双语：史上十大经典愚人节玩笑
the swiss spaghetti harvest
瑞士面条树
spaghetti harvest1957: the respected bbc news show panorama announced that thanks to a very mild winter and the virtual elimination of the dreaded spaghetti weevil, swiss farmers were enjoying a bumper spaghetti crop. it accompanied this announcement with footage of swiss peasants pulling strands of spaghetti down from trees. huge numbers of viewers were taken in. many called the bbc wanting to know how they could grow their own spaghetti tree. to this the bbc diplomatically replied, place a sprig of spaghetti in a tin of tomato sauce and hope for the best.
1957年愚人节bbc新闻中说，瑞士的面条树大丰收，农民都在树上收割面条。大量观众上当受骗，打电话来咨询面条树的种植方法。bbc对此的回复是：把一根面条插在番茄酱里，然后就等着吧。
sidd finch
虚拟棒球天才
sidd finch1985: sports illustrated published a story about a new rookie pitcher who planned to play for the mets. his name was sidd finch, and he could reportedly throw a baseball at 168 mph with pinpoint accuracy. this was 65 mph faster than the previous record. surprisingly, sidd finch had never even played the game before. instead, he had mastered the art of the pitch in a tibetan monastery under the guidance of the great poet-saint lama milaraspa. mets fans celebrated their teams' amazing luck at having found such a gifted player, and sports illustrated was flooded with requests for more information. in reality this legendary player only existed in the imagination of the author of the article, george plimpton.
1985年愚人节，运动画刊杂志发布一条假消息，称一个名为sidd finch的新人棒球投球手，能投出168mph时速的球，比当时记录高出65mph；而且这位新人之前都没有玩过棒球！他在一个西藏的寺庙里学会了投球的艺术。大批棒球粉丝因此被骗。其实这个只是文章作者瞎编的。
instant color tv
即时彩色电视
image1962: in 1962 there was only one tv channel in sweden, and it broadcast in black and white. the station's technical expert, kjell stensson, appeared on the news to announce that, thanks to a new technology, viewers could convert their existing sets to display color reception. all they had to do was pull a nylon stocking over their tv screen. stensson proceeded to demonstrate the process. thousands of people were taken in. regular color broadcasts only commenced in sweden on april 1, 1970.
1962年愚人节，当时瑞典还只有一个电视频道，而且是黑白的。电视台的技术人员当天在新闻中说，彩色电视已经研发成功，用户只需拿一双尼龙袜盖在电视屏幕上就行。还真有人信了。
the taco liberty bell
塔可自由钟
taco liberty bell1996: the taco bell corporation announced it had bought the liberty bell and was renaming it the taco liberty bell. hundreds of outraged citizens called the national historic park in philadelphia where the bell was housed to express their anger. their nerves were only calmed when taco bell revealed, a few hours later, that it was all a practical joke. the best line of the day came when white house press secretary mike mccurry was asked about the sale. thinking on his feet, he responded that the lincoln memorial had also been sold. it would now be known, he said, as the ford lincoln mercury memorial.
1996年愚人节，塔可钟快餐公司说他们买下了美国费城独立厅的大钟，并重命名为塔可自由钟。愤怒的市民打电话给费城的国家历史公园，要求确认这个消息。几小时后塔可钟快餐公司承认这只是个玩笑。当天最乌龙的事件还不在此。白宫会秘书mike mccurry被问到这件事时，随机应变回答说，林肯纪念碑也被卖了，现在被命名为福特水星汽车纪念碑。
san serriffe
虚拟国家
image1977: the british newspaper the guardian published a special seven-page supplement devoted to san serriffe, a small republic said to consist of several semi-colon-shaped islands located in the indian ocean. a series of articles affectionately described the geography and culture of this obscure nation. its two main islands were named upper caisse and lower caisse. its capital was bodoni, and its leader was general pica. the guardian's phones rang all day as readers sought more information about the idyllic holiday spot. only a few noticed that everything about the island was named after printer's terminology.
1977年愚人节，英国卫报发行了长达7页的增刊，全是介绍san serriffe这个印度洋上的小岛国的，据说那里有好几个分号形状的小岛。文章中大肆渲染了这里的风情和民俗，介绍了它的城市和首都，甚至总统的名字。当天卫报编辑室的电话都被读者打爆了，大家都想知道这样美好的度假胜地在哪。只有少数人注意到，首都名字bodoni是印刷术语，是一种印刷字体的名称。
nixon for president
尼克松复出
1992: national public radio's talk of the nation program announced that richard nixon, in a surprise move, was running for president again. his new campaign slogan was, i didn't do anything wrong, and i won't do it again. accompanying this announcement were audio clips of nixon delivering his candidacy speech. listeners responded viscerally to the announcement, flooding the show with calls expressing shock and outrage. only during the second half of the show did the host john hockenberry reveal that the announcement was a practical joke. nixon's voice was impersonated by comedian rich little.
