the world, with about 23,000 staff...
television programme PanoramaPanorama (TV series)Panorama is a BBC Television current affairs documentary programme, which was first broadcast in 1953, and is the longest-running public affairs television programme in the world. Panorama has been presented by many well known BBC presenters, including Richard Dimbleby, Robin Day, David Dimbleby...
ran a famous hoax in 1957, showing Swiss harvesting spaghettiSpaghettiSpaghetti is a long, thin, cylindrical pasta of Italian origin. Spaghetti is made of semolina or flour and water. Italian dried spaghetti is made from durum wheat semolina, but outside of Italy it may be made with other kinds of flour...
from trees. They had claimed that the despised pest, the spaghetti weevil, had been eradicated. A large number of people contacted the BBC wanting to know how to cultivate their own spaghetti trees. It was, in fact, filmed in St AlbansSt AlbansSt Albans is a city in southern Hertfordshire, England, around north of central London, which forms the main urban area of the City and District of St Albans. It is a historic market town, and is now a sought-after dormitory town within the London commuter belt...
. - In 1962, the Swedish national televisionSveriges TelevisionSveriges Television AB , Sweden's Television, is a national television broadcaster based in Sweden, funded by a compulsory fee to be paid by all television owners...
did a 5-minute special on how one could get color TV by placing a nylon stocking in front of the TV. A rather in-depth description on the physics behind the phenomenon was included. - Smell-o-visionSmell-o-visionSmell-O-Vision was a system that released odor during the projection of a film so that the viewer could "smell" what was happening in the movie. The technique was created by Hans Laube and made its only appearance in the 1960 film Scent of Mystery, produced by Mike Todd, Jr., son of film producer...
: In 1965, the BBCBBCThe British Broadcasting Corporation is a British public service broadcaster. Its headquarters is at Broadcasting House in the City of Westminster, London. It is the largest broadcaster in the world, with about 23,000 staff...
purported to conduct a trial of a new technology allowing the transmission of odorOdorAn odor or odour is caused by one or more volatilized chemical compounds, generally at a very low concentration, that humans or other animals perceive by the sense of olfaction. Odors are also commonly called scents, which can refer to both pleasant and unpleasant odors...
over the airwaves to all viewers. Many viewers reportedly contacted the BBC to report the trial's success. In 2007, the BBC website repeated an online version of the hoax. - TV license fee evasion discovery: In 1969, the Dutch TV news notified the public of a new device that would be handed out to civil servants tasked with finding TV license fee evaders. This device would be able to detect the presence of a television set in the house from the outside. Asked whether there was nothing that citizens could do about this, the interviewed "civil servant" said 'No', as - he said - it would be unlikely that people would be willing to wrap their TVs in aluminum foil. The next day aluminum foil was sold out in most stores in a matter of hours.
- In 1980, the BBCBBCThe British Broadcasting Corporation is a British public service broadcaster. Its headquarters is at Broadcasting House in the City of Westminster, London. It is the largest broadcaster in the world, with about 23,000 staff...
reported a proposed change to the famous clock tower known as Big Ben. The reporters stated that the clock would go digital. - In 1989, a fight broke out on air between staff in the newsroom behind presenter Des LynamDes LynamDesmond Michael "Des" Lynam, OBE is an Irish television and radio presenter based in the UK.He has hosted television coverage of high profile events for many years...
on the BBC sports programme, GrandstandGrandstand (BBC)Grandstand was a British television sport programme. Broadcast between 1958 and 2007, it was one of the BBC's longest running sports shows, alongside BBC Sports Personality of the Year.Its first presenter was Peter Dimmock...
. This was later revealed to be an April Fool's Day joke - On Comedy Central, the creators of South ParkSouth ParkSouth Park is an American animated television series created by Trey Parker and Matt Stone for the Comedy Central television network. Intended for mature audiences, the show has become famous for its crude language, surreal, satirical, and dark humor that lampoons a wide range of topics...
aired a fake episode of Terrance and Phillip titled "Terrance and Phillip in Not Without My AnusTerrance and Phillip in Not Without My Anus"Terrance and Phillip in Not Without My Anus" is the second season premiere of the animated television series South Park, and the 14th overall episode of the series. It originally aired on Comedy Central in the United States on April 1, 1998...
" instead of running the season premiere which was supposed to reveal the father of Eric CartmanEric CartmanEric Theodore Cartman is a fictional character in the American animated television series South Park. One of four main characters, along with Stan Marsh, Kyle Broflovski, and Kenny McCormick, he is generally referred to within the series by his last name...
. This caused angered fans to write about 2,000 complaints to Comedy CentralComedy CentralComedy Central is an American cable television and satellite television channel that carries comedy programming, both original and syndicated....
in the week following the broadcast. The incident was parodied in the Season 13 episode "Eat, Pray, QueefEat, Pray, Queef"Eat, Pray, Queef" is the fourth episode of the thirteenth season of the American animated television series South Park, and the 185th overall episode of the series. It originally aired on Comedy Central in the United States on April 1, 2009...
", the first episode to broadcast on April Fool's Day since the incident. - The Trouble with TracyThe Trouble with TracyThe Trouble with Tracy was a Canadian television series produced by CTV for the 1970–1971 television season, with intended distribution by the U.S.-based National General Pictures. It is considered by some to be one of the worst situation comedies ever produced.The show was produced as a daily...
: In 2003, The Comedy NetworkThe Comedy NetworkThe Comedy Network a Canadian English language Category A specialty channel owned by Bell Media specializing in comedy programming.The channel operates two time shifted feeds, East and West ....
in Canada announced that it would produce and air a remake of the 1970s Canadian sitcom The Trouble with Tracy, widely considered to be one of the worst sitcoms ever produced. Series star Diane NylandDiane NylandDiane Nyland Proctor is a Canadian actress, director and choreographer. She is best known for portraying the title role in the 1970-71 CTV television series The Trouble With Tracy.- Awards and recognition :...
Procter even gave interviews and press conferences promoting the alleged "revival", and several media outlets fell for the hoax. - In 2004, British breakfast show GMTVGMTVGMTV was the national Channel 3 breakfast television contractor, broadcasting in the United Kingdom from 1 January 1993 to 3 September 2010. It became a wholly owned subsidiary of ITV plc. in November 2009. Shortly after, ITV plc announced the programme would end...
produced a story claiming that Yorkshire Water were trialing a new 'diet tap water' that had already helped one customer lose a stone and a half in four months. After heralding the trial as successful, it was claimed that a third tap would be added to kitchen sinks, allowing customers easy access to the water. Following the story, Yorkshire Water received 10,000 enquiries from viewers. - In 2004, the Italian television station Rai 2 reported that NASA discovered crude oil on Mars.
