Top 15 April Fool’s Day Pranks

April Fool’s Day is the annual occasion when even the most serious individuals can unleash their playful side without facing judgment. Over the years, countless memorable pranks have taken place on or around this date. The Museum of Hoaxes compiled a list of 100, and here are the top 15.

15. The Mystery of the Disruptive Bras

In 1982, the Daily Mail published a story about a local manufacturer that had sold 10,000 defective bras. These undergarments were causing an unusual issue, not for the wearers but for the general public. The bras contained support wires made from a special copper originally intended for fire alarms. When combined with nylon and body heat, the copper generated static electricity, which disrupted nearby television and radio signals. After reading the report, British Telecom’s chief engineer promptly instructed all female lab staff to reveal the type of bras they were wearing.

14. The Eruption of Mount Edgecumbe

In 1974, the residents of Sitka, Alaska, were startled when Mount Edgecumbe, a long-dormant volcano nearby, suddenly began emitting thick plumes of black smoke. Fearing an imminent eruption, people rushed out of their homes to witness the alarming sight. Fortunately, the cause was not natural but human-made. A local prankster named Porky Bickar had hauled hundreds of old tires into the volcano’s crater and set them ablaze, successfully tricking the townsfolk into believing the volcano was reawakening. Legend has it that when Mount St. Helens erupted six years later, a Sitka resident wrote to Bickar, saying, “This time, you’ve gone too far!”

13. The Prophecies of Isaac Bickerstaff

In February 1708, an obscure London astrologer named Isaac Bickerstaff released an almanac predicting the death of his rival, John Partridge, by fever on March 29 of that year. Partridge vehemently denied the prophecy, but on March 30, Bickerstaff published a pamphlet confirming Partridge’s death. The news spread quickly, and by April 1, April Fool’s Day, Partridge was confronted with people treating him as if he were deceased. A sexton even asked about his funeral sermon, and passersby acted as though they were seeing a ghost. Despite his protests, Partridge couldn’t convince anyone he was alive. Bickerstaff was later revealed to be the satirist Jonathan Swift, and the prank was so effective that Partridge eventually ceased publishing his almanacs, unable to escape his reputation as the man whose death had been foretold.

12. Kremvax

In 1984, during the early days of the internet, a message circulated on Usenet announcing that the Soviet Union was joining the network. This was surprising, as cold war tensions made such a connection seem unlikely. The message, supposedly from Konstantin Chernenko ([email protected]), stated that the USSR wanted to engage in open discussions with Americans and Europeans. The announcement sparked widespread reactions. Two weeks later, Piet Beertema, a European, revealed it was a hoax, marking it as one of the first internet pranks. When Moscow eventually connected to the internet years later, it honored the joke by adopting the domain name ‘kremvax.’

11. UFO Lands in London

On March 31, 1989, thousands of drivers on a highway outside London were stunned to see a glowing flying saucer descending toward the city. Many pulled over to witness the strange aircraft hovering in the sky. The saucer eventually landed in a field on the outskirts of London, prompting locals to alert the police about a potential alien invasion. Officers quickly arrived, and one courageous policeman approached the craft with his baton ready. When a door opened and a small figure in a silver suit emerged, the officer fled. The saucer was later revealed to be a hot-air balloon designed to resemble a UFO, created by Richard Branson, the 36-year-old head of Virgin Records. Branson, known for his love of ballooning and pranks, had intended to land the craft in London’s Hyde Park on April 1. However, strong winds forced an early landing in the wrong spot.

10. Planetary Alignment Reduces Gravity

In 1976, British astronomer Patrick Moore informed BBC Radio 2 listeners that a rare astronomical event would occur at 9:47 AM, which they could experience at home. Pluto would pass behind Jupiter, creating a gravitational alignment that would temporarily reduce Earth’s gravity. Moore encouraged listeners to jump at that exact moment to feel a floating sensation. At 9:47 AM, BBC2 was flooded with calls from people claiming they had felt the effect, with one woman even reporting that she and her eleven friends had floated around the room.

