1) The Spaghetti Tree
In 1957, the BBC played a famous April Fools’ Day prank, now called ‘the Swiss Spaghetti’ prank. They broadcast a fake news story of farmers in Switzerland picking spaghetti from a tree. Many people fell for the prank, and contacted the BBC asking to buy one of the spaghetti trees! They received so many requests that they had to explain, the next day, that it was just a joke.
2) Big Ben’s Clock
In 1980, the BBC reported that Big Ben was going to change to a digital clock. Some people were so shocked by the announcement that they phoned in to complain.
Also in 1980, the BBC Japanese service announced that the clock hands would be sold to the first 4 listeners to contact them. One Japanese fisherman, who was in the middle of the Atlantic ocean, contacted the BBC immediately!
3) Tower of London Lion Washing
In 1860, people throughout London received an invitation to attend the ‘Tower of London Lion Washing Ceremony’! Hundreds of people went to the Tower of London, but they were disappointed – and maybe a little embarrassed – to hear that there were no lions in the building!
4) Left-handed Burgers
In 1998, in the USA, Burger King published an advertisement for a ‘Left-handed burger’. The advertisement said that the new burger had the same ingredients as a normal burger, but everything was rotated 180 degrees.
Thousands of customers went into restaurants asking for a ‘left-handed burger’, and some people even asked for a ‘right-handed burger’!
Interestingly, the word ‘whopper’ can have two meanings. Firstly it can mean ‘very big’, so Burger King’s ‘Whopper’ means it’s a very big burger. The word ‘whopper’ is also slang for ‘a lie’! So the advertisement that says ‘Left-Handed Whopper’ could mean ‘Left-Handed Lie’ – which it was!