- In 2006, the same station reported the invention of a miraculous diet pill that should be accompanied to a diet rich of fish.
- In 2006, the BBCBBCThe British Broadcasting Corporation is a British public service broadcaster. Its headquarters is at Broadcasting House in the City of Westminster, London. It is the largest broadcaster in the world, with about 23,000 staff...
reported that the door to No. 10 Downing Street, the official residence of the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, had been painted red. They showed footage of workmen carrying a red door. Red was the official colour of the political party which formed the government at the time. The same story was also reported in the British newspaper, The Daily Mail which credited the new design to April Fewell. The door is in fact black. - In 2008, the BBCBBCThe British Broadcasting Corporation is a British public service broadcaster. Its headquarters is at Broadcasting House in the City of Westminster, London. It is the largest broadcaster in the world, with about 23,000 staff...
reported on a newly discovered colony of flying penguinsFlying penguinsFlying penguins or Miracles of Evolution is a BBC film trailer made in 2008 as an April Fools' Day hoax. The film was advertised as compelling evidence for Charles Darwin's theory of evolution. It was largely set on King George Island which is 75 miles from Antarctica.The Daily Telegraph wrote that...
. An elaborate video segment was even produced, featuring Terry JonesTerry JonesTerence Graham Parry Jones is a Welsh comedian, screenwriter, actor, film director, children's author, popular historian, political commentator, and TV documentary host. He is best known as a member of the Monty Python comedy team....
(of Monty PythonMonty PythonMonty Python was a British surreal comedy group who created their influential Monty Python's Flying Circus, a British television comedy sketch show that first aired on the BBC on 5 October 1969. Forty-five episodes were made over four series...
fame) walking with the penguins in Antarctica, and following their flight to the Amazon rainforest. - In 2011, PBS Kids SproutPBS KIDS SproutPBS Kids Sprout is a U.S. digital cable television channel, video-on-demand service, and website providing PBS Kids shows and original programming for preschoolers and their families...
's programming blocks were reversed. Additionally, Nina and Star (hosts of the Good Night Show) made a guest appearance on the Sunny Side Up show. Because April Fools day of 2011 was on a weekday, Sprout's Wiggly Waffle was played last (it does not play on weekends). The segment reran somewhere around 11:00 (which The Good Night Show usually does as a filler).
Adult Swim
Basic-cable station, Adult SwimAdult Swim
Adult Swim is an adult-oriented Cable network that shares channel space with Cartoon Network from 9:00 pm until 6:00 am ET/PT in the United States, and broadcasts in countries such as Australia and New Zealand...
has an annual tradition of celebrating April Fools' Day by tricking and fooling their audience by altering programs or airing different and obscure programs.
-
- 2004, all of the regularly scheduled episodes were aired with random mustaches drawn on the characters; however, the next night the episodes were aired again this time without the random mustaches.
- 2005, Adult Swim aired an early, unfinished version of the SquidbilliesSquidbilliesSquidbillies is an animated television series about the Cuylers, an impoverished family of anthropomorphic hillbilly squids living in the Appalachian region of North Carolina's mountains. The show is produced by Williams Street Studios for the Adult Swim programming block of Cartoon Network and...
, instead of Robot Chicken. - 2006, Adult Swim aired old re-runs of Mr. TMr. TMr. T is an American actor known for his roles as B. A. Baracus in the 1980s television series The A-Team, as boxer Clubber Lang in the 1982 film Rocky III, and for his appearances as a professional wrestler. Mr. T is known for his trademark African Mandinka warrior hairstyle, his gold jewelry,...
and Chuck Norris: Karate Kommandos, and then aired episodes of Fullmetal Alchemist and Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex with fart-noises added to the dialog. - 2007, Adult Swim aired every episode of Perfect Hair ForeverPerfect Hair ForeverPerfect Hair Forever is an American comedy animated television series which is largely a parody of anime. It was created and produced by Williams Street, and aired on Adult Swim and The Detour in the US and Canada respectively...
in reverse order. The episodes were digitally degraded to look like several generation old videotapes with grammatically incorrect subtitles. At one point, the subtitles shown on screen were actually for an Aqua Teen Hunger ForceAqua Teen Hunger ForceAqua Teen Hunger Force , retitled Aqua Unit Patrol Squad 1 in 2011, is an American animated television series on Cartoon Network late night programing block, Adult Swim, as well as Teletoon's Teletoon at Night block and later G4 Canada's ADd block in Canada...
episode. The following night Adult Swim teased that they would air the entirety of Aqua Teen Hunger Force Colon Movie Film for Theaters before its release in theaters. They made good on their promise, showing the first few minutes fullscreen, then shrinking it down into a small picture-in-picture screen over their regular programing block. - 2008, Adult Swim aired a night of unfinished sneak peeks of future upcoming shows in place of their typical programing.
- 2009, Adult Swim aired The RoomThe Room (film)The Room is a 2003 independent drama film starring Tommy Wiseau, who also wrote, directed, and produced the feature. In addition to Wiseau, the principal cast includes Juliette Danielle, Greg Sestero, Philip Haldiman, Kyle Vogt, Carolyn Minnott, and Robyn Paris...
, with sex scenes obscured with black boxes. - 2010, Adult Swim re-aired The Room for a second year in a row, with bumps featuring Tommy Wiseau being interviewed on Space Ghost Coast to CoastSpace Ghost Coast to CoastSpace Ghost Coast to Coast is an American animated parody talk show hosted by the 60s Hanna-Barbera cartoon character Space Ghost. The show premiered on April 15, 1994 on Cartoon Network...
. Sex scenes remained censored, but the parental rating was raised to TV-MA. - 2011 The Room was aired once again with the TV-MA rating and was followed by a 15 minute special entitled Earth Ghost, a CGI version of the Lowe Country pilot shown on Adult Swim Video in 2007.
By newspapers
- In The GuardianThe GuardianThe Guardian, formerly known as The Manchester Guardian , is a British national daily newspaper in the Berliner format...
newspaper, in the United Kingdom, on April Fool's Day, 1977, a fictional mid-ocean state of San SerriffeSan SerriffeSan Serriffe is a fictional island nation created for April Fools' Day, 1977, by Britain's Guardian newspaper. An elaborate description of the nation, using puns and plays on words relating to typography , was reported as legitimate news, apparently fooling many readers...
was created in a seven-page supplement.
