Pranks, the Press, and Three Presidents: Famous April Fools’ Jokes

From spaghetti trees to Sidd Flinch, a playful look at April Fools’ Day’s most memorable hoaxes—and the fine art of pulling off a prank with humor and grace.

Many of the most memorable April Fools' Day hoaxes rely on careful storytelling, convincing details, and just enough plausibility to make audiences hesitate before laughing. Robert Couse-Baker/CC BY 2.0

On April 1, 1957, the usually staid British Broadcasting Corp. (BBC) reported that a Swiss region bordering Italy had produced an “exceptionally heavy spaghetti crop” that season due to the mild winter and the eradication of the spaghetti weevil. The camera panned farmers and gardeners picking spaghetti from trees, then sitting down to enjoy a supper of delicious pasta.

To be fair, spaghetti was unfamiliar to many Brits at the time. Other viewers immediately realized that the broadcasting giant had put together an elaborate April Fools’ Day joke, with a few in the audience upset that the BBC had broken character to run such nonsense. Yet many others swamped the station with phone calls, looking for details on how to grow their own spaghetti. BBC wits replied to these requests: “Place a sprig of spaghetti in a tin of tomato sauce and hope for the best.”

Plimpton’s Prank & More

Older Americans will remember the Sidd Finch prank. The April 1, 1985, edition of “Sports Illustrated” ran George Plimpton’s “The Curious Case of Sidd Finch.” In this lengthy article, the well-known sportswriter reported the story of British orphan Hayden Siddhartha Finch, a 28-year-old versed in foreign languages, talented on the French horn, a Harvard dropout, and an aspirant Buddhist monk to boot, who might soon be pitching for the New York Mets. His throws across the plate were clocked at superhuman speeds as high as 168 mph.