7 of History's Greatest Pranks

The exact origins of April Fools' Day remain a mystery. Some theories trace it back to ancient Roman festivals or biblical events, while others attribute it to a 16th-century calendar shift in France. When King Charles IX issued the Edict of Roussillon, standardizing New Year's Day to January 1, not everyone adopted the change immediately. Those who continued celebrating in April were mocked and ridiculed, laying the groundwork for the tradition.

What is clear is that tricking people on April 1 eventually became a popular tradition. Early pranks often involved sending unsuspecting individuals on absurd quests, such as searching for “striped paint,” “steam in a bucket,” or “pigeon milk,” as noted by folklorist Nancy Cassell McEntire. Embracing the spirit of harmless mischief, here are seven more legendary pranks from history.

1. Rome’s Most Unbearable Party Stunt

Elagabalus, a teenage Roman emperor often regarded as one of the least capable, was nevertheless a master of pranks. As detailed in archaeologist Warwick Ball’s book Rome in the East, Elagabalus delighted in placing “whoopee cushions” under his self-important dinner guests, causing them to emit farting noises. He also reportedly found amusement in releasing snakes in public spaces. One of his most notorious tricks involved leaving a tamed bear, lion, or leopard in the rooms of his intoxicated, sleeping guests.

2. Anthemius’s Fake Earthquake Machine

Anthemius of Tralles, a 5th-century Greek architect renowned for his work on Istanbul’s Hagia Sophia, was highly skilled with tools. When a dispute arose between him and his neighbor, Zeno, Anthemius devised a clever retaliation. He set up multiple water boilers in his home, connecting them to a hose that extended through a small hole into Zeno’s cellar. As reported in the 1888 Magazine of Western History, “Whenever Anthemius wanted to irritate his neighbor, he would light fires under the boilers, generating steam that surged forcefully under Zeno’s floors, creating the sensation of an earthquake.”

3. The Misleading Monk’s Apple Trick

One of the earliest recorded pranks occurred in the late 15th century, when Thomas Betson, a monk at England’s Syon Abbey, carved out the center of an apple and placed a large beetle inside, making the fruit wobble unnaturally. But that wasn’t the only trick the monk had up his sleeve: Betson also enjoyed creating the illusion of levitation in the monastery. By using a thin strand of hair and wax, he could make a hollow egg appear to float in midair.

4. London’s Washing of the Lions

For centuries, the Tower of London housed a collection of exotic animals, including polar bears, lions, and even a zebra that drank beer. On April Fools’ Day in 1698, a cunning prankster duped several people into believing the lions were being given their yearly bath. Although no such event took place, crowds flocked to the Tower to witness the spectacle. This hoax persisted as a popular joke for the next 200 years, even after the lions were no longer kept there. By the 1800s, pranksters were handing out counterfeit tickets for the “Annual Ceremony of the Washing of the Lions.”

5. The English Mercurie: The Prank Newspaper That Keeps On Pranking

Philip Yorke, a Cambridge-educated British Parliament member and the Second Earl of Hardwicke, leveraged his status to execute some top-tier pranks. In the 1740s, he and his friend Thomas Birch produced The English Mercurie, a fabricated newspaper claiming to be from 1588—a date that, if accurate, would make it one of the earliest newspapers in history. In 1766, Birch donated the paper, along with other documents, to the British Museum, where it was mistakenly regarded as authentic for years. Even today, the false information from the fake newspaper is still incorrectly cited! The paper’s Wikipedia page even highlights other Wikipedia entries for mistakenly referencing The English Mercurie as a credible source.

6. The New York Sun’s Moon Hoax

On August 25, 1835, readers of the New York Sun were shocked to discover that a civilization thrived on the Moon. The newspaper claimed that an English astronomer, while observing the night sky from the Southern Hemisphere, had spotted vegetation, pyramids, unicorns, bipedal beavers, and winged humanoid beings on the lunar surface. The story, however, was entirely fabricated. The satirical articles were meant to mock individuals like science writer Thomas Dick, who had recently asserted that the Moon was inhabited by over 4 billion extraterrestrials. Unfortunately, the Sun underestimated how easily the public could be deceived, and news of the “discovery” spread worldwide.

7. William Buckland’s Guano Graffiti

A 19th-century paleontologist and poop specialist—yes, poop specialist—William Buckland was convinced that guano was the ultimate lawn fertilizer. As a student at Oxford, he demonstrated this by meticulously spreading bat guano across a university lawn, forming the word GUANO. Officials promptly cleaned up the mess, unaware that the fertilizer had enriched the grass beneath. Weeks later, the word GUANO reappeared in vibrant green grass, and the university had no way to erase it. According to Buckland’s biographer, “The lush green letters clearly demonstrated the effectiveness of guano as a fertilizer.”