- In 2011, The Daily TelegraphThe Daily TelegraphThe Daily Telegraph is a daily morning broadsheet newspaper distributed throughout the United Kingdom and internationally. The newspaper was founded by Arthur B...
posted an internal labour memo advertising a party requirement to celebrate the marriage of Ed MilibandEd MilibandEdward Samuel Miliband is a British Labour Party politician, currently the Leader of the Labour Party and Leader of the Opposition...
and Justine ThorntonJustine ThorntonJustine Thornton is a British barrister, and the wife of Ed Miliband, the current Leader of the Labour Party. She is a former child actress who appeared in Dramarama and Hardwicke House.-Early life and education:...
by ordering trifle and having a street party.
- In 1994, adverts were displayed in newspapers advertising a new Mars barMars BarMars is a chocolate bar manufactured by Mars, Incorporated. It was first manufactured in Slough, Berkshire in the United Kingdom in 1932 as a sweeter version of the US Milky Way bar which Mars, Inc. produced...
, the Emperor. It was "32 pounds(14kg) of thick chocolate, glucose and milk". It was only "on sale" for one day - April 1.
By game shows
- Jeopardy!Jeopardy!Griffin's first conception of the game used a board comprising ten categories with ten clues each, but after finding that this board could not be shown on camera easily, he reduced it to two rounds of thirty clues each, with five clues in each of six categories...
and Wheel of FortuneWheel of Fortune (U.S. game show)Wheel of Fortune is an American television game show created by Merv Griffin, which premiered in 1975. Contestants compete to solve word puzzles, similar to those used in Hangman, to win cash and prizes determined by spinning a large wheel. The title refers to the show's giant carnival wheel that...
- As part of an April Fools' joke, on April 1, 1997, Alex TrebekAlex TrebekGeorge Alexander "Alex" Trebek is a Canadian American game show host who has been the host of the game show Jeopardy! since 1984, and prior to that, he hosted game shows such as Pitfall and High Rollers. He has appeared in numerous television series, usually as himself...
and Pat SajakPat SajakPat Sajak is a television personality, former weatherman, actor and talk show host, best known as the host of the American television game show Wheel of Fortune.-Early life:...
switched hosting duties. Sajak hosted Jeopardy! that day (which featured Jeopardy! categories with several "Wheel of Fortune"-inspried and Double Jeopardy! categories about the word "Fool") and Trebek hosted Wheel of Fortune where Sajak and Vanna WhiteVanna WhiteVanna White is an American television personality and film actress best known as the hostess of Wheel of Fortune since 1982.-Early life:...
played as contestants. Jeopardy! announcer Johnny GilbertJohnny GilbertJohn L. "Johnny" Gilbert III is an American show business personality who has worked mainly on television game shows. Originally a nightclub singer and entertainer, he has hosted and announced a number of game shows from various eras, dating as far back as the 1950s...
did double duties that day while regular Wheel announcer Charlie O'DonnellCharlie O'DonnellCharles John "Charlie" O'Donnell was an American radio and television announcer, primarily known for his work on game shows...
announced some parts, including the opening with Gilbert, as well as telling Sajak and White that they won $25,000 in the bonus round, which they split with their respective charities in addition to their main game winnings. A puzzle during the episode also featured "supercalifragilisticexpialidociousSupercalifragilisticexpialidociousSupercalifragilisticexpialidocious is an English word, with 34 letters, that was in the song with the same title in the 1964 Disney musical film Mary Poppins. The song was written by the Sherman Brothers, and sung by Julie Andrews and Dick Van Dyke...
" as an answer, with the category being "Really Long Title". - On April 1, 2008, Alex Trebek appeared on Jeopardy! wearing a false mustache. Also, Wheel of Fortune host Pat Sajak wore a bald cap underneath a wig he later removed.
- On April 1, 2010, Sajak appeared during Trebek's introduction during the opening of Jeopardy!. At other non-critical points in the game, such as reading the round's categories, other people appeared in place of Trebek, including Jeff ProbstJeff ProbstJeffrey Lee "Jeff" Probst is an American game show host, executive producer and a reporter. He is best known as the host of the U.S. version of the reality show Survivor.-Biography:...
and Neil Patrick HarrisNeil Patrick HarrisNeil Patrick Harris is an American actor, singer, director, and magician.Prominent roles of his career include the title role in Doogie Howser, M.D., Colonel Carl Jenkins in Starship Troopers, the womanizing Barney Stinson in How I Met Your Mother, a fictionalized version of himself in the Harold...
. On that day's Wheel of FortuneWheel of Fortune (U.S. game show)Wheel of Fortune is an American television game show created by Merv Griffin, which premiered in 1975. Contestants compete to solve word puzzles, similar to those used in Hangman, to win cash and prizes determined by spinning a large wheel. The title refers to the show's giant carnival wheel that...
, people were alerted to find 10 things "out of the ordinary" with that day's episode; the show's website even included a printable checklist noting when each abnormality would occur (but not what it would be). On April 2, the site posted a photo gallery showing all 10 mistakes, as well as the end of that day's episode in which Pat & Vanna went over each change. The gags involved Sajak, White, and announcer Charlie O'DonnellCharlie O'DonnellCharles John "Charlie" O'Donnell was an American radio and television announcer, primarily known for his work on game shows...
.
- As part of an April Fools' joke, on April 1, 1997, Alex Trebek
- The Price Is RightThe Price Is Right (U.S. game show)The Price Is Right is an American game show which was created by Mark Goodson and Bill Todman. Contestants compete to identify the pricing of merchandise to win cash and prizes. The show is well-known for its signature line of "Come on down!" when the announcer directs newly selected contestants to...
has often celebrated the day by featuring Showcases with assortments of gags, which have often included joke prizes (such as cheap items or trips to fictitious locations), or gags involving their presentation (such as most of the prizes being destroyed throughout the course of the skit). In most cases, once the contestant learned that it was an April Fools' joke, the real Showcase would consist of extravagant prizes, such as luxury and sports cars. The practice is best known from the 1980s, but was revived during the Drew CareyDrew CareyDrew Allison Carey is an American actor, singer, comedian, photographer, sports executive, and game show host. After serving in the U.S. Marine Corps and making a name for himself in stand-up comedy, Carey eventually gained popularity starring on his own sitcom, The Drew Carey Show, and serving as...
era; though all the prizes presented now are real, the prizes may have funny connections or may be presented in some comical way.- In 2009 and 2010, Kathy KinneyKathy KinneyKathy Kinney is an American actress and comedian. She gained considerable popularity in the late 1990s for playing Mimi Bobeck, the outrageously made-up, flamboyantly vulgar, and vindictive nemesis of Drew Carey on the sitcom The Drew Carey Show...
