April 1st What Happened on the day you were born on This day in History
April Fools Jokes 50 years April Fool Jokes From The Media World
April Fools Jokes are at the end of legitimate news stories Each is well identified as an April Fool and the 20 included are just those that I found the funniest. ( The Webmaster Of The People History )
Below is the 1957 Video from the BBC for home grown spagetti
April Fools Jokes are at the end of legitimate news stories Each is well identified as an April Fool and the 20 included are just those that I found the funniest. ( The Webmaster Of The People History )
Below is the 1957 Video from the BBC for home grown spagetti
1918 Great Britain Royal Air force is Founded
1st April 1918 : The Royal Air force is founded in England, this is truly an amazing piece of History as the first flight was only made 8 years before by Wilbur and Wright and for countries around the World to set up a separate arms of the Forces shows how important politicians believed the aircraft would become as a part of the military.
The aircraft in use in 1918 when the RAF started included the Sopwith Pup, Bristol F2B Fighters, Sopwith Camels and Royal Aircraft Factory SE5's
1st April 1918 : The Royal Air force is founded in England, this is truly an amazing piece of History as the first flight was only made 8 years before by Wilbur and Wright and for countries around the World to set up a separate arms of the Forces shows how important politicians believed the aircraft would become as a part of the military.
The aircraft in use in 1918 when the RAF started included the Sopwith Pup, Bristol F2B Fighters, Sopwith Camels and Royal Aircraft Factory SE5's
1933 Germany Persecution of Jews
1st April 1933 : Nazi Germany begins the persecution of German Jews by declaring a boycott of Jewish owned businesses
1st April 1933 : Nazi Germany begins the persecution of German Jews by declaring a boycott of Jewish owned businesses
1945 U.S.A. US Forces Land on Okinawa
1st April 1945 : The United States Tenth Army commanded by Lieutenant General Simon Bolivar Buckner, Jr. land on Okinawa, main island of the Ryukyus, 362 miles from the Japanese home islands.
The Occupation of Island of Okinawa was considered crucial if there is to be an invasion of the Japanese mainland and during the campaign the U.S. Navy sustained greater casualties in this operation than in any other battle of the war and it was not until on about June 21, ( 11 weeks ) that the main battles for the Island ended. ( In the event the Nuclear Bombs changed military strategy. )
1st April 1945 : The United States Tenth Army commanded by Lieutenant General Simon Bolivar Buckner, Jr. land on Okinawa, main island of the Ryukyus, 362 miles from the Japanese home islands.
The Occupation of Island of Okinawa was considered crucial if there is to be an invasion of the Japanese mainland and during the campaign the U.S. Navy sustained greater casualties in this operation than in any other battle of the war and it was not until on about June 21, ( 11 weeks ) that the main battles for the Island ended. ( In the event the Nuclear Bombs changed military strategy. )
1946 U.S.A. Hawaii Earthquake and Tsunami
1st April 1946 : A major undersea earthquake measuring 7.4 magnitude in the north pacific ocean caused a Tsunami that by the time it reached Hawaii some 2,400 miles away and travelling at 500 miles per hour, only 4 1/2 hours after the quake waves reaching 60ft in height hit coastal areas of Hawaii causing the deaths of 150 + . This Tsunami prompted the setting up of the U.S. to establish the Seismic SeaWave Warning System to help in evacuation but any similar occurrence today would be even more devastating as can be shown with the damage and loss of life caused by Hurricane Katrina where the warning was greater than 6 hours.
1st April 1946 : A major undersea earthquake measuring 7.4 magnitude in the north pacific ocean caused a Tsunami that by the time it reached Hawaii some 2,400 miles away and travelling at 500 miles per hour, only 4 1/2 hours after the quake waves reaching 60ft in height hit coastal areas of Hawaii causing the deaths of 150 + . This Tsunami prompted the setting up of the U.S. to establish the Seismic SeaWave Warning System to help in evacuation but any similar occurrence today would be even more devastating as can be shown with the damage and loss of life caused by Hurricane Katrina where the warning was greater than 6 hours.
1970 U.S.A. AMC Gremlin
1st April 1970 : The AMC group introduced one of the first sub compact cars way back in 1970 before many realized gas prices would be a critical factor in future car buying, the car was called the Gremlin and cost $1879. Car imports were just starting to have an impact on the US market including the Volkswagen Beetle and the new generation of Japanese imports like the Datsun.
