The most outrageous pranks in history that went far beyond common sense

2024 Author: Richard Flannagan | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-15 23:55

Two weeks ago, April Fools' Day was held, as it was long ago dubbed April 1. The draws of all who got on this day have become classics for a long time. Now, of course, this has turned into large-scale projects, when large corporations are trying to deceive customers with various, however, quite predictable Internet hoaxes. April kicks off with announcements for a fake show, brand new gadget features, or a redesigned app. The following is a list of really original and very elaborate pranks in history that have gone beyond comprehension.

Swift's humble prank

Once the satirist Jonathan Swift decided to play the famous astrologer John Partridge, who sold almanacs with his false predictions to the public. After Partridge predicted in his 1708 almanac that a fever would hit London in early April, the writer decided that the moment had come. Swift published the almanac under an assumed name. There he predicted that on March 29, at 11 pm, Partridge would die "of a fever raging in the city."

The audience was incredibly intrigued. Partridge was furious. He published a refutation of Swift's almanac, calling its author a fraud. Then, on the night of March 29, the satirist published an elegy under the same fictitious name. In it, he announced that Partridge, "the shoemaker, starlighter and charlatan," had died. On his deathbed, the "astrologer" admitted that he was a fraud.

News of Partridge's death spread at the speed of light. When on April 1 he went for a walk, he was accompanied by bewildered looks. People were extremely surprised by the astrologer's "resurrection". In anger, Partridge immediately publishes a brochure in which he says that he is alive. Swift publicly assures the public that he is dead. The authorship of Partridge's publication, the writer questions. This brutal, sophisticated trick helped to finally discredit the astrologer. He eventually stopped publishing his almanacs.

Man in a bottle

In January 1749, London newspapers published an advertisement. It was stated that at the upcoming performance, the man would squeeze his entire body into a bottle of wine. After that, he will sing while in it. The ad claimed that "while a man is in a bottle, anyone can pick it up and make sure it doesn't outperform a regular bottle from a nearby tavern." It was promised that the show will feature other tricks, including communicating with the spirits of the dead.

Legend has it that this ad was the result of a bet between the Duke of Portland and the Earl of Chesterfield. The Duke is said to have bet that he could advertise something completely wild and impossible. Still, there are enough fools in London to fill the theater, while paying quite handsomely for the privilege of being there. Of course, Portland was absolutely right. On the evening of the performance, all the seats in the hall were occupied, the apple had nowhere to fall. It is clear that not a single artist ever appeared on stage in front of an audience burning with impatience and curiosity. Realizing that they had been tricked, the audience rebelled.

Daring robbery of America

A few decades before one villain decided to destroy all the gold of the United States in Fort Knox, a joker came up with another daring and equally ridiculous robbery. On April 1, 1905, a German newspaper called Berliner Tageblatt announced that thieves had dug a tunnel under the US Federal Treasury in Washington, D. C. and had stolen all of America's silver and gold. This was before the United States built a vault for its gold reserves at Fort Knox.

The publication wrote that the robbery was organized by American mafiosi. The attackers dug the tunnel for more than three years and eventually stole more than $ 268 million. The newspaper reported that the US authorities tried to track down the criminals, but to no avail. The authorities hide the fact of robbery of the country from the public. This story quickly spread across all European print media. Until everyone realized that it was just an April Fool's joke. It was organized by Louis Vieck, New York correspondent for Berliner Tageblatt. He published the "News" under an assumed name.

Rhino and elections

Every joke has its share of a joke. Here it would be fair to add "and everything else is true." This is a well-known fact. But what if the joke became reality? Wild and unimaginable? Life often brings unexpected surprises! In the late 1950s, in the Brazilian city of São Paulo, students, tired of the tyranny of the city authorities, disorder on the streets and inflated prices, began a campaign to elect a rhino to the city council. They won an unconditional election victory.

The name of the rhinoceros was Cacareco (Portuguese for "trash"). The animal was a popular figure in the city. Everyone loved him very much. The rhino was brought here from Rio de Janeiro when he was four years old. Then a zoo opened in Sao Paulo. When local students saw the list of candidates for the city council, they realized that none of these people were going to solve the problems of the city. Thus, the students decided to organize a protest vote. They nominated Kakareko and asked citizens to support him.

