100 Greatest April Fool's Day Hoaxes: Nixon Runs Again, Liberty Bell Sold, Gravity Ceases, More

Below are some of the 100 greatest April Fool's Day hoaxes of all time:

Nixon for President

In 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.

The Taco Liberty Bell

Taco Liberty BellIn 1996 the Taco Bell Corporation announced that 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 as the Ford Lincoln Mercury Memorial.

Planetary Alignment Decreases Gravity

In 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.

Read the full list here.

Comments

[gwhizz]

I can't believe they left out this one:

http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=89284569

[markusmarkus]

Once, someone pasted the words "Pennsylvania is closed until further notice" on the "Welcome to Pennsylvania" sign on Route 95 North at the Delaware/PA border. Supposedly, a lot of cars got off Route 95 at the next exit and got on Route 95 south. Funni!

[bonofide]

Someone please tell me the last eight years were one big April Fools Joke.
November Fools Joke?
December Fools Joke?
January Fools----?
February----?
March?
2001? 02? 03?

???????????

[dentuso]

The most well-orchestrated one I've ever seen is when the Canadian government in the mid 80's announced that the country was adopting metric time, adopting to the new 10-hour clock. They had conversion tables, US/Canadian time conversion tables, etc. A metric second was equal to 1.4 seconds, and there would be 100 seconds in the new metric hour, etc. Everyone was in a panic.

It was beautiful.

[LMPE]

April Fool's Day hoaxes work best when they could really happen. Of course, after the past eight years, I'd believe just about anything.

[helenwheels]

Why would they run this story in November?

[That Guy]

My first thought also. I think someone hit the 'submit' button a few months early. Oh well.

[cjk002]

April Fools!!

[userw014]

Slow news day. Thanksgiving is in a few days and many people are on vacation already, in spirit if not in fact.

[jennytaylia]

Some dimwits will believe anything.

Oh yeah, I forgot... they're called Republicans.

[TrooAmerican]

I just like Palin's theory that People were riding around on dinosaurs with saddles and stuff. I think she got that idea as a child watching the Flintstones...but just doesnt remember.

[Internaut]

Is Huffington trying to tell us something with this story? I mean, it's almost Thanksgiving, for God's sake.

[GetoffMylawn]

The biggest joke of all...
Compassionate Conservatism!

[rektruax]

The last story just goes to show to what extent people would go for a little attention... Extrapolate that a little, and all kinds of "miracles" occur.

[BeefSupreme]

I'm not at all surprised about gravity. It's only a theory, after all, just like evolution.

[JimboSlice]

Yup, and the theory was contradicted by Einstein, just like evolution is contradicted by Sarah Palin.

[freerider]

That nature might select for a Sarah Palin who in turn rejects natural selection merely underlines that fact that Evolution is unguided.

[LeftRight]

The Theory of gravity wasn't contradicted by Einstein. It was STRENGTHENED by him, at least on any scale that most people will ever understand. Granted, he changed the very nature of gravity as understood by scientists (and a few laymen like myself) and how it behaved in certain extremes that Newton had never considered........... But normal macro gravity like we encounter everyday.....

[NYC69]

Yeap! an Earth continues to be flat.

[McMullen]

And gravity still works, too, just like evolution. Funny how those scientificky things keep working even when people don't believe in them. It defies all logic.

[freerider]

I think we need to give more credence to the Stork Theory of Reproduction„¢