Fact Check

Published April 9, 2004

Claim:



Urban Legends Reference Pages: Daily Snopes: (April Fools' Day)



 
April Fools' Day

 
 
 



April Fool's Day


This page features a collection of links to April Fools' Day-related news articles and web sites. Due to the ephemeral nature of this type of material, some of the links may expire within a few days of being posted here. Stories are chosen for inclusion here purely on the basis of their entertainment value; we make no claims about the reliability of information linked from this page.

All of the links included here are viewable at no charge, although some publications may require a free one-time registration to access their articles. Articles requiring registration to view are identified with asterisks (*).

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Water Joke Leaves Officials with Sour Taste
 
(The [Bremerton] Sun)


  • A Seattle radio station's April Fools' Day joke about Bremerton's water supply went too far, scrambling city and county officials to calm residents' concerns.
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    April Fools' Editions Sink College Papers
     
    (Associated Press)


  • Being funny without being offensive is tough to do, which is why three college newspapers that published April Fools' Day editions — those at Carnegie Mellon University, the University of Scranton and the University of Nebraska at Omaha — are in trouble.
  •  


    Earth to Be Renamed As 'Gandalf'
     
    (BBC News)


  • Astronomers have decided to rename the planets of the Solar System after characters from Lord of the Rings.
  •  


    Can You Tell the Real Stories?
     
    (The Kalamazoo Gazette)


  • For April Fool's Day, we've assembled a collection of tall tales and unbelievable true stories. See whether you can discern which stories are the real deal and which are just too wacky to have happened.
  •  


    Norway to Plant Electronic ID Chips Under Patients' Skin
     
    (Agence France Presse)


  • Unsuspecting readers of Norway's paper-of-record Aftenposten on April Fool's Day were duped into believing that health authorities planned to plant electronic ID chips under patients's skin to better evaluate their needs.
  •  


    Spam Is out of This World
     
    (The Sydney Morning Herald)


  • A torrent of interplanetary spam has been found responsible for crippling the onboard computer of NASA's Spirit rover in January.
  •  


    Flatulent Cows to Fuel Oil Sands?
     
    (Reuters)


  • A Calgary brokerage touted new ways to fuel northern Alberta's massive oil sands developments in a research report promising power from flatulent cows.
  •  


    Australian Trial Aborted After Joking Juror's April Fool's Day Prank
     
    (Agence France Presse)


  • An Australian trial was aborted after an April Fool's Day joke by a juror backfired.
  •  


    Man Cited for Tying Dead Dog to Co-Worker's Truck as April Fool's Joke
     
    (Associated Press)


  • A man was charged with tying a dead dog to the truck of a deaf co-worker as part of an April Fool's Day joke.
  •  


    April Fool's Day Brought out the Best and Worst Jokes and Hoaxes
     
    (Canadian Press)


  • Joke radars were in high gear as April Fool's Day pranksters took aim at everything from luxury transportation to avid joggers and Alberta's rival NHL teams.
  •  


    Shake Your Mobile and Watch a Movie, Swedes Told on April Fools Day
     
    (Agence France Presse)


  • Tech-crazy Swedes nearly choked on their morning coffee on April Fools' Day when the country's largest newspaper reported that billions of dollars had been unnecessarily invested in next generation mobile phone technology since old mobiles aimed at TVs could show movies.
  •  


    April Fool Pension Joke Falls Flat
     
    (Reuters)


  • How's this for a government pension scheme: In lieu of payments, give eligible recipients five lottery tickets a year and a chance to win millions.
  •  


    Washington Delivers Partisan Pranks
     
    (Associated Press)


  • Democratic presidential candidate John Kerry doesn't have a Republican-leaning French cousin. President Bush is not pushing legislation that would have other countries pay off the deficit. Pennsylvania Republican Sen. Arlen Specter is not retiring to study Scottish Common Law.
  •  


    Singapore Vandalism Is Just an April Fool's Joke
     
    (Agence France Presse)


  • The spray-painting of a prominent billboard in Singapore with a controversial political message was portrayed in the media as the most outrageous act of vandalism in a decade.
  •  


    Stern Shocks Listeners with April Fool's Hoax
     
    (Reuters)


  • Fans of Howard Stern were horrified to hear that the radio shock jock was yanked off the air and replaced by a more wholesome show only to find out later it was all an April Fool's day prank.
  •  


