April Fools’ Day pranks: The best and worst jokes of all time

It’s the only day of the year you don’t trust anything you read – April Fool’s Day.

Pranks from brands, celebrities, and even friends and family will flood the internet on Saturday, as people desperately try to catch each other before noon.

Some startling claims have fooled thousands in the past — from a 1980 report from the BBC that Big Ben was going digital, to a news anchor announcing that Seattle’s Space Needle had gone down.

Others were less popular, such as supermarket Aldi which claimed it would launch its own budget airline to compete with the likes of RyanAir.

Below, FEMAIL collects some of the best – and worst – pranks we’ve seen.

Did any of them cheat on you?

Big Ben has become digital

One of the most notable April Fools’ Day jokes in the UK occurred in 1980, when the BBC reported that the Big Ben clock tower in central London was going to go digital.

Listeners were, surprisingly, somewhat angry about the reported change. “A few people thought it was funny,” the announcer said at the time.

Swiss spaghetti harvest

Believed to be one of the first televised April Fools’ Day pranks, BBC Panorama broadcast a report in 1957 about the year’s “bumper” spaghetti crop in Switzerland.

Narrated by journalist Richard Dimbleby, the segment prompted viewers to write to the announcer asking how they could buy their own spaghetti bush.

Animals join the Australian police force

This one is a modern classic. Last year, Robert Irwin of Australia Zoo announced that he would lead a “new crime squad” called Police Animals in the Wild – or PAW.

Of course, Queensland Police later followed up that it was a joke: “Gotcha!” As much as we love the Australia Zoo…they aren’t the latest crime-fighting #AprilFools creature.

The space needle falls

In 1989, KING-TV reported that the Space Needle in Seattle had gone down. But a lot of people got caught up in it, which caused somewhat of a panic in the American city on April 1st.

It turned out that the local comedy show Almost Live! He was behind the joke, but not everyone saw the funny side right away.

Ant and Dec launched cryptocurrency

Last year, British TV veterans Ant and Dec convinced some people that they were launching their own cryptocurrency – Toon Coin.

They said: Great news! We have joined the crypto revolution and launched Toon Coin.

Krispy Kreme Amusement Park

The once beloved donut brand claimed to be launching the Krispy Kreme theme park – to the delight of hundreds of fans.

However, he later confirms that the whole thing was just a dream.

eHarmony can match with magnetism

In 2017, dating site eHarmony announced that it would launch its most powerful feature yet – matching people through magnetism. Of course, this was just a joke.

“The feature will bring a whole new meaning to the Laws of Attraction, quite literally pulling you and your perfect match together in the real world, by turning your eHarmony app on your phone into an incredibly powerful magnet,” she claimed at the time.

Virgin Atlantic’s first dog-only crew

Virgin Atlantic Australia once announced on April 1 that its first-ever crew of dogs would be manning its planes — much to the excitement of many animal lovers.

The accompanying photos were delightful but sadly it was just a joke.

Aldi launches low-cost airline

Another one from last year. Aldi supermarket announced on April 1 that it will launch its own airline – AldiAir.

“Specialflys since 2022,” she said, a play on Specialflys in her beloved middle lane.

Subcutaneous implants for GymBox members

In a somewhat miserable take on an April Fools’ Day joke, London-based club GymBox claimed it would offer members subcutaneous implants to enter their sites.

She even shared pictures that she claims show the working mechanism.

Left-handed toilet paper

American toilet paper brand Cottonelle announced in 2015 that it would launch a product specifically designed for left-handed people.

It looked, of course, just like any other paper – and it was a less successful joke.