愚人节史上十大经典恶作剧
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愚人节这天，人人都绷着一根弦，小心防着各种骗局，免得被身边人捉弄。不过小骗可躲，大骗难防，谁会想到英国广播公司、《卫报》、《今日美国》这些媒体也会在愚人节这天捉弄一下大众呢？一个小小的恶作剧，成千上万的人会信以为真。下面就来看看愚人节历史上大规模“骗人”的经典恶作剧吧。
The Swiss Spaghetti Harvest
On April 1， 1957， the respected BBC news show Panorama announced that thanks to a very mild winter and the virtual elimination of the dreaded spaghetti weevil1）， Swiss farmers were enjoying a bumper2） spaghetti crop. It accompanied this announcement with footage of Swiss peasants pulling strands of spaghetti down from trees. Huge numbers of viewers were taken in. Many called the BBC wanting to know how they could grow their own spaghetti tree. To this the BBC diplomatically replied， “Place a sprig3） of spaghetti in a tin of tomato sauce and hope for the best.”
Sidd Finch
The April 1985 issue of Sports Illustrated contained a story about a new rookie pitcher who planned to play for the Mets4）. His name was Sidd Finch， and he could reportedly throw a baseball at 168 mph with pinpoint accuracy. This was 65 mph faster than the previous record. Surprisingly， Sidd Finch had never even played the game before. Instead， he had mastered the “art of the pitch” in a Tibetan monastery under the guidance of the “great poet-saint Lama Milaraspa.” Mets fans celebrated their teams’ amazing luck at having found such a gifted player， and they flooded Sports Illustrated with requests for more information. In reality this legendary player only existed in the imagination of the author of the article， George Plimpton， who left a clue in the sub-heading of the article： “He’s a pitcher， part yogi5） and part recluse. Impressively liberated from our opulent6） life-style， Sidd’s deciding about yoga—and his future in baseball.” The first letter of each of these words， taken together， spelled “H-a-p-p-y A-p-r-i-l F-o-o-l-s D-a-y—A-h F-i-b7）”.
Instant Color TV
In 1962 there was only one TV channel in Sweden， and it broadcast in black and white. But on April 1， 1962， the station’s technical expert， Kjell Stensson， appeared on the news to announce that， thanks to a new technology， viewers could convert their existing sets to display color reception. All they had to do was pull a nylon stocking over their TV screen. Stensson proceeded to demonstrate the process. Thousands of people were taken in. Regular color broadcasts only commenced in Sweden on April 1， 1970.
The Taco Liberty Bell
The Taco Bell8） Corporation took out a full-page ad that appeared in six major newspapers on April 1， 1996， announcing it had bought the Liberty Bell and was renaming it the Taco Liberty Bell. Hundreds of outraged citizens called the National Historic Park in Philadelphia where the bell was housed to express their anger. Their nerves were only calmed when Taco Bell revealed， a few hours later， that it was all a practical joke. The best line of the day came when White House press secretary Mike McCurry was asked about the sale. Thinking on his feet9）， he responded that the Lincoln Memorial had also been sold. It would now be known， he said， as the Ford Lincoln Mercury Memorial.
San Serriffe
On April 1， 1977， the British newspaper The Guardian published a special seven-page supplement devoted to San Serriffe， a small republic said to consist of several semi-colon-shaped islands located in the Indian Ocean. A series of articles affectionately described the geography and culture of this obscure nation. Its two main islands were named Upper Caisse and Lower Caisse. Its capital was Bodoni， and its leader was General Pica. The Guardian’s phones rang all day as readers sought more information about the idyllic holiday spot. Only a few noticed that everything about the island was named after printer’s terminology. The success of this hoax is widely credited with launching the enthusiasm for April Foolery that gripped the British tabloids in subsequent decades.
Nixon for President
The April 1， 1992 broadcast of National Public Radio’s Talk of the Nation revealed that Richard Nixon， in a surprise move， was running for President again. His new campaign slogan was “I didn’t do anything wrong， and I won’t do it again.” Accompanying this announcement were audio clips of Nixon delivering his candidacy speech. Listeners responded viscerally10） to the announcement， flooding the show with calls expressing shock and outrage. Only during the second half of the show did the host John Hockenberry reveal that the announcement was a practical joke. Nixon’s voice was impersonated by comedian Rich Little.
