Friday, April 01, 2011

It’s April 1st…  Don’t be Fooled!

Good morning my fellow Rotarians!  Today is ‘All Fools Day’ the official day for practical jokes and fun at the expense of the innocent and gullible.  April 1st and foolishness can be found as far back as 1392 in a play called ‘Canterbury Tales.’  It became a recognized holiday in the mid 16th century.  Ya wanna here some good April fools jokes that went public over the past few decades?  Well, here you go…

Smell-o-vision: In 1965, the BBC announced they were conducting a new technology trial called “smell-o-vision” allowing the transmission of odor over the airwaves through TV’s. Many viewers called in to report the trial's success.

Iceberg in Australia:  In 1983, Australian millionaire Dick Smith claimed to have towed an iceberg from Antarctica to Sydney Harbor. He used a barge covered with white plastic and fire extinguisher foam to convince witnesses.

Space Shuttle lands in San Diego: In 1993, KGB-FM radio told listeners in San Diego the Space Shuttle Discovery was being diverted from Edwards AFB to Montgomery Field, a small municipal airport. Thousands went to watch causing major traffic jams.  And guess what, no shuttle was in orbit that day.

Taco Liberty Bell: In 1996, Taco Bell ran a full-page ad in The New York Times announcing they had purchased the Liberty Bell to "reduce the country's debt."   They renamed it the "Taco Liberty Bell". At that day’s White House briefing, press secretary Mike McCurry replied tongue-in-cheek that the Lincoln Memorial had also been sold and would henceforth be known as the Lincoln Mercury Memorial.

Lefty Whoppers: In 1998, Burger King ran an ad in USA Today, saying that people could get a left-handed Whopper with condiments designed to drip out of the right side.  Not only did customers order the new ‘lefty’ burgers, but many specifically requested the "old" right-handed burger.

Diet Tap Water:  In 2004, a British morning show host announced that the Yorkshire Water Co. had a new 'diet water' that had helped one customer lose 15 pounds in two months. Yorkshire was rolling this new water and customers could request a third faucet be added to kitchen sinks.  The water company received over 10,000 requests from viewers within the first 24 hours.

Tiger Woods Name Change:  Last year, ESPN reported that Tiger Woods announced at the Masters that he wanted to be referred to by his given name of ‘Eldrick’ in an attempt to distance himself  from his recent troubles.  The hosts debated the pros and cons of that move before finally revealing that the story was a joke.  Tiger didn’t see the humor in it.

Clean Phone Lines:  And finally, one of my all time favorites, which was a nationwide radio stunt (and here on KRNA) I believe.  The phone company was appealing to all customers to help them clean out their phone lines.  It had been years & they needed a good cleaning.  Customers simply had to call the station and then blow into their phone until a station person confirmed their line was clean.  And guess what, tens of thousands of people called in only to learn that the joke was on them! 

Can you spell gullible?  And that is our Bottom of the News… Happy April 1st, 2011!  ###

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