, in character as Carey's nemesis Mimi Bobeck from The Drew Carey ShowThe Drew Carey ShowThe Drew Carey Show is an American sitcom that aired on ABC from 1995 to 2004. The show was set in Cleveland, Ohio, and revolved around the retail office and home life of "everyman" Drew Carey, a fictionalized version of the actor....
, appeared to taunt Carey.- The 2009 episode featured Match GameMatch GameMatch Game is an American television game show in which contestants attempted to match celebrities' answers to fill-in-the-blank questions...
s think music for games using think music, Bobeck stripping tires from one car prize, placing a wheel lock on another, unusual sound effects on the Showcase Showdown wheel, incorrect photographs for trip videos, and one Showcase where all prizes were facing the wrong way. - The 2010 episode featured all contestants referred as one name (although the CBS PR showed the real names), Mimi seizing the show as executive producer as well as the "mighty sound effects lady" in One Away. Pick-a-Pair used various holiday-themed grocery products while PlinkoPlinkoPlinko is a pricing game on the American television game show The Price Is Right. The game involves guessing the prices of prizes to win "Plinko chips," which are later dropped down a large bean machine-style board to determine the contestant's cash prize...
used "As Seen on TV"-themed small prizes. The modelsBarker's BeautiesThe American television game show The Price Is Right has, since its 1972 relaunch, had a stable of models to showcase the prizes and items that are given away on the show. From 1972–2007, the group was referred to as Barker's Beauties, a term coined by producer Mark Goodson.-1956–1965:The original...
traded places with stagehands, with the One Bid placards and their holders not matching (six distinct placard designs were adopted early 2009, each with various colors and designs; they are required to match). Finally, the day's two Showcases were nearly identical, resulting in Carey being stuck on the turntable when he attempted to call out Bobeck for two identical Showcases, when a second car was added on the second Showcase.
- The 2009 episode featured Match Game
- The 2011 episode featured a 10,000th of something that was set to occur sometime during the normal course of the show. But anything that could go wrong wound up going wrongMurphy's lawMurphy's law is an adage or epigram that is typically stated as: "Anything that can go wrong will go wrong". - History :The perceived perversity of the universe has long been a subject of comment, and precursors to the modern version of Murphy's law are not hard to find. Recent significant...
and the show's staff worked to keep the show going around it. This included the models breaking a new plasma TV, the turntable getting stuck, the mechanism for door #2 breaking down requiring it to be pushed open, a model crashing a new car into door #3 destroying it. and the displays on Contestant's Row malfunctioning requiring a stagehand to manually write down each contestant's bid. At the end of Showcase Showdown #1, Drew began explaining how to sign up for tickets on CBS.com with explicit detail while the crew worked behind him to dismantle the big wheel prop. At the end of the second showcase showdown, a light in the studio malfunctioned and crashed to the ground plunging the studio into darkness until halfway through the first showcase being revealed. The models also accidentally set the set for the second showcase on fire. At the end of the show, the 10,000th thing never occurred but Drew remarked "Maybe tomorrow" (itself a mistake because it was a Friday episode).
- In 2009 and 2010, Kathy Kinney
- Hollywood SquaresHollywood SquaresHollywood Squares is an American panel game show in which two contestants play tic-tac-toe to win cash and prizes. The "board" for the game is a 3 × 3 vertical stack of open-faced cubes, each occupied by a celebrity seated at a desk and facing the contestants...
featured April Fools' gags on three occasions:- In 1987, it was announced that the returning champion was ill, and another contestant went on in his place. After the first question of the game, the contestant's female opponent accused him of cheating, and the confrontation grew more heated until the male contestant was pushed off the elevated contestant platform, completely stunning host John DavidsonJohn DavidsonJohn Davidson may refer to:* John Andrew Davidson , Canadian politician* John Davidson , American actor* John Davidson , Australian admiral...
. Afterwards, it was revealed that the "substitute" contestant was a stuntman, and his opponent an actress. - In 1988, center square Joan RiversJoan RiversJoan Rivers is an American comedian, television personality and actress. She is known for her brash manner; her loud, raspy voice with a heavy New York accent; and her numerous cosmetic surgeries...
swapped places with Davidson to be the show's host that day (Davidson called out "April Fools!", after being introduced in his square during the opening). - In 2003, producers Henry WinklerHenry WinklerHenry Franklin Winkler, OBE is an American actor, director, producer, and author.Winkler is best known for his role as Fonzie on the 1970s American sitcom Happy Days...
and Michael Leavitt played an April Fools' joke on host Tom BergeronTom BergeronTom Bergeron is an American television personality and game show host, best known as the host of the ABC reality series Dancing with the Stars and host of America's Funniest Home Videos . He was also host of Hollywood Squares and a fill-in host for Who Wants to Be a Millionaire...
and the stars by booking two of the most difficult contestants ever, one quite obnoxious and the other overly emotional, who thoroughly tested Bergeron's patience. In reality, the contestants were actors (E. E. BellE. E. BellE. E. Bell is an American comic actor best known for his role as Bob Rooney on the sitcom Married... with Children. He also had a recurring role as Barney the security guard in the Nickelodeon sketch comedy series The Amanda Show...
and Carrie Armstrong), similar to the 1987 gag on the Davidson version.
