Some
thoughts on April Fools Day.
Did you
get fooled? All Fools Day has been around for centuries and nobody is really
sure of the origin. Some of the early references come from the middle ages and
many countries embrace the practice of pranks and jokes today.
Perhaps
one of the best April fools jokes ever perpetrated on the public came from the
BBC on April 1st 1957. Their television news show Panorama announced that
because of a mild winter and the elimination of the spaghetti weevil, Swiss
farmers were enjoying a bumper spaghetti crop.
Producers
had tied cooked spaghetti to dozens of trees and made it look like the strands
were growing from the branches. Viewers could see Swiss peasants harvesting
spaghetti, laying the strands in baskets and then placing them into the sun to
dry.
The host
of the program Richard Dimbleby, a respected anchorman, stayed serious
throughout the hoax story. His voice never cracked a smile or gave a hint of a
wink.
Viewers
were fooled and hundreds of people called the BBC for information on how to
grow their own spaghetti trees.
In
British understatement they said they should "place a sprig of spaghetti
in a tin of tomato sauce and hope for the best."
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