WORLD'S BEST PRANKS
1938 The Ultimate War
The 1897 H. G. Wells novel The War of
the Worlds was about a futuristic Martian invasion on Britain. Orson Welles adapted the story for a notorious radio broadcast in the US that made it seem Earth was under attack by aliens. Although this hoax became infamous, with claims that millions of panicked listeners fled their homes in terror, in reality this was greatly exaggerated.
1978 A Surprise of Titanic Proportions
Residents of Sydney gawked at an iceberg floating in the harbour on April 1, which electronics entrepreneur Dick Smith claimed he towed from Antarctica. The Australian Navy even offered its help in mooring it. Eventually, when it started to rain, everyone realised what it really was: just a barge covered in white plastic sheets, shaving cream and firefighting foam.
1980 Time Change
The BBC World Service reported that each of Big Ben’s four clock faces would be changed to a digital display, and its iconic hands would be given away to the first four people to call in. While most listeners were shocked and angry, one Japanese seaman immediately called to claim his prize.
1997 Killer Compound
The chemical compound dihydrogen monoxide (DHMO) is “colourless, odourless and kills thousands of people every year” through “accidental inhalation”, read a widely circulated email, calling for a ban. Furthermore, it was now “a major component of acid rain” that’s “found in almost every stream, lake and reservoir.” But the controversy was soon cleared up: DHMO is actually a rarely used chemical name for water.
1998 Burger Switch
Burger King announced it was introducing a new item: the Left-Handed Whopper, specially designed for southpaws. According to the company, the new Whopper would have the same ingredients as the original version, but all the condiments would be rotated 180 degrees, so that the weight of the burger skewed to the left side.
2007 Wired Waste
Google introduced TiSP (Toilet Internet Service Provider), which supposedly supplied free wireless broadband via the sewer system. Users would flush one end of a fibre-optic cable down their toilet; an hour later, it would purportedly be recovered and connected to the internet by a team of ‘plumbing hardware dispatchers’. Chat rooms were filled with interested parties asking , “Can this be true?”