MONDAY morning will see you waking up, bleary eyed, possibly hungover and with just that hint of post-weekend depression that seems to welcome the working week. But this Monday approaches with an even bigger slap in the face if you’re not prepared – April Fool’s Day is upon us.
You have to keep your wits about you because every office prankster is dusting off those 1980s whoopee cushions, blowhorns and fake turds in the hopes of turning a mundane day into something you’d rather have slept through altogether.
It’s a fine line between having a laugh and causing some serious damage to yourself, your co-workers or even the national image. But every so often, the April Fool’s Day pranksters actually get it right and come up with something worth a laugh.
Here are a few of the more memorable April Fool’s Day pranks that made history.
1. No more tick tock for Big Ben
Notorious for their humour, the Brits take their April Fool’s Day jokes quite seriously. These are made all the more hilarious by the reaction of the snooty upper-class and loud-mouthed lower classes who can’t find the humour in the prank. In 1980, the BBC’s overseas service announced that London’s Big Ben would be transformed, in keeping with the modern age, into a digital clock. The BBC eventually had to apologise for the joke – although it was repeated again in 2014.
2. Spaghetti grows on trees
Pre-dating this was another British gem when, in 1957, the television series ‘Panorama’ featured a segment on an unprecedented spaghetti crop in Switzerland. According to news anchor, Richard Dimbley, spaghetti was growing on tree branches and being picked by local Swiss harvesters. Being the first time an April Fool’s Day prank featured on television, many viewers were caught out.
3. The left-handed whopper
In 1998, American fast-food franchise, Burger King, took out a full-page advert in USA today to announce the latest addition to their menu – the Left-Handed Whopper. In an effort to appease a fraction of the society that had been overlooked, Burger King would provide a burger that was almost identical to the original Whopper, except all the condiments were rotated by 180 degrees. Indicating the IQ level of many of the franchise’s customers, Burger King received thousands of orders for the new burger.
4. Vote for Nixon
After leaving the White House in disgrace – seemingly incredible considering the current White House headcase – Richard Nixon decided to run again for election in 1992. Except that he didn’t. Comedian, Rich Little and NPR host, John Hockenberry pulled of the prank on Talk of the Nation. The pranksters coined the catchy slogan: ‘I didn’t do anything wrong, and I won’t do it again’.
5. The Masked Marauders
In 1969, Rolling Stone printed an article revealing that the voices behind a new supergroup – The Masked Marauders – was in fact none other than Bob Dylan, Mick Jagger, John Lennon and Paul McCartney. People immediately bought into the hoax and demanded copies of the album. Rolling Stone editor, Greil Marcus didn’t stop there though. He hired a band to record an album, secured a deal with Warner Bros, and sold over 100 000 copies. Pretty ballsy!
In an election year, some realities are incredibly hard to believe and no doubt we’ll all hope some headlines are actually a joke. Either way, keep that cynicism close at hand this Monday or you’ll just end up the April Fool. Alternatively, just call in sick.