9. Hotheaded Naked Ice Borers

In its April 1995 issue, Discover Magazine reported that renowned wildlife biologist Dr. Aprile Pazzo had discovered a new Antarctic species: the hotheaded naked ice borer. These creatures had bony, blood vessel-rich plates on their heads that could heat up, enabling them to melt through ice rapidly. They used this ability to hunt penguins by melting the ice beneath them, causing the birds to sink into slush where they were devoured. Dr. Pazzo theorized that these animals might have caused the disappearance of Antarctic explorer Philippe Poisson in 1837, as he would have resembled a penguin to them. The article sparked more reader mail than any other in the magazine’s history.

8. The Left-Handed Whopper

In 1998, Burger King placed a full-page ad in USA Today introducing a new menu item: the “Left-Handed Whopper,” tailored for the 32 million left-handed Americans. The ad claimed that while the sandwich contained the same ingredients as the original Whopper, the condiments were rotated 180 degrees to suit left-handed customers. The next day, Burger King revealed the hoax but noted that thousands of customers had visited restaurants asking for the sandwich. Additionally, many requested a “right-handed” version, according to the follow-up press release.

7. Alabama Alters the Value of Pi

The April 1998 edition of the New Mexicans for Science and Reason newsletter featured an article stating that Alabama’s state legislature had passed a bill to change the value of pi from 3.14159 to the ‘Biblical value’ of 3.0. The article quickly spread online and was shared globally via email. The hoax gained traction to the point that the Alabama legislature received numerous calls from outraged individuals protesting the change. The article, written by physicist Mark Boslough, was a satirical take on legislative efforts to restrict the teaching of evolution.

6. Nixon for President

In 1992, National Public Radio’s Talk of the Nation program announced that Richard Nixon was making a surprise comeback to run for President again, with the campaign slogan, “I didn’t do anything wrong, and I won’t do it again.” The segment included audio clips of Nixon’s candidacy speech, prompting a flood of calls from shocked and angry listeners. It wasn’t until the second half of the show that host John Hockenberry revealed the announcement was an April Fool’s prank, with Nixon’s voice impersonated by comedian Rich Little.

San Serriffe

In 1977, The Guardian celebrated the tenth anniversary of San Serriffe, a small Indian Ocean republic, with a special seven-page supplement. The articles detailed the geography and culture of the nation, which included islands shaped like semi-colons. The main islands, Upper Caisse and Lower Caisse, were home to the capital city, Bodoni, and its leader, General Pica. Readers flooded the newspaper with calls for more information about this idyllic destination. Few realized that every name was a nod to printing terminology. This hoax is credited with sparking the British tabloids’ love for April Fool’s pranks in the years that followed.

4. The Taco Liberty Bell

In 1996, Taco Bell announced it had purchased the Liberty Bell from the federal government and renamed it the Taco Liberty Bell. The news sparked outrage, with hundreds of calls flooding the National Historic Park in Philadelphia. Hours later, Taco Bell revealed it was a prank. The incident inspired a memorable quip from White House press secretary Mike McCurry, who joked that the Lincoln Memorial had also been sold and would now be called the Ford Lincoln Mercury Memorial.

3. The Swiss Spaghetti Harvest

In 1957, the BBC’s Panorama program reported that Swiss farmers were experiencing a record spaghetti harvest due to a mild winter and the near-eradication of the spaghetti weevil. The segment included footage of peasants harvesting spaghetti strands from trees. Many viewers were fooled, with numerous calls inquiring how to grow spaghetti trees. The BBC humorously advised them to “place a sprig of spaghetti in a tin of tomato sauce and hope for the best.”

For the remaining 85 entries on the original Museum of Hoaxes website, visit here

2. Sidd Finch

In its April 1985 issue, Sports Illustrated featured a story about Sidd Finch, a rookie pitcher set to join the Mets. Finch allegedly threw a baseball at an astonishing 168 mph with incredible accuracy, despite never having played the game before. He claimed to have learned the skill in a Tibetan monastery under the guidance of the poet-saint Lama Milaraspa. Mets fans were ecstatic, and Sports Illustrated received countless inquiries about Finch. However, the player was entirely fictional, created by the article’s author, George Plimpton.

1. Instant Color TV

In 1962, Sweden’s sole TV channel broadcast in black and white. Kjell Stensson, the station’s technical expert, appeared on the news to announce a breakthrough: viewers could now convert their TVs to display color by simply stretching a nylon stocking over the screen. Stensson demonstrated the process, convincing hundreds of thousands of Swedes. True color TV transmission in Sweden didn’t begin until April 1, 1970.