April Fool's Day

I just seen a few funny stories to add on here.
Flying mechanics lead April Fool gags in UK press!

Flying car mechanics, flavoured newspaper pages and Labour Party election posters depicting the prime minister as a thug were among April Fool's Day jokes awaiting Britons in their papers Thursday. Skip related content

Enlarge photo .The Daily Mail reported that the Automobile Association (AA), which deals with emergency callouts to car breakdowns, had equipped its staff with jet-packs to fly over gridlocked traffic to reach stranded motorists faster.

Under an article entitled the Airborne Association, the paper said the launch of the company's Rocketmen marked "the first time the AA has tried to go over the traffic rather than through it to reach stranded drivers."

"The AA patrol van parks within a mile of the stricken member and the jet-pack pilot launches from the back of the van," according to AA future technologies strategist, Dr Raif Lopol -- an anagram of "April Fool."

Meanwhile, The Sun proudly declared it had succeeded in creating "the world's first flavoured PAGE," next to a blank, white square which contained the instruction: "Lick here."

The paper invited readers to "test our page here and guess the taste."

"We have exciting plans for multi-sensory branding of The Sun," said a spokeswoman for the the paper's publisher News International.

In an elaborate mock-up, The Guardian said the ruling Labour Party was to use Prime Minister Gordon Brown's "reputation for anger and physical aggression" in a new poster campaign ahead of an election expected on May 6.

This would portray the leader as a man willing to take on David Cameron, leader of the main opposition Conservatives, in "a bare-knuckle fistfight for the future of Britain," said the paper.

Posters appeared alongside the article -- one showed a photo of Brown scowling next to the phrase "Step outside posh boy," while another pictured him grinning and saying "I took billions from pensions wanna make something of it?"

"The Brown team has been buoyed by focus group results suggesting that an outbreak of physical fighting during the campaign, preferably involving bloodshed and broken limbs, could re-engage an electorate increasingly apathetic about politics," reported the paper.

The article was penned by one Olaf Priol -- another anagram of "April Fool."

here's some more !
Shakespeare becomes French in April Fool's Day fest!

William Shakespeare was French, Google has changed its name to "Topeka" and Barack Obama ordered a takeaway from Indonesia -- at least that's what the world media wants us to believe.

Enlarge photo A 'campaign poster' for Britain's Labour Party showing Gordon Brown as the …More Enlarge photo Some 100,000 pink balloons are released to mark April Fool's Day in Istanbul Enlarge photo Google's front page on April Fool's Day Enlarge photo More photos: Oddly Enough

.Newspapers and broadcasters teased audiences with a string of mostly good-humoured April Fool's Day stunts on Thursday, with the only angry response coming when a hoax radio interview suggested that Bulgaria should unilaterally adopt the euro.

In a play on old Anglo-French rivalries, the BBC spun a yarn about how Shakespeare, England's most famous bard, could in fact be French through his mother Mary Arden, saying her name was in fact Mary Ardennes.

It even recruited former French culture minister Jack Lang to play along with the "discovery". "Of course, we have Racine and Moliere but we will make some room for him in our national pantheon of literature," he said.

The Guardian said British Prime Minister Gordon Brown had challenged opposition leader David Cameron to an election fistfight and printed a fake poster showing a scowling Brown next to the phrase: "Step outside, posh boy".

The story was penned by one Olaf Priol -- an anagram of "April Fool."

Internet giant Google created its own April Fool's prank, saying it had officially changed its name to "Topeka" -- in honour of the Kansas state capital which had renamed itself "Google" in a recent promotion.

"Google has officially changed our name to Topeka," Google chief executive Eric Schmidt said in the company blog.

In Australia, an elaborate hoax by the Sydney Morning Herald and ABC radio said football star David Beckham has been lured to join the country's World Cup campaign by a basket of fruit and a "get well soon" card after a recent injury.

With Pope Benedict XVI in the news over paedophile priest scandals rocking the Catholic Church, French religious news website I-medias said the Vatican was preparing to launch its own airline.

It said the carrier would would be called "Vatican Air" after officials ruled out the names "Angels Airlines" and "Ratzing?Air" -- a reference to the pope's former name, Joseph Ratzinger.

Indonesia's Bali Times said the US President Obama had ordered traditional fare from the country where he lived as a child after having to defer a visit due to a battle over domestic healthcare.

It included a made-up quote from White House spokesman Robert Gibbs that Obama "decided to personally call up a restaurant in Bali and order some local food."