- In 1987, it was announced that the returning champion was ill, and another contestant went on in his place. After the first question of the game, the contestant's female opponent accused him of cheating, and the confrontation grew more heated until the male contestant was pushed off the elevated contestant platform, completely stunning host John Davidson
- Other game shows:
- In 1987, an audience polling group of 10 engaged men on Card SharksCard SharksCard Sharks is an American television game show created by Chester Feldman for Mark Goodson-Bill Todman Productions. Two contestants compete for control of a row of oversized playing cards by answering questions posed by the host and then guessing if the next card is higher or lower in value than...
was asked how many of them would eat real ants dipped in chocolate if their fiancé asked them to. Afterwards, one of the men actually was asked to do so by his fiancé and reluctantly complied, only to learn afterwards that it was just an April Fools' gag. - In 1991, contestants on The ChallengersThe Challengers (game show)The Challengers was an American syndicated game show from Ron Greenberg Productions, Dick Clark Productions, and Buena Vista Television. The show was hosted by Dick Clark. The show premiered on September 3, 1990 and ended on August 30, 1991...
were surprised to see the gameboard reveal such extremely difficult categories as "Pre-Colombian Architecture", "Existential Poets", and "The Politics of Burundi"; after the first contestant chose a category, a large graphic appeared on the screen to let him know it was April Fools' Day. Having realized something was amiss when the joke categories did not match up with what he was seeing on his card, host Dick Clark asked head writer and series judge Gary Johnson if he had anything to do with it, which Johnson admitted and then expressed disappointment at not being able to find out more about Burundi politics. Clark then responded, "Yeah...go to your room, will you?" - On April 1, 2003, the hosts of Game Show NetworkGame Show NetworkThe Game Show Network is an American cable television and direct broadcast satellite channel dedicated to game shows and casino game shows. The channel was launched on December 1, 1994. Its current slogan is "The World Needs More Winners"...
original programs guest hosted on other hosts' shows similar to 1997 when Pat Sajak hosted Jeopardy! and Alex Trebek hosted Wheel of Fortune:- Graham ElwoodGraham ElwoodGraham Elwood is an American comedian, actor and writer.Elwood hosted the Game Show Network original series Cram and the USA Network and syndicated game show Strip Poker. From October 2006, he appeared in a DirecTV testimonial commercial as "Graham - Customer since '01"...
from
Cram (game show)Cram is a game show that aired as an original series for GSN in 2003. The show featured two teams, each composed of two contestants. For 24 hours before taping, the contestants were sequestered in a warehouse, with the intent of staying awake and "cramming" various material such as trivia...
guest hosted Whammy! The All-New Press Your LuckWhammy! The All-New Press Your LuckWhammy! is an updated version of the American television game show Press Your Luck. Taped at Tribune Studios, the FremantleMedia production aired on Game Show Network from April 15, 2002 to December 5, 2003 with repeats that continue to air...
. - Graham Elwood
- Todd NewtonTodd NewtonTodd Newton is an entertainment personality and a three-time game show host.Newton has hosted Hollywood Showdown and Whammy! The All-New Press Your Luck, both on Game Show Network; and Coming Attractions on E!, as well as occasional episodes of Wild On... He is known for occasionally wearing a...
from Whammy! guest hosted Russian RouletteRussian Roulette (game show)Russian Roulette is an American game show created by executive producer Gunnar Wetterberg that ran for two seasons on Game Show Network from June 3, 2002 to June 13, 2003. It was hosted by Mark L. Walberg, with Burton Richardson announcing. Todd Newton hosted an April Fool's Day episode in 2003....
. - Mark Walberg from Russian Roulette guest hosted Friend or Foe?Friend or Foe?Friend or Foe? is an American game show based on knowledge and trust which aired on Game Show Network. Three teams of two strangers attempted to persuade their partner into sharing their accumulated winnings rather than stealing it for themselves....
. - KennedyLisa Kennedy MontgomeryLisa Kennedy Montgomery is an American political satirist, radio personality, and former MTV VJ...
from Friend or Foe? guest hosted WinTuitionWinTuitionWinTuition is an American game show created as an original series for Game Show Network, on which it ran from December 9, 2002 to April 1, 2003, with reruns airing until 2004. The game had a school-oriented theme in which three contestants competed to answer questions on general...
. - Marc SummersMarc SummersMarc Summers is an American television personality, comedian, game show host, producer, and a two-time talk show host. He is best known for hosting the Nickelodeon game show Double Dare and currently hosts Unwrapped on The Food Network.- Early career :Summers was born Marc Berkowitz in...
from WinTuition guest hosted CramCram (game show)Cram is a game show that aired as an original series for GSN in 2003. The show featured two teams, each composed of two contestants. For 24 hours before taping, the contestants were sequestered in a warehouse, with the intent of staying awake and "cramming" various material such as trivia...
. - Meanwhile, Lingo was still hosted by Chuck WooleryChuck WooleryCharles Herbert "Chuck" Woolery is an American game show host. He has had long-running tenures hosting several different game shows. He was the original host of Wheel of Fortune from 1975–81, the original incarnation of Love Connection from 1983–94, and Scrabble from 1984–90...
but had Newton announcing and the other GSN hosts (Walberg and Summers on the yellow team, and Kennedy and Elwood on the red team) playing a charity game.
- In 1987, an audience polling group of 10 engaged men on Card Sharks
By websites
- KremvaxKremvaxKremvax was originally a fictitious Usenet site at the Kremlin, named like the then large number of Usenet VAXen with names of the form foovax. Kremvax was announced on April 1, 1984 in a posting ostensibly originated there by Soviet leader Konstantin Chernenko. The posting was actually forged by...
: In 1984, in one of the earliest on-line hoaxes, a message was circulated that UsenetUsenetUsenet is a worldwide distributed Internet discussion system. It developed from the general purpose UUCP architecture of the same name.Duke University graduate students Tom Truscott and Jim Ellis conceived the idea in 1979 and it was established in 1980...
had been opened to users in the Soviet UnionSoviet UnionThe Soviet Union , officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics , was a constitutionally socialist state that existed in Eurasia between 1922 and 1991....
. - The Canadian news site, bourque.org announced in 2002 that Finance MinisterMinister of Finance (Canada)The Minister of Finance is the Minister of the Crown in the Canadian Cabinet who is responsible each year for presenting the federal government's budget...
Paul MartinPaul MartinPaul Edgar Philippe Martin, PC , also known as Paul Martin, Jr. is a Canadian politician who was the 21st Prime Minister of Canada, as well as leader of the Liberal Party of Canada....
had resigned "in order to breed prize Charolais cattle and handsome Fawn Runner ducks". - SARS infects Hong Kong: In 2003, during the time when Hong Kong was seriously hit by SARSSevere acute respiratory syndromeSevere Acute Respiratory Syndrome is a respiratory disease in humans which is caused by the SARS coronavirus . Between November 2002 and July 2003 an outbreak of SARS in Hong Kong nearly became a pandemic, with 8,422 cases and 916 deaths worldwide according to the WHO...
, it was rumoured that many people in Hong Kong had become infected with SARS and become uncontrolled, that all immigration ports would be closed to quarantine the region and that Tung Chee HwaTung Chee HwaTung Chee Hwa, GBM was the first Chief Executive and President of the Executive Council of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China....
