Tuesday, April 1, 2008

April Fools Day


picture courtesy of Inglewood Care Centre



"The first of April is the day we remember what we are the other 364 days of the year. "
~ Mark Twain



I can only imagine what I will fall for today. While most of the time I am prepared for this day, and can spot the stupider pranks a mile away, I'm never able to completely outrun my gullibility. That's why I was happy to find The Sydney Morning Herald on the web today. Since April Fools Day has already passed in Australia, I figured I could look at what they reported and be a little more prepared.

I really enjoyed reading about how Google Australia claimed to have a new feature where you could get the news in advance, even things like sports scores of games that haven't been played yet.

A radio station in Sydney announced that the Pope would be giving a special gay and lesbian mass when he visits for an upcoming event, and Virgin Blue airlines announced they would start offering half-priced fares for people willing to stand throughout the whole flight. I loved that they also offered free calf massages to those passengers standing on a flight lasting longer than two hours.

BBC claims to have found footage of flying penguins, not only living in Antarctica...



but also migrating to the Amazon during the winter:



I think my favorite pictures are from a site that has April Fools images in a motif called When Graphic Artists Get Bored. Very cool.


These are the types of pranks I can live with. Jokes that get a good chuckle and don't disrupt our daily lives. Go ahead, call me a spoil sport or a grump if you'd rather have everyone running around like headless chickens at some made-up news flash. I'm just hoping CalTrans doesn't try to get in on the joke by putting up a fake road closure on their electronic signs, wreaking havoc on the afternoon commute. Orange-peel frogs are one thing, two-hour traffic jams something else completely.

Everyone have a safe, fun-filled, humorous day!!

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