The rhino won a resounding victory. His candidacy received a record 100,000 votes. This was much more than any other candidate. The closest competitor, Kakareko, scored ten times less! The rhino, of course, was then disqualified. This vote remains the most famous organized protest against the authorities in Brazilian history.

When noodles on your ears are reality

One of the most famous pranks of all time is the BBC Harvest Spaghetti storyline. On April 1, 1957, a British TV presenter informed the audience that the Ticino, a Swiss region near the Italian border, had had "an unprecedented harvest of spaghetti this year." They showed footage of people picking spaghetti from trees and bushes. Then they sat down to eat them.

Spaghetti, of course, was not a favorite dish of the British, and even more so, almost everyone realized that this was nothing more than a joke. Many were outraged that a serious program organized and showed such a stupid rally. Nevertheless, there were viewers who began to wonder how they can grow spaghetti on their plot of land.

Football incident

California Institute of Technology (Caltech) has an extensive history of drawing other schools. The most famous of these is a joke they staged at a football match in 1961. It took place in Pasadena, where this educational institution is located.

The game was between the Husky team from the University of Washington and the Golden Gophers from the University of Minnesota. During the match, Washington cheerleaders handed out colorful cards to spectators. According to their idea, the cards had to be lifted between halves and they would have the inscription "Husky" on them. When there was a break in the game and everyone raised their cards, the inscription "Caltech" was formed. It was so unexpected (after all, they did not even take part in the game) that the orchestra even fell silent.

It was later revealed that fourteen Caltech students staged a prank by breaking into the cheerleader's hotel rooms and switching instructions for a card trick.

Literary scam of the century

One of the best-selling erotic books in American history was written as a joke. If anyone thought it was Fifty Shades of Gray, which started out as a Twilight fanfiction, they are not. This is a parody of the late 60s called "A naked stranger came." A certain "Penelope Ash" was indicated as the author of the book. The true authors were a group of journalists from the Long Island newspaper Newsday.

The idea came from Mike McGrady. The journalist lamented that the popular novels of that time were very badly written. He argued that people would buy and read any ridiculously stupidly written book if there was even a couple of erotic scenes. The journalist gathered 25 of his colleagues and asked each to write a chapter. Then all this stupid absurd writings were collected into a novel.

The idea was a success: the novel broke sales records. The book took 4th place on the bestseller list. Of course, soon after the publication, the secret of the origin of the literary hit was revealed. Now the book was being bought for a laugh. Nevertheless, the rally turned out to be great. The press dubbed it the literary scam of the century. A year later, McGrady published a book called The Naked Stranger Came or How to Write Dirty Books for Fun and Profit. There he described in detail his literary experience.

Another good joke from journalists

“Stranger Came Naked” is by no means the only journalistic prank. At the same time, Rolling Stone music critic Grail Marcus published an article. It was then fashionable among rock stars to create "supergroups." At that time, one of the most popular supergroups was Cream. Her guitarist Eric Clapton rose to fame with the Yardbirds, and drummer Ginger Baker and bassist Jack Bruce played in the Graham Bond Organization.

Marcus wrote a review of the defunct pirate album Masked Marauders, a supergroup whose name was kept a closely guarded secret. According to the critic, the group consisted of Bob Dylan, Mick Jagger, John Lennon, Paul McCartney and George Harrison. The fake review caused a real public outcry and intense interest in the album. Grail even wrote a few songs and recorded them in the studio. Warner Brothers released this album.

A few years later, Marcus said in an interview: “On my part, it was just an attempt to say:“This is unrealistically stupid. Let's make it even more stupid! This rally contained elements of prophecy. Two decades later, Bob Dylan and George Harrison did indeed become members of the same supergroup.

UFO

Richard Branson, the billionaire founder of the Virgin Group, has always had a joke. In late March 1989, in the evening, residents of the suburbs of London noticed a flying saucer. A UFO has landed in a nearby field in Surrey. The locals called the police. Law enforcement officers went to the site to investigate the object. They were extremely surprised when they actually found a UFO. As they approached him, a door suddenly opened and a silver figure appeared. The policemen fled in fear.

The cops didn't know, of course, that Branson and his friend Don Cameron were hiding in the UFO. They took off in a balloon, which was given the appearance of a flying saucer, as an April Fools' joke. Due to the change in direction, they just landed early.

Sometimes jokes become reality. Read our article on how 11 predictions from the past that were considered fantastic and crazy, but they came true.