, the Chief Executive of Hong KongChief Executive of Hong KongThe Chief Executive of Hong Kong is the President of the Executive Council of Hong Kong and head of the Government of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region. The position was created to replace the Governor of Hong Kong, who was the head of the Hong Kong government during British rule...
at that time, had resigned. Hong Kong supermarkets were immediately overwhelmed by panicked shoppers. The Hong Kong government held a press conference to deny the rumour. The rumour, which was intended as an April Fools' prank, was started by a student imitating the design of the Ming PaoMing PaoMing Pao is a Chinese language newspaper published by Ming Pao Group in Hong Kong. In the 1990s, Ming Pao established four overseas branches in North America, each provides independent reporting on local news and collect local advertisements. Currently, only the two Canadian editions remain: Ming...
newspaper website. He was charged and found guilty for this incident. - AssassinationAssassinationTo carry out an assassination is "to murder by a sudden and/or secret attack, often for political reasons." Alternatively, assassination may be defined as "the act of deliberately killing someone, especially a public figure, usually for hire or for political reasons."An assassination may be...
of Bill GatesBill GatesWilliam Henry "Bill" Gates III is an American business magnate, investor, philanthropist, and author. Gates is the former CEO and current chairman of Microsoft, the software company he founded with Paul Allen...
: In 2003, many Chinese and South Korean websites claimed that CNNCNNCable News Network is a U.S. cable news channel founded in 1980 by Ted Turner. Upon its launch, CNN was the first channel to provide 24-hour television news coverage, and the first all-news television channel in the United States...
reported Bill Gates, the founder of MicrosoftMicrosoftMicrosoft Corporation is an American public multinational corporation headquartered in Redmond, Washington, USA that develops, manufactures, licenses, and supports a wide range of products and services predominantly related to computing through its various product divisions...
, was assassinated, resulting in a 1.5% drop in the South Korean stock market. - NationStatesJennifer Government: NationStatesJennifer Government: NationStates is a multiplayer nation simulation browser game. It was created by Max Barry and was publicly released on 13 November 2002, based loosely on his novel Jennifer Government. The game has hosted over 3 million nations...
runs an annual hoax on April 1. In 2004, the hoax was that there was a population bug and all nations' populations would be reset to 5 million people. In 2005, there was a message (supposedly from the Department of Homeworld Security) that NationStates was illegal by US law. In 2008, NationStates created a new "World Assembly" in the place of the United Nations, as they had received a cease and desist notice from the United Nations for using its name without consent. This was later revealed to be a non-hoax, and that the inspiration to use it as an April Fools' joke came from the assumption it was too unbelievable. - Water on Mars: In 2005, a news story was posted on the official NASANASAThe National Aeronautics and Space Administration is the agency of the United States government that is responsible for the nation's civilian space program and for aeronautics and aerospace research...
website purporting to have pictures of water on MarsMarsMars is the fourth planet from the Sun in the Solar System. The planet is named after the Roman god of war, Mars. It is often described as the "Red Planet", as the iron oxide prevalent on its surface gives it a reddish appearance...
. The picture actually was just a picture of a glass of water on a Mars candy barMars BarMars is a chocolate bar manufactured by Mars, Incorporated. It was first manufactured in Slough, Berkshire in the United Kingdom in 1932 as a sweeter version of the US Milky Way bar which Mars, Inc. produced...
. - www.howstuffworks.comHowStuffWorksHowStuffWorks is a commercial edutainment website that was founded by Marshall Brain with the goal of giving its target audience an insight into the way in which many things work. The site uses various media in its effort to explain complex concepts, terminology and mechanisms, including...
does an annual bogus article. In 2006, it was "How Animated Tattoos Work"; in 2007 "How Phone Cell Implants Work"; in 2008 "How the Air Force One Hybrid Works"; in 2009, "How Rechargeable Gum Works"; in 2010, "How the Twapler Works". - RISKS DigestRISKS DigestThe RISKS Digest or Forum On Risks to the Public in Computers and Related Systems is an online periodical published since 1985 by the Committee on Computers and Public Policy of the Association for Computing Machinery. The editor is Peter G. Neumann....
often publishes a special April 1 issue. - Dead fairy hoaxDead fairy hoaxThe Dead fairy hoax was an April Fools' Day prank in 2007. Dan Baines, a sculptor and illusion designer, managed to sell his creation, the fake corpse of a fairy, on an internet auction for nearly £300.-The hoax:...
: In 2007, an illusion designerDesignerA designer is a person who designs. More formally, a designer is an agent that "specifies the structural properties of a design object". In practice, anyone who creates tangible or intangible objects, such as consumer products, processes, laws, games and graphics, is referred to as a...
for magicians posted on his website some images illustrating the corpse of an unknown eight-inch creation, which was claimed to be the mummified remains of a fairyFairyA fairy is a type of mythical being or legendary creature, a form of spirit, often described as metaphysical, supernatural or preternatural.Fairies resemble various beings of other mythologies, though even folklore that uses the term...
. He later sold the fairy on eBayEBayeBay Inc. is an American internet consumer-to-consumer corporation that manages eBay.com, an online auction and shopping website in which people and businesses buy and sell a broad variety of goods and services worldwide...
for £280. - Motoshi Sakriboto: In 2007, the Square EnixSquare Enixis a Japanese video game and publishing company best known for its console role-playing game franchises, which include the Final Fantasy series, the Dragon Quest series, and the action-RPG Kingdom Hearts series...
fansite Square Haven reported that game music composers Motoi SakurabaMotoi Sakurabais a Japanese composer of video games, anime series, and television dramas as well as independent progressive rock albums.-Biography:Motoi Sakuraba was born in Akita Prefecture, Japan...
and Hitoshi SakimotoHitoshi Sakimotois a Japanese video game composer and arranger. He is best known for scoring the games Final Fantasy Tactics and Final Fantasy XII, though he has composed soundtracks for over 70 games and arranged music for more than 40 others. He began playing music and video games in elementary school, and began...
had announced a merger. The resulting amalgamated life form was named Motoshi Sakriboto. The hoax played off the fact that when rival role-playing game developers Square and Enix merged on April 1, 2003, many believed the news to be an April Fools' joke. - IGNIGNIGN is an entertainment website that focuses on video games, films, music and other media. IGN's main website comprises several specialty sites or "channels", each occupying a subdomain and covering a specific area of entertainment...