    'Roo the Day
     
    (Grist)


  • Just when you thought the SUV craze couldn't get any more overheated, General Motors has upped the ante.
  •  


    License Plates for Yum Cha Carts
     
    (The Sydney Morning Herald)


  • Yum cha restaurants in Chinatown will now have to train workers who push food carts to pass a "driving licence" under new regulations from Sydney City Council.
  •  


    Norway Overrun with April Fools
     
    (United Press International)


  • Thursday marked the traditional April Fool's Day, and Norway was one country where pranks weren't hard to find.
  •  


    Post Office Calls for Portable 'Vanity' Zip Codes
     
    (NPR)


  • The U.S. Postal Service plans to launch next month a national "Portable Zip Codes" program. Under the program, Americans would be able to keep their current zip codes no matter where they moved, whether across the country or across town.
  •  


    Foolish Things Abound Today
     
    (Indiana Gazette)


  • Die-hard pranksters consider it their obligation each April Fools' Day to plant phony news stories, concoct wild hoaxes and use an assortment of gadgets and gizmos to ensnare their unsuspecting victims, all in the name of smirks and giggles.
  •  


    President Bush Signs 'Same Sex Marriage' Bill Into Law as an April Fools Joke By Mistake
     
    (The Daily Farce)


  • Don't ever doubt President Bush does not have a sense of humor. As an April fools joke President Bush called on a press conference and asked reporters to come witness the signing of a new law that would make same sex marriage legal in the United States.
  •  


    Congress: Occupied Uterus Subject to Housing Code
     
    (Planned Parenthood)


  • Congress today passed legislation that expands the legal rights of the fetus by declaring that the womb is an occupied residential dwelling and therefore subject to state and federal housing codes.
  •  


    Get Prepped for April Fools Day
     
    (Pioneer Press)


  • Practical jokes and pranks are common on April Fools Day, but there are some real benefits in laughter throughout the year. Here are some Web sites that will assist you in finding the lighter side of things.
  •  


    Net Hoaxes Snare Fools All Year
     
    (Wired)


  • The infinite power supply does not exist. But for the past two years, that fact hasn't stopped people from trying to buy one.
  •  


    Who Is the 'Most Foolish American'?
     
    (Seattle Post-Intelligencer)


  • To mark April Fools' Day, a New York public relations consultant asked more than 1,000 Americans to name names for a "Most Foolish American" survey.
  •  


    Fooled Ya!
     
    (The Atlanta Journal-Constitution)


  • The Atlanta Journal-Constitution's readers share their best April Fools' Day jokes.
  •  


    Disney and Wal-Mart Merge
     
    (MiceAge)


  • The Walt Disney Company Board of Directors, mindful of the shareholder vote of March 3, 2004, announced that it is merging the Walt Disney Company with the Wal-Mart Company to create the world's largest retailing and entertainment conglomerate, which as of April 1, 2004 will be renamed The WaltMart Company.
  •  


    How Hydro-Ordnance Works
     
    (howstuffworks.com)


  • In this article, we will look at the new face of ammunition in the U.S. Armed Forces, and see how the art of war is about to be brought to a whole new level thanks to Uncle Sam.
  •  


    Radio an April Fools' Paradise
     
    (The [South Carolina] State)


  • Listeners beware of what you hear today on the radio. It’s April Fools' Day, and history says the joke is on you.
  •  


    April Fools' Day: Watch Out for Pranks
     
    (Milford Daily News)


  • When Kristin Pyne's three children woke up on April 1 last year, they were shocked to see what was on their breakfast plate.
  •  


    J-O-X Innovative Memorabilia Cards Promise Brief Exposure
     
    (Sportsology.net)


  • In an industry first, every card in each pack of J-o-x hockey cards will include fabric swatches from hockey superstars' undergarments.
  •  


    Blair: "Weapons of Mass Destruction Claims Were an April Fools Joke"
     
    (Random Perspective)


  • Prime Minister Tony Blair has today disclosed that the claims regarding Weapons of Mass Destruction in Iraq have just been part of a long, protracted April Fools joke.
  •  


    April Fools' Day Undies Businessmen Hit Auckland
     
    (thread)


  • Kiwi commuters in the CBD this morning may have blinked twice at the sight of partially-dressed businessmen on their way to work.
  •  


