April Fool's Day Pranks: Spaghetti Farmers, Electro-Magnetic Bras and Other Classics

Did you hear the one about how a mild winter killed off the dreaded spaghetti weevil, creating a bumper crop of spaghetti in 1957? Just in case you haven't head about those wonderfully useful spaghetti trees, you can relax. Spaghetti doesn't grow on trees, but don't try telling that to the thousands of Brits who called the BBC asking how they could grow their own spaghetti trees. Of course, it was all a prank and, as you might expect this particular news segment aired on a very specific date in 1957: April 1. Or, as you might know it, April Fool's Day.

There have been not nearly enough really great April Fool's Day pranks over the years, but you've got to admire the infamous newscast of the spaghetti weevil. Too bad that we in the United States don't get such fun April Fool's Day newscast pranks; instead, we get a daily dose of April fools in the person of Dana Perino. She's still fun to listen to, but the joke sort of gets lost when you realize she's not in on it. As for political pranks, perhaps nothing beats the April Fool's Day in 1992 when National Public Radio of all places announced that Richard Nixon was running for President again. Listeners even heard Nixon announce his rather catchy new campaign slogan: "I didn't do anything wrong, and I won't do it again." Those who were fed up with the lack of interest in governance exhibited by George H.W. Bush were probably thoroughly excited by the idea of Nixon running for President. Say what you will about Richard Nixon, at least he was actually interested in accomplishing something other than killing off America's broccoli crop, vomiting on Japanese men, and foisting his idiot son on an unsuspecting electorate. As for the rest of the listeners, however, the very idea of Nixon running for President again sparked outrage. Proof enough that many liberals don't have a sense of humor: the Nixon speaking during the segment turned out to be Rich Little.