It’s one of the UK’s best-known and most fondly remembered April Fools' jokes: BBC Panorama's famous spaghetti tree hoax. Broadcast in 1957, the programme showed a family of Swiss farmers harvesting pasta from trees. It also explained how the mild winter and "virtual disappearance of the spaghetti weevil" had led to an exceptionally heavy crop. Cameraman Charles de Jaeger came up with the idea, years after a teacher joked he was so stupid, he’d believe spaghetti grew on trees.
The story of the Italian man who sold grated Parmesan which was actually made from grated umbrella handles has been around for decades. One of the earliest records dates back to 1968, when it was reported in the London Express. The tale has since been repeated in books and articles, but the exact details remain unclear, throwing doubt on whether this hoax is in fact a joke itself.
When the Dutch Egg Board noticed a drop in sales in 1973, they concluded shoppers were put off by the appearance of the super-clean eggs. To solve the problem, they decided to coat them with mud, manure and feathers (after they’d been cleaned) to give them a farmyard appearance.
The Liberty Bell is one of the greatest symbols of American independence. So, when Taco Bell announced in several newspapers on April Fools' Day 1996 that it had bought the historic treasure and planned to rename it the ‘Taco Liberty Bell’, it generated a huge response – much of it scathing. Taco Bell eventually revealed the truth and promised to donate money to the bell’s upkeep.
On April Fools' Day 1998, Burger King published a full-page advert in USA Today announcing the launch of its new product: the Left-Handed Whopper. It claimed the Whopper had been rotated 180 degrees to ensure a better grip and sesame seeds on the bun had been re-positioned favouring a left-handed eating technique. The fast food outlet revealed the hoax the following day.
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Myths have long circulated that haggis isn't in fact a dish made from offal, oatmeal, onions, salt and spices, but the meat of the 'wild haggis', a four-legged creature found running around the Scottish Highlands. The myth is so widely believed, a 2003 survey revealed one-third of American tourists to Scotland thought wild haggis to be real.
In 2007, freelance TV reporter Zi Beijia was arrested in China after producing a false news report for Beijing Television, which claimed local vendors had been selling pork buns made with cardboard. The report caused a public outcry but Beijia later admitted he’d made the story up and hired actors to appear in the ‘hidden camera’ footage. He was sentenced to one year in prison and fined 1,000 yuan (£119/$141).
Owen Louis, a 21-year-old British student, hit the headlines in 2008 after claiming he’d charged his iPod by plugging it into an onion. Several news outlets believed him and hailed it as a breakthrough in eco-friendly energy. Although some scientists agree the basic principles could work, it's not one to try at home.
In 2008, a series of videos were posted to YouTube showing people using the heat from their mobile phones to make popcorn. The videos caused a stir in the media and several newspapers interviewed scientists to debunk the claims. Eventually Cardo Systems, a manufacturer of Bluetooth headsets, admitted it had staged the whole thing.
In 2008, American restaurant critic Robin Goldstein set out to prove how easy it was to obtain a Wine Spectator Award of Excellence, supposedly only awarded to venues with an exceptional wine list. After submitting the details for Osteria L’Intrepido in Milan and paying the $250 (£210) application fee, the restaurant was duly awarded the accolade. Goldstein later revealed he’d made the restaurant up to expose how easily the organisation could be deceived.
Walkers is known for pulling an April Fools' prank or two (self-seasoning potatoes anyone?), however its Ready Silent crisps trump the lot. Back in 2009, the company claimed it had created the first quiet crisps, ideal for eating in the back of the classroom or cinema. The ‘Cri-sshhp’, said to be developed in the lab with Silent Crisp Technology (SCT), came already crushed alongside a plastic serving spoon. Needless to say the product didn’t actually exist or sell.
British supermarket Waitrose announced the arrival of an exotic new fruit on April Fools' Day 2009 – the 'pinana', a pineapple and banana hybrid. Its newspaper advert read: "Fresh in today and exclusive to Waitrose. If you find that all Waitrose pinanas have sold out, don't worry, there's 50% off our essential Waitrose strawberries."
An image of blue 'Japanese moonmelon' was widely circulated on the internet around 2012 along with a caption revealing how it could switch the flavour of foods after you’d eaten it. The post explained, “Everything sour will taste sweet, and everything salty will taste bitter, and it gives water a strong orange-like taste.” However, it looked like the result of some basic Photoshopping techniques to us.
In 2013, it was reported fraudsters in China had been filling empty walnut husks with concrete chips and gluing them shut. This allowed criminals to double their profits, by selling the real nuts and then the shells. The deception followed a dramatic price increase over the previous decade – from around 350 yuan (£41/$49) to as much as 30,000 yuan (£3,556/$4,222) 10 years later.
In December 2013, UK store GAME claimed to have come up with the perfect solution for gamers too busy to cook their own festive dinner – the Christmas Tinner, nine layers of food including turkey and all the trimmings in a can. Although the company claimed the product was on sale in Basingstoke, the store immediately announced it was sold out.