1992年愚人节，全国公共广播电台宣布，尼克松又要竞选总统了，他的竞选宣言是：我没做错事；我也不会再做错事。新闻中还穿插了一段尼克松的讲话。愤怒而惊讶的听众纷纷打电话来质问。随后主持人承认这是假的，尼克松的声音也是一个喜剧演员模仿的。
alabama changes the value of pi
圆周率值的修改
1998: the april 1998 issue of the new mexicans for science and reason newsletter contained an article claiming that the alabama state legislature had voted to change the value of the mathematical constant pi from 3.14159 to the 'biblical value' of 3.0. soon the article made its way onto the internet, and then it rapidly spread around the world, forwarded by email. it only became apparent how far the article had spread when the alabama legislature began receiving hundreds of calls from people protesting the legislation. the original article, which was intended as a parody of legislative attempts to circumscribe the teaching of evolution, was written by physicist mark boslough.
1998年愚人节：new mexicans科学技术杂志宣称阿拉巴马州要立法改变圆周率pi的值，很快这事被传上网，通过电子邮件传遍全世界。阿拉巴马立法机构因此接到无数抗议电话。
the left-handed whopper
左撇子大汉堡
1998: burger king published a full page advertisement in usa today announcing the introduction of a new item to their menu: a left-handed whopper specially designed for the 32 million left-handed americans. according to the advertisement, the new whopper included the same ingredients as the original whopper (lettuce, tomato, hamburger patty, etc.), but all the condiments were rotated 180 degrees for the benefit of their left-handed customers. the following day burger king issued a follow-up release revealing that although the left-handed whopper was a hoax, thousands of customers had gone into restaurants to request the new sandwich. simultaneously, according to the press release, many others requested their own 'right handed' version.
1998年愚人节，汉堡王在今日美国报纸上发布了真个版面的广告，介绍他们的新食物：左手汉堡，据说是专为左撇子人士设计，啥都没变，就是全部旋转了180度（小编好奇：转了180度有区别么？）成千上万的顾客因此前来品尝，而且有人要求设计“右手汉堡”。
hotheaded naked ice borers
热性凿冰虫
hotheaded naked ice borer1995: discover magazine reported that the highly respected wildlife biologist dr. aprile pazzo had found a new species in antarctica: the hotheaded naked ice borer. these fascinating creatures had bony plates on their heads that, fed by numerous blood vessels, could become burning hot, allowing the animals to bore through ice at high speeds. they used this ability to hunt penguins, melting the ice beneath the penguins and causing them to sink downwards into the resulting slush where the hotheads consumed them. after much research, dr. pazzo theorized that the hotheads might have been responsible for the mysterious disappearance of noted antarctic explorer philippe poisson in 1837. to the ice borers, he would have looked like a penguin, the article quoted her as saying. discover received more mail in response to this article than they had received for any other article in their history.
1995年愚人节。探索杂志著名野生动物学家aprile pazzo博士在南极洲发现了一种新生物：热性凿冰虫。这种生物的头上有盘状骨头，血液丰富，温度很高，因此能够穿透冰层。他们以此来捕食企鹅。pazzo博士同时声称，经过详细调查，这种动物与1837年南极探险家philippe poisson的失踪有关：“对这种虫来说，他可能长得像企鹅。”探索杂志上还从来没有哪篇文章得到如此多的读者反馈。
planetary alignment decreases gravity
万有引力消失
1976: the british astronomer patrick moore announced on bbc radio 2 that at 9:47 am a once-in-a-lifetime astronomical event was going to occur that listeners could experience in their very own homes. the planet pluto would pass behind jupiter, temporarily causing a gravitational alignment that would counteract and lessen the earth's own gravity. moore told his listeners that if they jumped in the air at the exact moment that this planetary alignment occurred, they would experience a strange floating sensation. when 9:47 am arrived, bbc2 began to receive hundreds of phone calls from listeners claiming to have felt the sensation. one woman even reported that she and her eleven friends had risen from their chairs and floated around the room.
1976年愚人节，英国天文学家patrick moore说，早上9：47时，一个千载难逢的天文现象就要发生：冥王星会从木星后面经过，导致暂时的重力失调，抵消并消减地球上的万有引力，因此人们能体会到一种奇妙的漂浮感觉。9：47，bbc电台接到无数电话，人们声称感到自己漂浮起来了。一个女人甚至说，她和她的朋友从椅子上飘起来，在房间里荡来荡去。