, a video game website, released a realistic-looking Legend of Zelda movie trailer on April Fool's Day 2007. Many people were excited and tricked into believing that a real Legend of Zelda movie was coming out, but IGN revealed that it was a fake. Later rumours were spread that a real Legend of Zelda film is going to be made. - WookieepediaWookieepediaWookieepedia, the Star Wars Wiki is an online encyclopedia for information on the Star Wars fictional universe—including information on all six films, as well as The Clone Wars and the Expanded Universe...
, the Star WarsStar WarsStar Wars is an American epic space opera film series created by George Lucas. The first film in the series was originally released on May 25, 1977, under the title Star Wars, by 20th Century Fox, and became a worldwide pop culture phenomenon, followed by two sequels, released at three-year...
Wiki has pulled numerous April Fools pranks. In 2007, Wookieepedia's name was changed to "Katarnipedia" after Star Wars character Kyle Katarn. In 2008, they changed all the text of their main page to the Aurebesh language, and directed vistitors to Wookieepedia's sister site Darthipedia (which was actually the Star Wars Humor Wiki) to see English language versions of Wookieepedia articles. In 2009, Wookieepedia announced that they would no longer accept expanded universeExpanded UniverseThe term Expanded Universe is generally used to denote the 'extension' of a media franchise with other media...
material as canonCanon (fiction)In the context of a work of fiction, the term canon denotes the material accepted as "official" in a fictional universe's fan base. It is often contrasted with, or used as the basis for, works of fan fiction, which are not considered canonical...
and that the site would only accept information from the Star Wars films, rejecting their long-held policy of treating expanded universe material as equal to film material. In 2011, the entire wiki was converted to "3-D" in coordination with Lucasfilm's desire to re-release the entire saga in 3-D. A mock "cease and desist" announcement was also posted on the Main Page briefly after midnight Eastern time, and the Mofference page also was filled with jokes. - Microsoft ResearchMicrosoft ResearchMicrosoft Research is the research division of Microsoft created in 1991 for developing various computer science ideas and integrating them into Microsoft products. It currently employs Turing Award winners C.A.R. Hoare, Butler Lampson, and Charles P...
reclaims value of pi: In 2008, an executive with the MicrosoftMicrosoftMicrosoft Corporation is an American public multinational corporation headquartered in Redmond, Washington, USA that develops, manufactures, licenses, and supports a wide range of products and services predominantly related to computing through its various product divisions...
Institute for Advanced Technology in Governments posted on his personal blog an updated spoof of the 1998 April Fools' hoax claiming Alabama's state legislature had rounded the value of pi to the "Biblical value of 3". The 2008 hoax claimed that Microsoft Research had determined the true-up value of pi to be a definitive 3.141999, or as expressed in company literature, "Three easy payments of 1.047333". - In 2008, Australian video gaming website company MyMedia, released information and previews on MyMedia: The Movie, the supposed upcoming movie was to be animated and produced by the Australian Film CommissionAustralian Film CommissionThe Australian Film Commission was an Australian government agency with a mandate to promote the creation and distribution of films in Australia as well as to preserve the country's film history. It also had a production arm responsible for production and commissioning of films for government...
. It was confirmed fake a few days after. The movie was supposedly based on a comic series created by one of the site's editorial staff, Matt Kelly. This has since become an on going website gag about over hyping the non-existent movie through various additional trailers. - On April 1, 2008, BlizzardBlizzardA blizzard is a severe snowstorm characterized by strong winds. By definition, the difference between blizzard and a snowstorm is the strength of the wind. To be a blizzard, a snow storm must have winds in excess of with blowing or drifting snow which reduces visibility to 400 meters or ¼ mile or...
released images and articles onto their website depicting a new Hero class for World of WarcraftWorld of WarcraftWorld of Warcraft is a massively multiplayer online role-playing game by Blizzard Entertainment. It is the fourth released game set in the fantasy Warcraft universe, which was first introduced by Warcraft: Orcs & Humans in 1994...
, that was to go along with the Death Knight in the expansion pack Wrath of the Lich King. They also released an article on the Starcraft II website for the new "Tauren Marine" for the Terrans. - ScoringSessions.com announced that composer John WilliamsJohn WilliamsJohn Towner Williams is an American composer, conductor, and pianist. In a career spanning almost six decades, he has composed some of the most recognizable film scores in the history of motion pictures, including the Star Wars saga, Jaws, Superman, the Indiana Jones films, E.T...
was replaced by Danny ElfmanDanny ElfmanDaniel Robert "Danny" Elfman is an American composer, best known for scoring music for television and film. Up until 1995, he was the lead singer and songwriter in the rock band Oingo Boingo, a group he formed in 1976...
on the upcoming Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull - and provided photos from the scoring sessions. - YouTubeYouTubeYouTube is a video-sharing website, created by three former PayPal employees in February 2005, on which users can upload, view and share videos....
:- – In 2008, all featured videos on YouTube's front page hyperlinked to the Rickroll. The prank began with international YouTube portals before appearing on the main site.
- – In 2009, the videos, links and most text (using UnicodeUnicodeUnicode is a computing industry standard for the consistent encoding, representation and handling of text expressed in most of the world's writing systems...
substitution) were turned upside down and there was also a link to help users view the new site layout with hints such as hanging the monitor upside-down or moving to Australia. - – In 2010, a new option was created in the video quality settings called "TEXTp". Clicking on this option showed a message under the video which read "By using text-only mode, you are saving YouTube $1 a second in bandwidth costs. Click here to go back to regular YouTube and happy April Fools Day!"
- – In 2011, YouTube contained featured videos on the homepage which were supposedly Viral Videos from 1911. YouTube Also added an option to all videos that did not contain ads that would mute the audio, give the video a grainy sepia-toned quality, and play jaunty piano music in a style similar to early 1900s silent movies.
- deviantARTDeviantArtdeviantART is an online community showcasing various forms of user-made artwork. It was first launched on August 7, 2000 by Scott Jarkoff, Matthew Stephens, Angelo Sotira and others. deviantArt, Inc...
deviantART's most infamous April Fools' joke was in 2008, when all members' icons were changed to "So I herd u liek mudkipz". In 2010, each member's avatar was changed to any of a set of icons depicting Team Jacob, Team Edward, Legend of the SeekerLegend of the SeekerLegend of the Seeker is a television series based on The Sword of Truth novels by Terry Goodkind. Distributed in U.S. by Disney-ABC Domestic Television, ABC Studios produced the series, which was its first foray into broadcast syndication, with Sam Raimi, Robert Tapert, Joshua Donen, Ned Nalle and...