Alabama Changes the Value of Pi
The April 1998 issue of the New Mexicans for Science and Reason newsletter contained an article claiming that the Alabama state legislature had voted to change the value of the mathematical constant pi from 3.14159 to the “Biblical value” of 3.0. Soon the article made its way onto the Internet， and then it rapidly spread around the world， forwarded by email. It only became apparent how far the article had spread when the Alabama legislature began receiving hundreds of calls from people protesting the legislation. The original article， which was intended as a parody of legislative attempts to circumscribe the teaching of evolution， was written by physicist Mark Boslough.
The Left-Handed Whopper11）
Burger King published a full page advertisement in the April 1st edition of USA Today announcing the introduction of a new item to their menu： a “Left-Handed Whopper” specially designed for the 32 million left-handed Americans. According to the advertisement， the new whopper included the same ingredients as the original Whopper （lettuce， tomato， hamburger patty12）， etc.）， but all the condiments13） were rotated 180 degrees for the benefit of their left-handed customers. The following day Burger King issued a follow-up release revealing that although the Left-Handed Whopper was a hoax， thousands of customers had gone into restaurants to request the new sandwich. Simultaneously， according to the press release， “many others requested their own ‘right-handed’ version.”
Hotheaded Naked Ice Borers
The April 1995 issue of Discover Magazine reported that the highly respected wildlife biologist Dr. Aprile Pazzo had found a new species in Antarctica： the hotheaded naked ice borer. These fascinating creatures had bony plates on their heads that， fed by numerous blood vessels， could become burning hot， allowing the animals to bore14） through ice at high speeds. They used this ability to hunt penguins， melting the ice beneath the penguins and causing them to sink downwards into the resulting slush15） where the hotheads consumed them. After much research， Dr. Pazzo theorized that the hotheads might have been responsible for the mysterious disappearance of noted Antarctic explorer Philippe Poisson in 1837. “To the ice borers， he would have looked like a penguin，” the article quoted her as saying. Discover received more mails in response to this article than they had received for any other article in their history.
Planetary Alignment16） Decreases Gravity
During an interview on BBC Radio 2， on the morning of April 1， 1976， the British astronomer Patrick Moore announced that at 9：47 AM a once-in-a-lifetime astronomical event was going to occur that listeners could experience in their very own homes. The planet Pluto would pass behind Jupiter， temporarily causing a gravitational alignment that would counteract and lessen the Earth’s own gravity. Moore told his listeners that if they jumped in the air at the exact moment this planetary alignment occurred， they would experience a strange floating sensation. When 9：47 AM arrived， BBC 2 began to receive hundreds of phone calls from listeners claiming to have felt the sensation. One woman even reported that she and her eleven friends had risen from their chairs and floated around the room. Moore’s announcement （which， of course， was a joke） was inspired by a pseudoscientific astronomical theory that had recently been promoted in a book called The Jupiter Effect， alleging that a rare alignment of the planets was going to cause massive earthquakes and the destruction of Los Angeles in 1982.