But in Bulgaria, a radio interview with a hoax IMF expert suggesting that Bulgaria should ditch its currency, the lev, in favour of the euro sparked complaints.

"We do not appreciate the misuse of the name of the IMF," IMF regional resident representative Tonny Lybek said after the Darik radio stunt. The Bulgarian National Bank said the joke was "dangerous" at a time of economic woe.

Jokes about immigration proved more popular in Europe.

Norway's Telemarksavisa reported that an influx of Somali immigrants to the south of the country was so heavy that all road signs would now be written in Norwegian and Somali.

Germany's Der Tagesspiegel took a similar tack just days after Chancellor Angela Merkel visited Turkey, saying that a German-Turkish working group and Berlin authorities were planning to put up bilingual road signs.

In Sweden, the free Metro newspaper said that electronic chips had been placed beneath the skin of all Swedes vaccinated against H1N1 flu which would give them ticketless access to Stockholm's subway system.

The best of April Fools' Day 2011

Its April Fools' Day once more, hurrah! We've been trawling the Internet for the most imaginative pranks, japes and shenanigans dreamt up this year. There's been a surprising pop collaboration, amazing technological advances, a genius idea from Ryanair and a lot more besides. Hilarious tomfoolery or misjudged zaniness? You decide!

Kate Middleton's hen do (The Daily Mail)

The Mail has snaps of the Princess-in-waiting smoking a fag, downing a pint and sitting on the loo next to a blow-up sex doll during her supposedly 'low-key' hen do. It's a lookalike of course, and the fact she's standing in an empty pub in the middle of the day doesn't make it that convincing.

Labour celebrate Ed Miliband's wedding with street parties (The Telegraph)

The Telegraph wears its politics on its sleeve by giving poor Ed Miliband a ribbing. They report that Labour HQ sent party members an email asking them to throw enthusiastic street parties for the party leader's low-key wedding. 'Let's make this a red letter day.'

Coalition to tax fresh air (The Mirror)

More party politics here, this time from the left-leaning Mirror, who mock the coalition with a fake story about the government taxing air to help the environment. They quote a Labour backbencher who says: "This has literally taken my breath away."

Royal Wedding: Live Updates (The Guardian)

Republican-leaning rag The Guardian mocks both Royal Wedding fever and its own website with a 'live updates' blog about the impending nuptials: '29 days to go… the Royal Wedding buildup starts here - live!' The paper also devoted its leader column to a spoof endorsement of Prince William for King.

Planet of the apps (The Sun)

Kudos to The Sun's art desk - who very convincingly mocked up pics of gorillas holding and playing with iPads as part of a university experiment to 'keep primates happy in zoos'. They report: "Amazingly not a SINGLE one of the five tablets has been broken since being given out three weeks ago."

The edible Metro (um, The Metro)

The commuter paper that provides the news in bite-sized chunks takes the next logical step - by becoming edible. They hope a sugar-rolled version 'adds flavours to the stories and presents readers with a colourful menu of current affairs.'

Rebecca Black Day (Funny or die)

The humour site turned its entire homepage into a tribute to viral star Rebecca Dlack (famous for the 'worst song ever'). Articles include 'Rebecca Black's Greatest Hits', 'The 10 Best Rebecca Black GIFs' and 'Rebecca Black vs. Ice Cube'. Slightly scary.

Ryanair announces 'child free' flights from October 2011 (Ryanair)

The budget airline said it will introduce specific flights with no children onboard after a survey of passengers showed that 'half would pay higher fares to avoid other people's children'. Fake of course, though many might think it's a good idea.

Liam Gallagher's new band covers Blur's 'Country House' (NME)

The music mag reports that Beady Eye (Oasis without Noel) are to record a version of 'Country House' - the song that beat 'Wonderwall' to the number 1 spot in the infamous 1995 chart battle. Gallagher said: "Secretly 'Country House' was always my favourite Blur song." Obvious but funny.

Does 3D radio work? (Radio 4)

Radio 4's flagship news show entered a brave new world by broadcasting the first ever '3D sound'. They had a whole segment dedicated to the technological breakthrough, and invited listeners to share their experiences.

Branson buys Pluto (Virgin)

The billionaire announced he's bought Pluto and is planning to have it reinstated as a planet. Accompanied by a slightly awkward looking picture of Sir Rich standing in the middle of a desert (supposedly the surface of Pluto?) holding a Virgin flag. Odd.