April Fools' Jokes-愚人节笑话经典

April Fools’ Jokes|愚人节笑话经典

Customers were advised to place a plastic bag over their receivers to catch any debris21 that might be blown out of the phone lines. This old gag got an update22 in 1997 when an e-mail made the rounds warning that the Internet would be shut down for a spring cleaning23 from midnight March 31 until the morning of April 2. According to the e-mail, the cleaning process would eliminate24 dead e-mail and abandoned Web sites, clearing the way for a “better-working and faster Interne t.” The cleaning task would be performed by “powerful Internet-crawling robots” which would “delete25 any data they find.” Readers were urged to spread the word about the cleaning day and to prepare by disconnecting26 all computers and servers from the Internet. Bought a National Treasure

It was April Fools’ Day in 1996 that Taco Bell announced to a stunned27 nation that it had just purchased the Liberty Bell. The proceeds28 from the sale would offset29 the national debt. The great bell would be officia lly renamed “The Taco Liberty Bell”.Taco Bell assured the public that it would still be allowed to view the national treasure, and the fast food giant urged other American companies to do their part30 to reduce the burden of the national debt. Many people overlooked the date of the announcement and actually bought the story31.

Mom, Can I Keep Him?

It’s furry32, it’s good-natured, and it fits in the palm of your hand—it’s the Tasmanian mock walrus33! Readers of April 1, 1984, edition of a Florida’s new spaper were charmed by the photos and description of this little creature, which, the paper reported, “purrs34 like a cat and gets around efficiently on four tiny paws. Best of all, the Tasmanian mock walrus lives on cockroaches35 and could eliminate a hou sehold’s roach problem”. Too bad it was just a joke—dozens of people contacted the paper in search of the pets.

The Martians36 Are Coming!

Sometimes, a harmless hoax can go out of control. It doesn’t even have to be April. And it doesn’t even have to b e planned as a hoax.

The night before Halloween37 in 1938, radio listeners were enjoying a broadcast of dance music when an announcer broke in to report that astronomers had seen blue flames shooting off Mars. The program was interrupted again and again, each announcement more alarming than the last. A spaceship had landed on Earth! Tentacled38 creature—Martians!—were coming out of the ship!

Was it a practical joke39? No. It was meant only to be entertainment. Actor and radio personality40 Orson Welle s wanted to treat listeners to “War of the Worlds,” a science fiction story by H.G. Wells. Instead of just reading the story, Welles thought it would be more dramatic to present it as a live newscast complete with scary sound effects41.

It was definitely dramatic—but maybe too realistic. Despite four announcements that it was not real news, many listeners panicked42. Some loaded their cars with survival supplies, others hid in their basements to await the Martian invasion.

Of the more than 6 million people who heard the broadcast, historians estimate fewer than 1 million actually panicked. Luckily no one was injured or harmed as a result of the broadcast.

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