    Radio Station Runs April Fools Joke About Super Bowl
     
    (First Coast News)


  • This morning, WAPE 95.1 ran an April Fools Joke that the National Football League held a meeting last night and moved the 2005 Super Bowl game from Jacksonville to New York.
  •  


    Cheboygan Lawyers Send April Fools' Day Letter to Yankees
     
    (Associated Press)


  • A handful of northern Michigan lawyers sent an April Fools' Day letter to the New York Yankees, asking the team not to display advertisements on their traditional pinstriped uniforms.
  •  


    State House Members Play April Fools' Day Joke on Keys Lawmaker
     
    (Associated Press)


  • No one — not even one of the House's most senior lawmakers — is safe from April Fools' Day ribbing.
  •  


    Bylaw Drives Joggers Nuts
     
    (The Toronto Star)


  • In a rare example of environmental co-operation, mayors across the megacity have joined to rush through a temporary bylaw requiring joggers in parks to run no faster than 10 km/h.
  •  


    April Fools Day More Intense on Mars
     
    (NASA)


  • Today, April 1st, astrophysicists have announced a surprising discovery — April Fools Day is more intense on Mars!
  •  


    Bush Tries to Outsource the Deficit
     
    (PHXNews.com)


  • The White House announced today that President Bush will be sending legislation to Congress to outsource the deficit.
  •  


    Woman Grows Extra Breasts
     
    (The Sydney Morning Herald)


  • A woman in cental China who paid for breast enlargement surgery ended up with an unwanted bonus — two extra breasts.
  •  


    Google Copernicus Center is Hiring
     
    (Google.com)


  • Google is interviewing candidates for engineering positions at their lunar hosting and research center, opening late in the spring of 2007.
  •  


    Gay Weddings Hoax Draws Calls, Complaints
     
    (The Miami Herald)


  • An online news posting declaring that Miami Beach Mayor David Dermer would perform 2,000 gay and lesbian weddings today drew calls from several gay couples who wanted to join the ceremony — and the ire of others when the announcement turned out to be an April Fool's Day hoax.
  •  


    10 Stories That Could Be Pranks — But Aren't
     
    (BBC News)


  • Today is 1 April, when jokers set out to fool and the rest of us are on our guard. But some of the day's seemingly spoof news stories are true.
  •  


    Pranks, Humor Prevail on April Fool's Day
     
    (Arizona Daily Wildcat)


  • Today people across the country will plot and scheme mischievous ways to test the endurance of their friends, family and loved ones.
  •  


    Ambridge in Uproar Over Eno's 'New-Wave' Theme Tune
     
    (The Independent)


  • The Archers, radio's longest running soap opera, is to have a new theme tune composed by the avant-garde rock musician Brian Eno.
  •  


    Monsanto Secret Research: Exposed!
     
    (Greenpeace)


  • Monsanto has spent several years working on a Blue Skies R&D project to identify the genetic basis for human resistance to authority.
  •  


    Internet News Guru Matt Drudge Uncovers Dating Scandal
     
    (The Register)


  • Matt Drudge later today will report that a man and woman dated, sources tell The Register.
  •  


    Janet, Jacko Join Yeti on April 1
     
    (The Times of India)


  • The mythical yeti from the Himalayas joined the Jackson siblings Michael and Janet to provide mirth on All Fool's Day in Nepal.
  •  


    Laughs That Last
     
    (The Hartford Courant)


  • The practical joke and its spiritual cousin, the hoax, have been around forever.
  •  


    Google: 'Gmail' No April Fool's Joke
     
    (Computerworld)


  • It's not like Internet search service Google can't laugh at itself, but when an April Fools' Day joke got out of hand, a real business plan just announced by the company was also rumored to be a Web hoax. And for the company, that was no laughing matter.
  •  


    DNC Hoax Backfires
     
    (United Press International)


  • The Democratic National Committee issued a statement apologizing for a joke e-mail they said unintentionally tricked journalists.
  •  


    Crocs Heading South As Drought Bites
     
    (ABC Riverina NSW)


  • Drought conditions across northern Australia are forcing some fresh water crocodiles into southern river systems, according to reptile expert Steve Sass.


  •    

     
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    David Mikkelson founded the site now known as snopes.com back in 1994.

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