瑞士意面大丰收
1957年4月1日，英国广播公司深受尊敬的新闻节目“广角镜”称，由于冬天气候温和，可怕的意面象鼻虫也基本被根除了，因此瑞士农民种的意面大获丰收。节目还为这个报道配了画面，画面中瑞士农民从树上拽下成缕的意面。大量观众上当受骗，很多人给英国广播公司打电话，想知道他们怎样才能自己种意面树。对于这个问题，英国广播公司很圆滑地回答：“把一小枝意面放到一罐番茄酱中，然后就抱着最好的希望等收成吧。”
希德·芬奇
《体育画报》1985年4月号内刊登了一篇报道，讲述的是一个初出茅庐的新投手，他计划效力于纽约大都会棒球队。他的名字叫希德·芬奇，据说他可以掷出时速为168英里（编注：约270千米）的棒球，并且非常精准。这比之前的记录快了65英里（编注：约105千米）。令人惊讶的是，希德·芬奇以前甚至从未打过棒球。他是在“伟大的诗人兼圣人米拉日巴喇嘛”的指导下，在一家藏族寺院中掌握了“投球的艺术”。大都会棒球队的粉丝们庆祝自己的球队有这么好的运气，找到了一个如此有天赋的棒球队员，他们纷纷联系《体育画报》，要求得到更多关于此人的信息。其实，这个传奇性的队员仅存在于撰写这篇文章的作者乔治·普林顿的想象里，作者在文章的副标题中留下了一个线索：“他是一个投手，还是个瑜伽修行者兼隐士。令人敬佩的是，他完全摆脱了我们奢华的生活方式，正在考虑瑜伽——以及自己在棒球领域的未来。”在英语中，这句话里每个单词的首字母组合在一起，就拼出了下面这句话：“愚人节快乐——啊谎话。”
速成彩色电视
在1962年时，瑞典只有一个电视频道，播放的节目都是黑白的。可是在1962年4月1日，电视台的技术专家谢尔·斯滕松在新闻节目中宣称，因为有了一项新技术，观众可以改装一下他们现有的电视机，使其显示彩色节目信号。观众需要做的就是把一只尼龙长筒袜套在电视机屏幕上。斯滕松进而演示了这个方法。成千上万的人上当受骗。瑞典开始正常播放彩色节目其实是在1970年4月1日。
塔可自由钟
1996年4月1日，塔可钟公司推出了一个整版广告，刊登在六家主要报纸上，宣布它已经买下了自由钟，并将其重新命名为塔可自由钟。成百上千义愤填膺的公民给位于费城的国家独立历史公园（自由钟所在地）打电话，表达他们的愤怒。几个小时后，塔可钟披露这只是一个恶作剧，这时人们的情绪才稳定下来。当天的最佳言论出自白宫新闻秘书迈克·麦柯里。当被问及这项交易时，他灵机一动，回答说林肯纪念堂也被出售了。他说，林肯纪念堂现在要改称“福特林肯水星纪念堂”了。
圣塞瑞夫
1977年4月1日，英国报纸《卫报》出版了一份特别的七页增刊，主题是圣塞瑞夫——一个小共和国，据说由位于印度洋上的几个分号形状的小岛组成。报纸中的一系列文章深情地描述了这个鲜为人知的国度的地理和文化。该国的两个主要岛屿分别叫做上凯斯和下凯斯，首都是博多尼，元首是皮卡将军。《卫报》的电话一整天响个不停，因为读者想更多地了解这个世外桃源般的度假胜地。只有为数不多的人注意到，与这个岛国相关的所有事物都是用印刷术语命名的（译注：San Serriffe是sans serif的谐音，即无衬线字体；Upper Caisse是upper case的谐音，即大写体；Lower Caisse是lower case的谐音，即小写体；Bodoni是博多尼活字字体；Pica是12点活字）。人们普遍认为，正是因为这个恶作剧大获成功，英国小报才开始在之后的数十年里热衷于愚人节恶搞。
尼克松竞选总统
1992年4月1日，美国国家公共广播电台的《国家访谈》节目披露，理查德·尼克松做出了惊人的举动，要再次竞选总统。他的新竞选口号是“我不曾做过任何错事，并且我不会再做错事”。这段报道还伴有尼克松发表竞选演讲的音频片段。听众对这个报道做出了本能的反应，来电如洪水般涌向这个节目，表达他们的惊讶和愤怒。直到节目后半段，主持人约翰·霍肯伯里才披露该报道是个恶作剧。尼克松的声音是由喜剧演员里奇·利特尔模仿的。
阿拉巴马州改变了圆周率的值
