Pranks for the Memories

This is my last week to work on the WIP, so I've pre-written a week's worth of blogs. I'm pressing forward in a wicked rush to meet my deadline!

But now, to our daily topic:

Did you play an April Fools Joke on anyone? I did, at Mt. Hermon, though it was inadvertent. (And I won't explain what it was because I plan on doing it again.)

Anyway, my newspaper had a great list of famous (or infamous) hoaxes perpetuated on the public. It was too good not to share.

1. 2002: The "Bonsai Kittens" urban myth that went 'round the internet. Did you receive a copy of these kittens-in-bottles that were supposedly being grown under glass to force their bones to conform to certain dimensions? I did, and after my initial shock, I thought the joke was kind of funny. (Not that I'd ever advocate tormenting kittens, but the idea of them submitting to that kind of behavior. If you've ever tried to bathe a cat, you know what I mean.)

2. 1722: A young Ben Franklin writes a series of newspaper columns signed "Silence Dogwood," who claims to be an elderly woman.

3. 1835: P.T. Barnum displays Joice Heth, an elderly black woman he says is 161 years old and George Washington's former nurse.

4. 1869: The Cardiff Giant, a ten-foot-tall figure of stone, is dug out of the ground in Cardiff, NY. People go nuts debating whether it's a statue or a petrified man. It's a phony.

5. 1938: Orson Wells and his "War of the Worlds" theater broadcast. Thousands of people really believe the world has been invaded by Martians.

6. 1957: The BBC airs a documentary on the Swiss spaghetti harvest, showing spaghetti growing on trees, on April Fools Day.

7. 2007: The Big Foot's missing foot found in the dumpster. Remember this one? Not exactly a hoax, but interesting all the same. (Look through the archives if you need reminding.)

8. Today and tomorrow: all those emails assuring you that you can help a poor Nigerian princess claim her ten million dollar estate if you'll wire her a few funds . . . don't fall for that one. Please.

So . . . did you commit an April Fool's Joke? Care to share?

~~Angie

P.S. Happy Birthday to my darling daughter!