April Fools' pranks from around the world: Top 10
April Fools' pranks and jokes are happening around the world today, from Iraq to Sweden. Ever hear about the prank Uday pulled on his dad Saddam Hussein?
A student walks thorough pink balloons during April Fools' day celebrations, Thursday at Istiklal Avanue in Istanbul. 100,000 pink balloons are released as part of the April Fools' day celebration by the Beyoglu municipality.
Mustafa Ozer/AFP/Newscom
April Fools' day is canceled. Seriously. April Fools' jokes are not happening around the world today, as they have for centuries. The holiday is over.
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So, without any April Fools' pranks today, let's remember the best from past years.
Ever hear about the April Fools' prank that Uday pulled on his dad Saddam Hussein? Or how about the time a Boston University professor pranked the entire American media into believing he'd discovered the origins of April Fools' Day? And don't forget how the BBC in 1965 claimed someone had invented of “smellovision,” which allowed TV-viewers to interact with their noses.
IN PICTURES: April Fools' 2010: Around the world
Here’s our list of Top 10 April Fools’ pranks from around the world, much of it inspired by the Museum of Hoaxes website.
10. ENGLAND: 1957: A BBC news show announced Swiss farmers had grown spaghetti, showing footage of peasants pulling spaghetti down from the trees. Viewers believed it, calling into the BBC to ask how they could enjoy their own spaghetti crop. The BBC replied, “place a sprig of spaghetti in a tin of tomato sauce and hope for the best.”
9. SWEDEN: 1962: The sole television channel in Sweden was still black-and-white, but on April 1 it announced that viewers could easily convert to color. The station's technical expert, Kjell Stensson, said to pull a nylon stocking over the box. Supposedly, thousands of people actually tried.
8. UNITED STATES: 1992: National Public Radio announced that Richard Nixon, after living nearly two decades in disgraced retirement, was running again for president. His new campaign slogan was, according to NPR, "I didn't do anything wrong, and I won't do it again."
7. AUSTRALIA: 1975: A TV news program says Australia will convert to “metric time,” making 100 seconds to the minute, 100 minutes to the hour, and 20 hours to the day. Seconds would become millidays, minutes would become centidays, and hours would become decidays.
6. FRANCE: 1986: A newspaper, the Parisien, reports the Eiffel Tower will be deconstructed and rebuilt in the new Disney World opening in Paris.
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