There are various legends in different cultures, beliefs and languages about how "April 1", which has been known as "Prank Day" for many years, came about.
It is thought that the jokes, which were first seen during the festivals of the ancient Romans and Indians, became a tradition with the calendar arrangement made in France in 1564.
Some historians also attribute the tradition to ancient European Spring festivities, where people wore costumes to fool each other.
SPAGHETTI HARVEST IN SWITZERLAND (1957):
The British broadcaster BBC's Panorama program made a memorable joke. The program presented a joke in 1957 that the Swedes were growing spaghetti on trees as if it were serious news research. Many viewers, not realizing that the broadcast was a joke, called the BBC and asked for information on how they could grow their own spaghetti trees.
COLOR TELEVISION WITH NYLON STOCKINGS (1962):
Swedish State Television's technical expert Kjell Stensson introduced a new technology for TV screens. According to Stensson, all Swedes who covered their televisions with nylon stockings would have a color screen. It is said that thousands of Swedes still remember how their fathers put nylon stockings on television. Sweden switched to color television in 1970.
LION BATHING IN LONDON (1698):
The address of one of the first recorded April 1 jokes in history is London. As it is learnt from Dawk's Newsletter the next day, many people came to the Tower of London to "watch how the lions are bathed" that day. The joke took hold so long that it was customary throughout the 18th and 19th centuries to send people to the Tower of London to watch the "lion bath".
JOKE IN WAR (1915):
At a time when the First World War was in full swing, a bomb-like object was launched from a British plane flying over the German-occupied Lille Airport. While the German soldiers fled frantically with the fear of explosion, the falling object was seen repeatedly bouncing on the ground. German soldiers, who went to the object, which turned out to be a soccer ball, encountered a note saying "April Fools' Day".
HAMBURGER FOR LEFTIES (1998):
Burger King announced that they made hamburgers for 32 million left-handed people in the U.S. in a full-page advertisement in USA Today. Thousands of left-handed Americans who saw the ad rushed to Burger King restaurants to eat the hamburger produced for them.
FLYING PENGUINS (2008):
The program broadcast on the BBC reported that it had recorded penguins flying in Antarctica. On the show hosted by Terry Jones, Adelie penguins looked so realistically while taking off. According to the documentary, penguins were flying to South America to enjoy the tropical climate when the weather got very cold.
THE EIFFEL TOWER IS MOVING (1986):
Le Parisien newspaper blew the minds of Parisians by writing that an agreement had been reached to dismantle and relocate the Eiffel Tower. According to the news, the Eiffel, considered the symbol of French culture, was to be reassembled in the new Euro Disney park to be opened in the east of Paris. In place of the Eiffel, a stadium with a capacity of 35 thousand seats was to be built for the 1992 Olympic Games.