1st April 1970 : The AMC group introduced one of the first sub compact cars way back in 1970 before many realized gas prices would be a critical factor in future car buying, the car was called the Gremlin and cost $1879. Car imports were just starting to have an impact on the US market including the Volkswagen Beetle and the new generation of Japanese imports like the Datsun.
1970 U.S.A. Cigarette Advertising Banned
1st April 1970 : President Nixon signed into law the banning of cigarette advertising on television and radio.
1st April 1970 : President Nixon signed into law the banning of cigarette advertising on television and radio.
1983 UK CND Peace Demonstrators
1st April 1983 : Tens of thousands of CND peace demonstrators form a human chain stretching 14 miles across Southern England from the American airbase at Greenham Common, via the Aldermaston nuclear research centre and ending at the ordnance factory in Burghfield.
1st April 1983 : Tens of thousands of CND peace demonstrators form a human chain stretching 14 miles across Southern England from the American airbase at Greenham Common, via the Aldermaston nuclear research centre and ending at the ordnance factory in Burghfield.
1990 UK Strangeways Prison
1st April 1990 : A thousand prisoners run amok in Strangeways Prison in Manchester in a violent riot setting fire to the chapel and gymnasium, and a number of prison cells, the inmates are protesting the primitive conditions and severe overcrowding.
The riot at Strangeways lasted 25 days the longest in British penal history. .
1st April 1990 : A thousand prisoners run amok in Strangeways Prison in Manchester in a violent riot setting fire to the chapel and gymnasium, and a number of prison cells, the inmates are protesting the primitive conditions and severe overcrowding.
The riot at Strangeways lasted 25 days the longest in British penal history. .
1991 U.S.A. Riverboat Gambling
1st April 1991 : Iowa becomes one of the first states to allow riverboat gambling .
1st April 1991 : Iowa becomes one of the first states to allow riverboat gambling .
1999 Europe The Euro
1st April 1999 : Eleven countries in the European Union adopted the Euro as a common currency as the dream of monetary union became reality.
1st April 1999 : Eleven countries in the European Union adopted the Euro as a common currency as the dream of monetary union became reality.
1999 U.S.A. Melissa" e-mail virus
1st April 1999 : David Smith is arrested and charged with originating the "Melissa" e-mail virus, which infected more than 1 million computers worldwide and caused more than $80 million in damage.
Melissa is classified as a computer worm and shut down Internet mail systems that got clogged with infected e-mails propagating from the worm. Melissa was spread via the word processors Microsoft Word 97 and Word 2000 through the use of an inbuilt macro in the template and could mass-mail itself from e-mail client Microsoft Outlook 97 or Outlook 98.
1st April 1999 : David Smith is arrested and charged with originating the "Melissa" e-mail virus, which infected more than 1 million computers worldwide and caused more than $80 million in damage.
Melissa is classified as a computer worm and shut down Internet mail systems that got clogged with infected e-mails propagating from the worm. Melissa was spread via the word processors Microsoft Word 97 and Word 2000 through the use of an inbuilt macro in the template and could mass-mail itself from e-mail client Microsoft Outlook 97 or Outlook 98.
1999 Great Britain Minimum Wages
1st April 1999 : Britain introduces the first ever legally binding minimum rate of pay. From April 1st all adults must be paid at least £3.60 an hour and workers under the age of 22 must get no less than £3 an hour.
I have created a small chart below giving an idea of some of the yearly earnings based ( equiv in US Dollars ) on minimum wage for an Adult Working Full Time in that country in 2007. If the figures depend on State of Province or by trade and profession we have taken the lowest figure paid.