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‘Celebrity meat production’ company BiteLabs claimed in 2014 it could create specially cultivated sausages using the body tissue of celebrities. It hoped to make artisanal salami using stem cells from Jennifer Lawrence, James Franco and Kanye West. Real or a hoax on how celebrity culture is consumed? We’re just glad this hasn't ever happened.
Wine-lovers rejoiced when an Australian company claimed it had invented a gadget that could turn water into wine in just three days. The Miracle Machine was said to produce Cabernet Sauvignon, Chardonnay and Pinot Noir. The story went viral in 2014 before the Wine to Water charity revealed it was a PR stunt to raise awareness for its campaign, which works to provide clean water to those in need. A worthy cause, at least.
French Champagne brand Veuve Clicquot wasn't best pleased with Russian marketing company Firma after publishing adverts using its branding on dissolvable tablets that claimed to transform water into bubbly in 2014. Named '‘Shhh…ampagne’, in the end it all turned out to be a hoax.
In 2014, Rudy Kurniawan was sentenced to 10 years in prison after committing the biggest wine fraud in history. Police discovered the fraudster had been mixing old wine with newer vintages and selling them. Over the years Kurniawan amassed a fortune and was ordered to pay $28.4m (£23.87m) to his victims.
Years in the making, Pizza Hut announced the release of its brand new, cutting-edge scratch and sniff menu on April Fools' Day 2015. The promotional video saw a presenter make their way around restaurant tables asking guests to scratch and guess mystery items on the menu including Meat Feast, Pepperoni Feast, onion rings and garlic bread. The sentiment of this prank is that guests would order off the menu using their nose.
In a very out of character announcement, KFC revealed plans to launch a clean-eating burger in the UK and Ireland in February 2017. Created in collaboration with food blogger, ‘Figgy Poppleton-Rice’, the burger was reported to include a chia seed-topped cauliflower bun, unsweetened almond yogurt, ice cube relish, spiralised chicken breast and kale. When quizzed about the parody, a KFC spokesperson told Mashable: "The KFC spokesperson isn’t available to comment as they are currently looking into an increased cauliflower demand."
Global sandwich chain Subway is always coming up with new menu items and in April 2017, it announced plans to launch a SubZero ice cream range based on popular sub fillings: chicken tikka, tuna and meatball marinara. Unsurprisingly, few were disappointed to discover the advert had been a spoof for April Fools' Day 2017.
Another April Fools' hoax, in 2017 Coca-Cola announced the launch of its new drink: Coca-Cola Helium, which it claimed gave customers a hilariously squeaky voice. Its marketing manager said: “We’re delighted to be launching Coca-Cola Helium this year – it really inflates our range of drinks and lifts our fans’ spirits.” Very amusing.
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A couple of years ago we thought Stonewall Kitchen had found the perfect solution to buyer’s remorse. The company posted an advertisement on Facebook for a “sustainable”, “cost-saving” jam sampling programme in which consumers would be sent previously owned jams to try out before they splurge on a jar of their own. We love the sentiment, but it turned out to be a prank – just imagine those sticky second-hand jars if this were real.
For April Fools' 2018 Westland Distillery, in Seattle, rolled out a marketing campaign for Sport Dram whiskey for winners. An ‘authentically aggressive’, ‘demanding dram’ ideal for after an 'intense day of slathering muscles with oil, spiking volleyballs, fist bumping and chest pumping'. Available in three colours: Red Slap, Blue Buzz and Green Grip – you’ve got to hand it to its marketing team.
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At FreshDirect they took farm to table one step further on April Fools' Day 2018. A promotional video for rabbit-scavenged herbs was posted online which featured bunnies on the fictional Honeysuckle Farm hopping carefree among the trees. "Watch how our farmer trains his herd of fluffy foragers!" the post exclaimed as Ned Hopper, rabbit trainer, pulls sage and mint leaves from a bowl of goods the rabbits ‘retrieved’. We’re not believing this one.
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There’s nothing like a comforting pasta dish or long soak in a hot bath after a hard week of work, so Italian-American restaurant chain Frankie & Benny’s combined the two experiences in its meatball bath bomb. As it fizzes in the water it releases the scent of pork, garlic, chilli and tomato, with a hint of lemon and black pepper. Sounds too weird to believe? The launch was timed for April Fools' Day 2021.... We’ll stick to our lavender baths for now.
Walkers once again had crisp fans scratching their heads on 1 April 2021, with the announcement of a new limited-edition chocolate-flavoured version of the UK’s favourite cheesy puffs. Launched in time for the Easter weekend it saw the Walkers Twitter account alive with people asking where to buy the innovative snacks. Judging by the warm response from enthusiastic chocolate and cheese lovers, Walkers might actually be on to a winner, despite the whole thing being a prank.
Fancy a Hawaiian pizza tonight? You’re going to have to reconsider dinner plans. The controversial dish that features ham and pineapple has been banned from food delivery app Foodhub by its CEO Ardian Mula, thanks to a personal vendetta against the dish. Okay, not really, this is an April Fools' prank – but it speaks to the nation’s deep divide over this sweet and savoury pizza.
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