The internet fix April Fool ’s daytime shenanigans accessible to one thousand thousand of people , many of them quite fleeceable , as any spammer can evidence . Here are some of the biggest and full cyberspace harlequinade from the past few years .
2004: the iShave
AGerman websitelaunched a Modern product call up theiShave , It was purportedly a gadget you plugged into your iPod that twist it into an electric razor . The idea resurfaced in June of 2007 as along - handle razor for shaving one ’s back . It came with a press dismission and aproduct website(which is no longer maintained ) . Today , the theme subsist only asa 99 cent appto make your iPhone depend and go like an electric electric shaver to prank your friends .
2005: Water on Mars
TheAstronomy Picture of the Dayfrom NASA is always a treat , but on April first of 2005 it was a tasty treat -an proclamation ofthe discovery of body of water on Mars!It was only three twelvemonth later that the jokebecame a reality , although many folks were understandably disbelieving at first . Image by Ellen Roper .
2006: The Cure for Information Overload
This was the yr everyone wanted to get in on the turn . It ’s impossible to cognize who first linked tothe therapeutic for information overburden , but it became the big inter-group communication of the day . I call back strain to consider how many websites were require and then finding that I was go in circles . regrettably , five years later some of the link are dead , so there are in all likelihood discover arcs of this prank existing in isolated air hole all over the internet .
2007: Gmail Paper
Would n’t it be prissy if you could have all your electronic mail printed and extradite to your home on paper , so you could read it anywhere ? That was the idea behindGmail Paper , set in motion by Google on April first , 2007 , double-dyed withtestimonials . I do n’t believe anyone sign up for the service , even though it is " free . "
2008: Flying Penguins
Late on March 31st , 2008 , the BBC uploaded a TV to YouTube boast a documentary film clip abouta very limited colony of Adélie penguinsfound on King George Island . These penguins can vaporize ! The footage was narrated by Terry Jones , who was billed as " Film maker and author , " and is actually well know as a fellow member of Monty Python . He did his very safe Sir David Attenborough impression in the video . TheTelegraphand other newspapers posted a preview of the documentary to be aired on British TV on April 1st . On April mo , the BBC uploaded a video that explainedhow the stunt was created . Jones was nowhere near the Antarctic , and the footage was remixed to make the penguins appear to aviate . The prank was created to advance the BBC ’s iPlayer , which was just going live around April Fool ’s Clarence Shepard Day Jr. .
2009: Crashing a Funeral
Improv Everwherehas done some decent thing , like throwing asurprise wedding receptionfor a couple who got married at metropolis G. Stanley Hall . On April first of 2009 , they posted a mission calledThe Best Funeral Everin which they crashed a graveside serve . The submit goal was to make the funeral for someone with few congenator and few friend into a glorious sendoff . Many who first find this take it as a kind motion . Then when we find out the video , it became decipherable that the mourners didnotappreciate the intervention of strangers . Many readers cried foul and pronounce that Improv had finally crossed the line . It was easy to think because it was along the lines of thing they would do . However , as scorn was stack upon the group , they had to indicate out the date and explain that even the lamenter in this video were thespian . Therealtarget of the trick was the entire net audience .
2010: Canned Unicorn Meat
conceive Geekhas a history of great prank products they carry every April Fool ’s Day . Some proved to be so popular that the website had to shift power train and find a way to plow the prank into a real product , like thePersonal Soundtrack Shirtand theTauntaun Sleeping Bag . Then in 2010 , everyone was verbalise about one theycouldn’tproduce for real : Canned Unicorn Meat , gasconade as " the fresh white nub . " The Cartesian product , or at least the moving-picture show , was reposted everywhere , but therealjoke emerged in June . That ’s when believe Geek receiveda cease and refrain letterfrom the National Pork Board , which considered the tagline to be an infringement of their slogan " the other white core " . That reaction turn intoa bigger storythan the original joke .
What will April Fool ’s Day 2011 bring ? It will have to be big if it ’s going to top all these ! For more great April Fool ’s Day harlequinade from history , check outthe heavy list from The Museum of Hoaxes .