新墨西哥人科学与推理组织1998年4月号的通讯中有一篇文章，声称阿拉巴马州议会已经投票决定将数学常量圆周率的值从3.14159改为“圣经值”3.0。不久，这篇文章被传到了互联网上，很快便通过电子邮件转发传遍了全世界。阿拉巴马州议会开始接到成百上千个电话，都是抗议这项立法的，人们这才知道这篇文章传播的范围之广。文章原文是由物理学家马克·博斯劳撰写的，其目的是对议会试图限制进化论教学的做法进行戏仿。
左撇子皇堡
汉堡王在《今日美国》4月1日那期上刊登了一份整版广告，宣布在其菜单中引入一个新菜品——“左撇子皇堡”，专为美国3200万左撇子设计。该广告称，新皇堡包含的成分与原来的皇堡相同（生菜、番茄、汉堡肉饼等），但为了照顾其左撇子的顾客，所有的调味品都旋转了180度。第二天，汉堡王了一项后续声明，称尽管左撇子皇堡是个恶作剧，但有成千上万的顾客走进餐厅，要点这一新款三明治。与此同时，据这篇新闻稿称，“另外有很多人要求有属于他们自己的‘右撇子’版汉堡”。
热头无毛钻冰兽
《探索》杂志1995年4月号的报道称，深受敬重的野生生物学家阿普里莱·帕佐在南极洲发现了一个新物种：热头无毛钻冰兽。这些有趣的生物头部长着的骨板上密布着数不清的血管，会变得滚烫，这样的骨板使这种动物能够高速穿透冰层。它们使用这种能力猎捕企鹅：将企鹅身下的冰融化，形成带冰碴的水，使企鹅落入其中，这些热头兽就在那里吃掉企鹅。在经过大量的研究后，帕佐博士推理说，著名南极探险家菲利普·普瓦松于1837年的神秘失踪可能就是这些热头兽造成的。“对于这些钻冰兽来说，他可能看上去像一只企鹅。”文章引用帕佐博士的说法如是说道。《探索》杂志因为这篇文章而收到的读者来信比该刊历史上其他任何文章的读者来信都要多。
行星连珠削弱重力
1976年4月1日上午，在英国广播公司广播电台二台的一个访谈中，英国天文学家帕特里克·穆尔宣布，在上午9时47分，一个一生难得一遇的天文事件即将发生，听众在自己的家中即可体验。其时行星冥王星将会从木星后方经过，暂时造成一种万有引力的合力，从而抵消并削弱地球自身的地心引力。穆尔告诉听众，如果他们刚好在行星连珠的这一刻跳向空中，他们将会体验到一种奇异的漂浮感。到了上午9时47分时，英国广播公司二台开始接到成百上千名听众的来电，他们声称体验到了漂浮感。一位女性甚至说她和她的11个朋友从椅子上浮了起来，并在房间里飘来飘去。穆尔的说法（当然是一个玩笑）是受到了一种伪科学天文学理论的启示，当时有本名为《木星效应》的书正在宣传这种理论，该书声称一次罕见的行星连珠将于1982造成大地震并使洛杉矶毁灭。
1. weevil [?wi?v（?）l] n. [昆]象鼻虫
2. bumper [?b?mp?（r）] adj. 特大的；丰盛的
3. sprig [spr?ɡ] n. 小枝
4. Mets：即New York Mets，纽约大都会棒球队
5. yogi [?j??ɡi] n. 瑜伽修行者
6. opulent [??pj?l?nt] adj. 富裕的，奢侈的
7. fib [f?b] n. 小谎，无关紧要的谎话
8. Taco Bell：塔可钟，目前世界上规模最大的提供墨西哥式食品的连锁餐饮品牌，主要出售美味的墨西哥薄饼卷（taco）和炸薯条，1962年创建于美国的加利福尼亚。
9. think on one’s feet：思维敏捷
10. viscerally [?v?s?r?li] adv. 本能地
11. Whopper：皇堡，汉堡王的招牌食品
12. patty [?p?ti] n. 肉饼
13. condiment [?k?nd?m?nt] n. 调味品，香辛料（如胡椒粉、芥末等）
14. bore [b??（r）] vi. 挖洞；钻孔
15. slush [sl??] n. 半融化的雪（或冰）；雪泥
16. alignment [??la?nm?nt] n. 直线排列；联合，结盟