, and Lady GagaLady GaGaStefani Joanne Angelina Germanotta , better known by her stage name Lady Gaga, is an American singer and songwriter. Born and raised in New York City, she primarily studied at the Convent of the Sacred Heart and briefly attended New York University's Tisch School of the Arts before withdrawing to...
, along with signatures to match the icons. In 2011 "trollfaces" were popping up near the comments, journals and userpages doing pranks. - President Barack ObamaBarack ObamaBarack Hussein Obama II is the 44th and current President of the United States. He is the first African American to hold the office. Obama previously served as a United States Senator from Illinois, from January 2005 until he resigned following his victory in the 2008 presidential election.Born in...
pulls fundings for NASCARNASCARThe National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing is a family-owned and -operated business venture that sanctions and governs multiple auto racing sports events. It was founded by Bill France Sr. in 1947–48. As of 2009, the CEO for the company is Brian France, grandson of the late Bill France Sr...
: On April 1, 2009, on the heels of the auto industry bailoutAutomotive industry crisis of 2008–2009The automotive industry crisis of 2008–2010 was a part of a global financial downturn. The crisis affected European and Asian automobile manufacturers, but it was primarily felt in the American automobile manufacturing industry...
, Car and DriverCar and DriverCar and Driver is an American automotive enthusiast magazine. Its total circulation is 1.31 million. It is owned by Hearst Magazines, who purchased prior owner Hachette Filipacchi Media U.S. in 2011...
claimed on its website that President Barack Obama had ordered ChevroletChevroletChevrolet , also known as Chevy , is a brand of vehicle produced by General Motors Company . Founded by Louis Chevrolet and ousted GM founder William C. Durant on November 3, 1911, General Motors acquired Chevrolet in 1918...
and DodgeDodgeDodge is a United States-based brand of automobiles, minivans, and sport utility vehicles, manufactured and marketed by Chrysler Group LLC in more than 60 different countries and territories worldwide....
to pull NASCAR funding. The article was removed from the website and replaced with an apology to readers, after upset NASCAR fans protested on the Car and Driver website. - ThinkGeekThinkGeekThinkGeek is an American online retailer that caters to computer enthusiasts and other "geeky" social groups. Their merchandise includes clothing, electronic and scientific gadgets, unusual computer peripherals, office toys, pet toys, child toys, and caffeinated drinks and candy...
sends an e-newsletter containing mostly false products each year. However, several of these products have eventually been produced due to customer demand. Most famous of these was the Tauntaun Sleeping Bag (based on a well-known scene from The Empire Strikes Back). The item was initially a prank, but the overwhelming response spurred ThinkGeek to seek permission from LucasfilmLucasfilmLucasfilm Limited is an American film production company founded by George Lucas in 1971, based in San Francisco, California. Lucas is the company's current chairman and CEO, and Micheline Chau is the president and COO....
to produce it. Lucasfilm eventually agreed, and ThinkGeek began selling actual Tauntaun sleeping bags in October of that same year. Similarly, in 2007, ThinkGeek advertised an 8-Bit8-bitThe first widely adopted 8-bit microprocessor was the Intel 8080, being used in many hobbyist computers of the late 1970s and early 1980s, often running the CP/M operating system. The Zilog Z80 and the Motorola 6800 were also used in similar computers...
necktie that was later realized due to customer demand. The most recent fake ThinkGeek product to become real is the iCadeICadeThe iCade is an accessory for the Apple iPad line of devices which functions as a miniaturised, portable arcade cabinet, including a physical joystick and buttons...
. After an April 1, 2010 announcement, it was developed over the next year and released on June 27, 2011. - ExpediaExpediaExpedia is an Internet-based travel website based in the US with localised sites for 21 countries...
ran a prank on April 1, 2009, offering flights to Mars. This was internally known as Project DawnstarProject DawnstarProject Dawnstar was the codename given to the "Flights to Mars for $99" April Fool's Day prank launched on both Expedia.com and Expedia.co.uk on April 1, 2009...
. - On April 1, 2009, gonullyourself.org appeared to be "infected" by ConfickerConfickerConficker, also known as Downup, Downadup and Kido, is a computer worm targeting the Microsoft Windows operating system that was first detected in November 2008...
. - On April 1, 2010, the first letter of each headline on every tab of FarkFarkFark is a community website created by Drew Curtis that allows members to comment on a daily batch of news articles and other items from various websites. As of June 2009, the site boasts approximately four million unique visitors per month, which puts it among the top 100 English language websites...
comprised an acrosticAcrosticAn acrostic is a poem or other form of writing in which the first letter, syllable or word of each line, paragraph or other recurring feature in the text spells out a word or a message. As a form of constrained writing, an acrostic can be used as a mnemonic device to aid memory retrieval. A famous...
, such as "All Hail Hypnotoad". The hidden message on the main page was "There is no DrewDrew CurtisDrew Curtis is the founder and an administrator of Fark.com, an Internet link dump site. He is also the author of It's Not News, It's FARK: How Mass Media Tries to Pass off Crap as News in May 2007.-Bio:...
only Zuul, Happy April Fool's Day from Fark". - On April 1, 2010, the official GhostwatchGhostwatchGhostwatch is a British reality–horror/mockumentary television movie, first broadcast on BBC1 on 31 October , 1992.Despite having been recorded weeks in advance, the narrative was presented as 'live' television...
: Behind the Curtains blog reported that writer Stephen VolkStephen VolkStephen Volk is a British screenwriter, whose first produced work was Ken Russell's film Gothic in 1986.His most famous work is Ghostwatch, a controversial drama shown on BBC One on Halloween 1992. It is commonly misrepresented as a hoax documentary, but this was never the intention...
was set to contribute to an upcoming episode of The SimpsonsThe SimpsonsThe Simpsons is an American animated sitcom created by Matt Groening for the Fox Broadcasting Company. The series is a satirical parody of a middle class American lifestyle epitomized by its family of the same name, which consists of Homer, Marge, Bart, Lisa and Maggie...
for Hallowe'en and that he would make a cameo appearance as himself alongside fictional character, Pipes. A hidden message on the site read, "...April Fools', Ghostwatchers!" - On April 1, 2011, AdBlock for Chrome released a new product called AdBlock Freedom that blocked ads in the real world, and solicited application essays from would-be beta testers.
- On April 1, 2011, Marvel Comics Database (the marvel wiki) said that the avengers film was canceled as an April Fools' joke.
- On April 1, 2011, Blueworldaquariums.com posted a convincing article on the discovery of a vocal language between fish.