The Top 3 Greatest April Fools' Day Pranks of All Time A comedy article
by Daniel R Deakin 903 14 01/18/2010 02:58 PM 6628 views
April 1. April Fool's Day. A special day for some of the most creative minds the world has ever known, to turn their spectacular brains to that subject of mischief making. Naturally this list is subjective -- some may argue there are greater pranks, funnier pranks, more famous pranks. But these are our three favorites, and there are only so many times the Spaghetti Tree prank can be mentioned.
1. French Daredevil Attacks the Enemy Forces With An Explosive Prank
During one of the most horrific periods of human history, the First World War, with millions dying every year, it is easy to see why some service personnel would have gone a bit crazy. Death and mutilation on a daily basis is not the greatest diet for the human psyche.
In 1915, a brave French pilot figured he would relieve his tension by taking a precarious flight over German lines. In those days pilots had small bombs that they carried and dropped by hand over terrified soldiers. German spotters saw the pilot reach for what looked like a bomb and feared for the worst.
The reckless Frenchman threw an object out of the plane; it looked like a large bomb heading straight for the clustered Germans. Naturally they scattered, expecting an explosion, which never happened.
After a while, when the Germans were sure they were safe, they cautiously approached the bomb. To their surprise they found a large soccer ball with a note attached to it saying "April Fool".
Sadly, the soccer field was slightly damaged
This prank must be recognized for its "pranks in wartime" message: a dedicated prankster will always honor April Fool's Day, no matter what the awful reality is.
2. Drunk In Charge of Internet Surfing Is A Crime
In 1994, a writer for PC Computing magazine, John Dvorak, described to his readers how Congress was passing a bill that would make it illegal to drink alcohol whilst surfing the Internet (to avoid crashes perhaps?). The bill would also outlaw the discussion of sexual topics over a public network.
This of course outraged many 45 year-old men living in the basement of their parents' house whilst working on that sci-fi screenplay that will kick Star Wars' butt. For others, what else is there to do after sitting in your cubicle cold-calling people for 8 hours straight and trying to sell them central heating on a summer's day -- other than flicking on the Web, downing some cold ones and asking a complete stranger how big their hooters are?
This was going a bit too far
However, there were some clues in Mr. Dvorak's article to suggest it was an elaborate prank. The bill was numbered 040194 (April 1, 1994) and a listed contact person was Lirpa Sloof (April Fools). Of course it was a hoax, but all over the USA overweight, sweaty lonely surfers were reaching for a can of Diet Coke ... and a double cheeseburger, of course.
How would the US government have planned on policing this bill, anyway? The creation of a new force, DOODIES (Directorate of Operations for Ousting Drunken Internet Exploration & Sex), would be necessary. They would have had amazing powers, tapping everyone's lines, monitoring keyboards for poor keystrokes (indication of drinking too much, and/or only using one hand), and collecting the IP addresses of everyone that had ever looked at a porn site and said "Well, just 5 minutes." The prison population of the USA would have risen to over 100 million within a month.
3. Penguins Soaring At Crazy Altitudes Scare Unwitting Toucans
2008. The chaps at the BBC are always good for a laugh. The "Beeb" is renowned for creating excellent wildlife shows, thanks to the diligence of patient camera operators and enough money behind them to raise the Titanic and turn it into a theme park.
Whilst filming a series called Miracles of Evolution down near the South Pole, excited film-makers claimed they had seen the most remarkable event. A large group of Adelie Penguins (like those in Happy Feet) had looked like they were going to huddle together for a bit of warmth, when they started flying instead:
The narrator, ex-Monty Python member Terry Jones, explained how these wonderful creatures would fly thousands of miles looking for tropical rainforests and a bit of sun.
It was an elaborate and well created prank, sadly the skies will not be filled with the majestic sight of soaring penguins until genetic scientists get bored and mix penguin DNA with eagle DNA, so at least another 5 years anyway.
This is a wonderful April Fool's Day classic, because just for a minute, you believe a rare group of penguins can fly. And if you squint carefully near the end at the background, you can just make out a beautiful flock of pigs.
The Flying Penguin prank was a new one for me. I like the little touches they added, like the scene where he almost "slips" on the ice near the end -- all done on greenscreen.
All I could think of was that narrator getting a face full of penguin Shakespeare, as they flew in an arc above his head. Can you imagine how big those dumps would be? SPLURT!
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