posted on Apr, 1 2011 @ 02:08 AM
Good one ATS, had me going for a fool 10 sec's.......lol
Here's more.....
#2: Sidd Finch
Sidd Finch1985: Sports Illustrated published a story about a new rookie pitcher who planned to play for the Mets. His name was Sidd Finch, and he
could reportedly throw a baseball at 168 mph with pinpoint accuracy. This was 65 mph faster than the previous record. Surprisingly, Sidd Finch had
never even played the game before. Instead, he had mastered the "art of the pitch" in a Tibetan monastery under the guidance of the "great
poet-saint Lama Milaraspa." Mets fans celebrated their teams' amazing luck at having found such a gifted player, and Sports Illustrated was flooded
with requests for more information. In reality this legendary player only existed in the imagination of the author of the article, George Plimpton.
#3: Instant Color TV
image1962: In 1962 there was only one tv channel in Sweden, and it broadcast in black and white. The station's technical expert, Kjell Stensson,
appeared on the news to announce that, thanks to a new technology, viewers could convert their existing sets to display color reception. All they had
to do was pull a nylon stocking over their tv screen. Stensson proceeded to demonstrate the process. Thousands of people were taken in. Regular color
broadcasts only commenced in Sweden on April 1, 1970.
#4: The Taco Liberty Bell
Taco Liberty Bell1996: The Taco Bell Corporation announced it had bought the Liberty Bell and was renaming it the Taco Liberty Bell. Hundreds of
outraged citizens called the National Historic Park in Philadelphia where the bell was housed to express their anger. Their nerves were only calmed
when Taco Bell revealed, a few hours later, that it was all a practical joke. The best line of the day came when White House press secretary Mike
McCurry was asked about the sale. Thinking on his feet, he responded that the Lincoln Memorial had also been sold. It would now be known, he said, as
the Ford Lincoln Mercury Memorial.
#6: Nixon for President
1992: National Public Radio's Talk of the Nation program announced that Richard Nixon, in a surprise move, was running for President again. His new
campaign slogan was, "I didn't do anything wrong, and I won't do it again." Accompanying this announcement were audio clips of Nixon delivering
his candidacy speech. Listeners responded viscerally to the announcement, flooding the show with calls expressing shock and outrage. Only during the
second half of the show did the host John Hockenberry reveal that the announcement was a practical joke. Nixon's voice was impersonated by comedian
Rich Little.
#8: The Left-Handed Whopper
1998: Burger King published a full page advertisement in USA Today announcing the introduction of a new item to their menu: a "Left-Handed Whopper"
specially designed for the 32 million left-handed Americans. According to the advertisement, the new whopper included the same ingredients as the
original Whopper (lettuce, tomato, hamburger patty, etc.), but all the condiments were rotated 180 degrees for the benefit of their left-handed
customers. The following day Burger King issued a follow-up release revealing that although the Left-Handed Whopper was a hoax, thousands of customers
had gone into restaurants to request the new sandwich. Simultaneously, according to the press release, "many others requested their own 'right
handed' version."
#10: Planetary Alignment Decreases Gravity
1976: The British astronomer Patrick Moore announced on BBC Radio 2 that at 9:47 AM a once-in-a-lifetime astronomical event was going to occur that
listeners could experience in their very own homes. The planet Pluto would pass behind Jupiter, temporarily causing a gravitational alignment that
would counteract and lessen the Earth's own gravity. Moore told his listeners that if they jumped in the air at the exact moment that this planetary
alignment occurred, they would experience a strange floating sensation. When 9:47 AM arrived, BBC2 began to receive hundreds of phone calls from
listeners claiming to have felt the sensation. One woman even reported that she and her eleven friends had risen from their chairs and floated around
the room.