The Greatest April Fools Pranks of All Time

It's that time of year again, a day that Google tries to convince you they are launching an unbelievable new product or normally reputable news outlets report on a crazy stories that just can't be true. Yes, it is April Fools Day and the Internet is awash with cheap attempts to catch you out.

But Adwords on your toilet paper is a poor mans attempt at an April Fools Day prank compared to the best that have been done over the years. Random Perspective looks back at the best.

French TV Forecasts Pasta Rain

Everyone remembers the BBC April Fools Day trick where they did a documentary on 'Pasta Harvesting' – but what most people do not realise is that his was inspired by an April Fools trick the previous year by the French television station TF1 who reported that as a result of a massive explosion in a pasta factory in northern Italy, people in the south of France had a 50% chance of 'Pasta rain' when the debris from the explosion fell to Earth.

The prank was a huge success, however Jacques Noir , the head of the network, received massive criticism from French politicians after nearly 20,000 people attempted to flee the southern city of Marseilles.

Big Ben to be replaced with Digital Siren

Following the craze in the early 1980s with digital watches, the BBC ran a news story that Big Ben – the bell that rings the hour in on the Houses of Parliament – was going to be upgraded to move with the times. The story aired on the breakfast news saying that instead of the iconic boom that had echoed across London for decades the bell would be replaced by a digital 'bleep'

The story provoked outrage across the country and nearly 100,000 people had travelled down to the capital by mid day to protest the Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher. Despite releasing a press statement that the story was a hoax and she had had no involvement the crowd did not believe her and she was forced into making a public speech on the steps of 10 Downing Street saying that she had 'reversed her decision on the matter.'

Ancient Golden City Found Below Chicago

In 1930 it was reported in the New York Times that an ancient city made of solid gold had been found in Chicago when building the foundations of a new skyscraper. While the author, Thomas Kelly had written the piece as a deliberate tongue-in-cheek attempt at an April Fools prank many of New York's wealthier citizens took it at face value and immediately started buying land in the surrounding area at a hugely inflated price.

When it was discovered they had been victim of a practical joke they threatened Kelly with legal action. When Kelly learned that one former multi millionaire, George T Johnson 4th had gone bust as a result of his land purchasing in Chicago Thomas Kelly fled the country fearing reprisals from New York's elite

Dinosaur Fossil found on the moon

On April 1st 1971 NASA reported that during the Apollo moon mission earlier that year the Astronauts Alan Shephard and Edgar Mitchell had discovered the fossilised remains of a large creature during their moonwalk. NASA explained they had not wanted to reveal their findings until 'they could provide a full explanation' which is why they had been kept a secret for nearly two months.

The news caused much debate amongst scientists as creationists used the news to vindicate the theory that God had just placed dinosaur remains on Earth to test man's faith. In response, leading evolutionist SirKeith Wilson from Cambridge University suggested that the asteroid collision that wiped out the dinosaurs had caused a crater so large that a large volume of the molten core had leaked into space and solidfied creating the moon. He theorised that the remains had simply been swept up during that process.

When NASA was forced to concede the news was just a joke Professor Wilson was expelled from the University and stripped of his knighthood.

Russia Develops Flying Train

During the height of the Cold War, New Scientist published a 8 page article detailing the technical specifications of a new 'flying train' that the Russians had developed to save them having to construct tunnels through the Ural Mountains.

The article explained that each train carriage was fitted with a set of fold out wings – similar to those found on an F-14 jet fighter – that it would deploy at a speed of 150mph. The train would then lift off of the rails, fly over the mountains and land on the rails the other side whereupon the wings would fold in and the train continue on its way.

While the story was not believed when published in England, the magazine was not circulated in Canada until 2 weeks later. As a result of it no longer being April 1st, Joseph Williamson a Canadian entrepreneur did not realise it was a trick and began a feasibility study into using the same technology to get trains to cross the Rocky Mountains in places where tunnels had not yet been built.

Eiffel Tower Sold To Henry Ford

In 1957 the Mayor of France authorised for the Eiffel Tower to be taken apart for a huge April Fool's joke to the world. Citizens of Paris woke up on April 1st to find the tower half dismantled. The Mayor of Paris, as part of the joke, gave a speech on French TV explaining that the tower had been sold to Henry Ford in order to raise funds to pay off France's war debts.

The joke was well received by the public who thought it was an excellent example of a high profile prank, however it backfired as the following day all of the workers tasked with reassembling the tower went on strike for 3 weeks meaning that from April 2nd to April 15th the Paris skyline featured an incomplete Eiffel Tower.

Flying Saucer Over Washington DC

Capitalising on the B-Movie success of the 1960s Lockheed Martin constructed a flying saucer which they planned to fly over Washington DC and land on the lawn of the White House. However they failed to file their flight plan with the aviation authorities meaning that they were picked up and intercepted by an F-4 Phantom and shot down over the Atlantic Ocean.

While the trick was not witnessed by many people the fact that it resulted in provoking military action makes it the greatest April Fools prank of all time.