BBC's 1957 Spaghetti Harvest prank

The Spaghetti Tree prank (wiki) from the April 1, 1957 episode of the BBC Program Panorama:

Here's the explanation:

On April 1, 1957 the British television programme Panorama broadcast a three-minute segment about a bumper spaghetti harvest in southern Switzerland. The success of the crop was attributed both to an unusually mild winter and to the virtual disappearance of the spaghetti weevil. The audience heard Richard Dimbleby, the shows highly respected anchor, discussing the details of the spaghetti crop as they watched video footage of a Swiss family pulling pasta off spaghetti trees and placing it into baskets. The segment concluded with the assurance that, For those who love this dish, theres nothing like real, home-grown spaghetti.

The Swiss Spaghetti Harvest hoax generated an enormous response. Hundreds of people phoned the BBC wanting to know how they could grow their own spaghetti tree. To this query the BBC diplomatically replied, Place a sprig of spaghetti in a tin of tomato sauce and hope for the best. 

To this day the Panorama broadcast remains one of the most famous and popular April Fools Day hoaxes of all time. It is also believed to be the first time the medium of television was used to stage an April Fools Day hoax.

Since 1955 Panorama had been anchored by Richard Dimbleby, whose authoritative, commanding presence had made him one of the most revered public figures in Britain. If Dimbleby said it, people trusted that it was true. Which is one of the reasons why the spaghetti harvest hoax fooled so many viewers. His participation lent the hoax an air of unimpeachable authority.

Almost no one else at the BBC knew about it. The segment was not mentioned at all in the pre-transmission publicity handouts.

The line-up for that days show included a long segment about Archbishop Makarios, leader of the Greek Cypriots, and a clip of the Duke of Edinburgh attending the premiere of the war film The Yangtse Incident.

The second-to-last segment was about a wine-tasting contest, and then it came time for the spaghetti harvest.

Dimbleby, sitting on the set of Panorama, looked into the camera and without a trace of a smile said: And now from wine to food. We end Panorama tonight with a special report from the Swiss Alps.

The screen cut away to the prepared footage. When it was all over, Dimbleby reappeared and said, Now we say goodnight, on this first day of April. He emphasized the final phrase.

Panorama never attempted another April Fools Day spoof, despite numerous calls for a sequel. However, the hoax did inspire a number of similar stunts in its honour.

This film footage is from the Archive Collection held and administered by the Alexandra Palace Television Society. 

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Roundup of April Fool's Day links

There will definitely be some overlap in these collections of pranks and hoaxes (for example, no list would be complete without Burger King’s 1998 full page ad for the Left-handed Whopper or the BBC’s excellent 1957 Spaghetti Tree hoax), but there is a lot of different stuff, as well, at each of the links. Feel free to add more in the comments!

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Awesome April Fool's Day Pranks Your Kids Will Totally Fall For.

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The 14 Greatest Hoaxes of All Time and Top 100 April Fool's Day Hoaxes of All Time.

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Saddam Hussein and his sons may have been ruthless, power-hungry dictators, but that didn't stop them from trying to give the people of Iraq a good chuckle every April Fool's Day. On April 1, 1998 the Babil newspaper, owned by Hussein's son Uday, informed its readers that President Clinton had decided to lift sanctions against Iraq, only to admit later that it was just joking. One can imagine the knee-slapping guffaws when readers realized how they'd been taken for a ride.  

The laughs continued in 1999 when Uday mischievously announced that the monthly food rations would be supplemented to include bananas, Pepsi, and chocolate. Again, just a joke. At this point, the Husseins appear to have run out of material, because in 2000 they recycled the sanction-lifting gag, and in 2001 trotted out the ration-supplement crowd-pleaser one more time. 

Ambrose Bierce on April Fool's day from the Devil's Dictionary:

April Fool, n. The March fool with another month added to his folly.

Burger King's 'Left-handed Whopper'

Burger King launched a marketing campaign for its 'Left-Handed Whopper', a burger specifically tailored to left-handed people in the April 1, 1998 edition of USA Today. 

