It is time once again for April Fool’s Day. Most people spend the day playing harmless pranks on friends and family members. Some will tape insect pictures on the back of a lampshade to scare people when they turn on the light. Others will cover a toilet seat with plastic wrap or glue the eggs to the carton.  And the more daring among us will swap the signs on the men’s and ladies’ restrooms. While most pranks only target one a few people, the following daredevil pranks managed to fool hundreds of people in extremely effective and hilarious ways.

Nixon Running for President Again

In 1992, NPR pulled a stunt on Talk of the Nation when an announcer stated Richard Nixon was going to run for president again. Nixon’s alleged campaign slogan was, “I didn’t do anything wrong, and I won’t do it again.” Many listeners to the show soon called in to express their outrage. The hosts even managed to get Rich Little to provide a Nixon impersonation to really fool the audience. However, later in the show, it was announced it was all a prank – to everyone’s relief.

A UFO Comes to London

This prank was pulled off perfectly by mega-mogul Richard Branson and really fooled thousands of people when they spotted a UFO over London. Drivers on their morning commute were alarmed. Cars pulled over, police forces mobilized and the army was alerted. TV and radio stations were flooded with reports of a UFO. They followed the craft until it landed in a field right outside of the city. Police arrived on the scene but were hesitant to approach the UFO so they sent one lone policeman to check it out. A dwarf dressed in an ET outfit walked down the platform towards the policemen. He promptly turned and ran in the opposite direction.  While bad weather forced the UFO to land in the wrong spot, it all worked out in the end, and turned out to be another great stunt by Branson.

Taco Bell Buys the Liberty Bell

Taco Bell took out full-page ads in several high-profile newspapers announcing it was purchasing the Liberty Bell and renaming it the Taco Liberty Bell. Hundreds of people contacted the National Historic Park to express their anger. The White House press secretary at the time, Mike McCurry, was even asked about the sale. In a moment of pure inspiration, he said the Lincoln Memorial was also going to be sold and renamed the Ford Lincoln Mercury Memorial.

Swiss Farmers Have a Spaghetti Harvest

Cityfood.com

On April 1st, 1957, BBC aired a special that reported Swiss farmers were enjoying a bountiful spaghetti harvest thanks to the elimination of the dreaded spaghetti weevil. To really sell this prank, BBC aired footage of Swiss natives pulling spaghetti down from trees. Many people bought into this and contacted BBC to ask how they could plant their own spaghetti trees.

Planetary Alignment Will Decrease Gravity

The BBC really knows how to pull off a prank. In 1976, Patrick Moore went on the air to announce that due to Pluto aligning in a certain manner with Jupiter it would cause Earth’s gravity to momentarily become weaker. Moore announced that if people jumped at the right time at 9:47 a.m. they would be able to float. The truly strange part is many people called the station later saying how they felt the sensation.

Do you have any awesome pranks you plan on pulling this April Fool’s Day? Show off your creative prowess in the comments below.