…Exploring the role of the prankster as artist, activist and social observer and the significance of the prank in society.
Follow-up submitted by Josh Jasper, April 15, 2009:
From Charlie Todd of Improv Everywhere:
30 Improv Everywhere agents found a random funeral in the obituary section of the newspaper and turned it into the best funeral ever. We picked a man who had very few surviving relatives and then showed up to his funeral to make it truly awesome
Edited by Matt Adams:
Go here more info, pictures & commentary.
Happy April Fools’ Day from Tim Jackson:
Twitter switch for Guardian, after 188 years of ink
by Rio Palof
The Guardian
1 April 2009
Consolidating its position at the cutting edge of new media technology, the Guardian today announces that it will become the first newspaper in the world to be published exclusively via Twitter, the sensationally popular social networking service that has transformed online communication.
The move, described as “epochal” by media commentators, will see all Guardian content tailored to fit the format of Twitter’s brief text messages, known as “tweets”, which are limited to 140 characters each. Boosted by the involvement of celebrity “twitterers”, such as Madonna, Britney Spears and Stephen Fry, Twitter’s profile has surged in recent months, attracting more than 5m users who send, read and reply to tweets via the web or their mobile phones.
As a Twitter-only publication, the Guardian will be able to harness the unprecedented newsgathering power of the service, demonstrated recently when a passenger on a plane that crashed outside Denver was able to send real-time updates on the story as it developed, as did those witnessing an emergency landing on New York’s Hudson River. It has also radically democratised news publishing, enabling anyone with an internet connection to tell the world when they are feeling sad, or thinking about having a cup of tea. Continue reading “All the Twit that’s Fit to Print”
Editor’s Note 4/2/09: This article, which we posted a few days ago, is from material originally written by Alex Boese of Museum of Hoaxes and titled “The Top 100 April Fool’s Day Hoaxes of All Time.” Thus, this appears to be a non-attributed adaptation by Examiner.com. Apologies to Alex!
Here, also from Alex’s site, is a collection of some of this year’s April Fools Day pranks.
Famous April Fools Day jokes around the world 1919 – 2008
by Kelly Shannon Kelly
Examiner.com
March 26, 2009
The entire world becomes a stage on April Fools Day. Read on for historic practical jokes that have occurred around the globe. Makes you wonder what will happen this year…
Antarctica – Flying Penguins
2008: The BBC announced that camera crews filming near the Antarctic for its series Miracles of Evolution had captured footage of Adélie penguins in the air. A video clip of these flying penguins became one of the most viewed videos on the internet. The narrator explained that how these penguins flew thousands of miles to the rainforests of South America where they spent the winter basking in the tropical sun. A follow-up video explained how the BBC created the special effects of the flying penguins.
Australia – The Sydney Iceberg
1978: In Sydney Harbor, a barge appeared towing a giant iceberg. Dick Smith, a local millionaire businessman, said that he was going to carve the berg into small ice cubes, which he would sell to the public for 10 cents each. These cubes, fresh from the pure waters of Antarctica, were promised to improve the flavor of any drink they cooled. Local radio stations provided excited blow-by-blow coverage of the iceberg slowly making its way into the harbor. The berg”s secret was revealed when it started to rain, and the firefighting foam and shaving cream that it was really made of washed away, uncovering the white plastic sheets beneath. Continue reading “1993: China Declares “April Fool’s Day is Liar’s Day””
From Joey Skaggs:
The New York April Fools’ Committee Is Proud to Announce:
NEW YORK CITY’S 24th ANNUAL APRIL FOOLS’ DAY PARADE
“Take the Money and Run!”
New York, New York, March 30, 2009 — The 24th Annual April Fools’ Day Parade will begin at Fifth Avenue and 59th Street at 12 noon, Wednesday, April 1st, 2009. Rain or shine, the parade will march down to 23rd Street, where it will continue down Broadway to Union Square Park for post-parade festivities. For several blocks, the parade route will require a mad dash through a gauntlet of teetering construction cranes.
The theme for this year’s parade is “Take the Money and Run.” Led by Grand Marshall Bernard Madoff, the parade will kick off with the SEC Marching Band playing the Beatles’ hit song “Money.” Spectators are requested to participate by photo-copying hundred dollar bills and tossing them out windows or from roof-tops at the passing parade instead of confetti. Continue reading “The 24th Annual April Fools’ Day Parade”
Giant Internet worm set to change tactics April 1
by Jordan Robertson
1010WINS
March 27, 2009
San Francisco (AP) — The fast-moving Conficker computer worm, a scourge of the Internet that has infected at least 3 million PCs, is set to spring to life in a new way on Wednesday – April Fools’ Day.
That’s when many of the poisoned machines will get more aggressive about “phoning home” to the worm’s creators over the Internet. When that happens, the bad guys behind the worm will be able to trigger the program to send spam, spread more infections, clog networks with traffic, or try and bring down Web sites.
Technically, this could cause havoc, from massive network outages to the creation of a cyberweapon of mass destruction that attacks government computers. But researchers who have been tracking Conficker say the date will probably come and go quietly.
More likely, these researchers say, the programming change that goes into effect April 1 is partly symbolic – an April Fools’ Day tweaking of Conficker’s pursuers, who for now have been able to prevent the worm from doing significant damage. Read the rest of the story here.
image: neoseeker.com