How did they create it? By simply rotating the condiments 180 degrees.

A spokesperson from the Left Handed Club is quoted as saying: "We are delighted that Burger King has recognized the difficulties of holding a hamburger in your left hand that has a natural right bias to it. We urge all left handed hamburger lovers to visit their nearest Burger King and taste the difference for themselves."

Unfortunately, a lot of people didn't get the joke, and left-handers everywhere rushed to BK to demand the special Whopper and celebrate a long-awaited victory.

More left-handed products for April Fool's Day here, including Ikea's left-handed allen key:

IKEA ran an ad in Australian papers apologizing to customers who had received left-handed allen keys with a product. "To exchange your incorrect key," the ad said, "we'll provide a swap box at the store entrance."

An illustration showed the difference between an "erroneous left-handed allen key" and a "correct right-handed allen key."

Roundup of April Fool's day links: history, pranks, and hoaxes

There will definitely be some overlap in these collections of pranks and hoaxes (for example, no list would be complete without Burger King’s 1998 full page ad for the Left-handed Whopper or the BBC’s excellent 1957 Spaghetti Tree hoax), but there is a lot of different stuff, as well, at each of the links. Feel free to add more in the comments!

The Origin of April Fool’s Day.

Free and Cheap April Fools' Day Pranks.

Awesome April Fool's Day Pranks Your Kids Will Totally Fall For.

More prank ideas.

April Fool's Day idea: Make your own meatloaf donuts.

6 People Who Went to Great Lengths for their Pranks.

How To Easily Create A Realistic Looking Head In A Jar.

The 14 Greatest Hoaxes of All Time and Top 100 April Fool's Day Hoaxes of All Time.

Fake death reports, disaster warnings, and hangings - The Top 10 Worst April Fool's Day Hoaxes Ever. Personal favorite:

Saddam Hussein and his sons may have been ruthless, power-hungry dictators, but that didn't stop them from trying to give the people of Iraq a good chuckle every April Fool's Day. On April 1, 1998 the Babil newspaper, owned by Hussein's son Uday, informed its readers that President Clinton had decided to lift sanctions against Iraq, only to admit later that it was just joking. One can imagine the knee-slapping guffaws when readers realized how they'd been taken for a ride. The laughs continued in 1999 when Uday mischievously announced that the monthly food rations would be supplemented to include bananas, Pepsi, and chocolate. Again, just a joke. At this point, the Husseins appear to have run out of material, because in 2000 they recycled the sanction-lifting gag, and in 2001 trotted out the ration-supplement crowd-pleaser one more time. 

Ambrose Bierce on April Fool's day from the Devil's Dictionary:

April Fool, n. The March fool with another month added to his folly.

ICYMI, Thursday's links are here, and include the day Niagara Falls ran dry (with bonus Niagara Falls sketches done by Abbott & Costello and by The Three Stooges), how movie theater concessions got so expensive, brutalist sand sculptures, and, for Van Gogh’s birthday, his rarely-seen sketchbooks and the unexpected math behind “Starry Night”.

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This was ThinkGeek's April Fools' Day joke this year, and unfortunately is not actually available.  Yet.

Gearing up for April Fool's Day: How To Create A Realistic Looking Head In A Jar

Mikeasaurus of Instructables has posted instructions on how to make your own remarkably convincing head in a jar. 

Start by creating, printing and laminating a cleverly-edited wrap-around portrait of someone’s head (preferably your own). The Instructable has instructions on how to make your own wraparound head photo, but if photo editing is not your specialty, don’t worry – one is available to download in the instructions on Instructables. It needs to be fully laminated (you can buy self-adhesive laminating sheets at Amazon, or at Staples or a similar office supply place, or at Walmart) so that the paper is waterproof. Then, just twist it into a tube and submerge it in a jar full of dyed water.

via Laughing Squid

April Fool's Day idea: Make your own meatloaf donuts

Recipe and directions here.  via Neatorama.