Country Annual wage based on Minimum Wage In Equiv US Dollars
Algeria 3,799
Angola 973
Argentina 9,266
Australia 18,382
Belarus 1,987
Belgium 17,879
Brazil 3,130
Burundi 11
Canada 10,196
Chad 1,638
China No Minimum Wage Exists
Costa Rica 4,505
Czech Republic 7,168
Dominican Republic 2,305
El Salvador 1,747
Ethiopia 1,656
France 16,668
Haiti 1,497
Hungary 6,504
India No Minimum Wage Exists
Indonesia 1,369
Ireland 18,842
Jamaica 2,544
Japan 10,599
Kazakhstan 1,619
Kenya 1,785
Libya 1,143
Luxembourg 21,070
Malawi 594
Mexico 1,557
Netherlands 17,015
New Zealand 15,822
Nigeria 831
Poland 5,918
Portugal 7,258
Russia 871
Slovakia 5,400
South Africa 3,794
Switzerland 15,466
Uganda 206
United Kingdom 22,368
United States 12,168
Many Many Countries including China and India who are listed above do not have minimum wages and the countries range from very westernized countries like Germany, Finland and Norway through to some of the poorest countries in the World like Bangladesh, North Korea and Rwanda.
The figures do not mean workers will only earn that per year but are the minimum set if there is a minimum.
For much more detail and including many countries not listed here check out http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_minimum_wages_by_country
1st April 1999 : Britain introduces the first ever legally binding minimum rate of pay. From April 1st all adults must be paid at least £3.60 an hour and workers under the age of 22 must get no less than £3 an hour.
I have created a small chart below giving an idea of some of the yearly earnings based ( equiv in US Dollars ) on minimum wage for an Adult Working Full Time in that country in 2007. If the figures depend on State of Province or by trade and profession we have taken the lowest figure paid.
Country Annual wage based on Minimum Wage In Equiv US Dollars
Algeria 3,799
Angola 973
Argentina 9,266
Australia 18,382
Belarus 1,987
Belgium 17,879
Brazil 3,130
Burundi 11
Canada 10,196
Chad 1,638
China No Minimum Wage Exists
Costa Rica 4,505
Czech Republic 7,168
Dominican Republic 2,305
El Salvador 1,747
Ethiopia 1,656
France 16,668
Haiti 1,497
Hungary 6,504
India No Minimum Wage Exists
Indonesia 1,369
Ireland 18,842
Jamaica 2,544
Japan 10,599
Kazakhstan 1,619
Kenya 1,785
Libya 1,143
Luxembourg 21,070
Malawi 594
Mexico 1,557
Netherlands 17,015
New Zealand 15,822
Nigeria 831
Poland 5,918
Portugal 7,258
Russia 871
Slovakia 5,400
South Africa 3,794
Switzerland 15,466
Uganda 206
United Kingdom 22,368
United States 12,168
Many Many Countries including China and India who are listed above do not have minimum wages and the countries range from very westernized countries like Germany, Finland and Norway through to some of the poorest countries in the World like Bangladesh, North Korea and Rwanda.
The figures do not mean workers will only earn that per year but are the minimum set if there is a minimum.
For much more detail and including many countries not listed here check out http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_minimum_wages_by_country
2000 UK Enigma Machine Stolen
1st April 2000 : The Enigma wartime coding machine used by the Germans to cipher messages during World War II is stolen from the Bletchley Park Museum in Buckinghamshire, south-east England.
The Enigma code created by the machine was thought by the Germans to be unbreakable but British mathematicians, scientists and agents stationed at Bletchley Park succeeded in cracking the Enigma code - a cipher with 150 million million million possible combinations which the Germans thought was unbreakable.
1st April 2000 : The Enigma wartime coding machine used by the Germans to cipher messages during World War II is stolen from the Bletchley Park Museum in Buckinghamshire, south-east England.
The Enigma code created by the machine was thought by the Germans to be unbreakable but British mathematicians, scientists and agents stationed at Bletchley Park succeeded in cracking the Enigma code - a cipher with 150 million million million possible combinations which the Germans thought was unbreakable.
2001 Yugoslavia Slobodan Milosevic
1st April 2001 : Former Yugoslav President Slobodan Milosevic has been arrested and taken to prison. The charges include corruption and theft of state funds and he is also wanted on war crimes charges by the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia.
1st April 2001 : Former Yugoslav President Slobodan Milosevic has been arrested and taken to prison. The charges include corruption and theft of state funds and he is also wanted on war crimes charges by the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia.
2003 Iraq Jessica Lynch
1st April 2003 : Jessica Lynch is rescued from a hospital in Nasiriyah, Iraq, where she had been held prisoner since her unit was ambushed nine days earlier.
This story has created a great deal of controversy over the years with conflicting reports of what happened during her time in captivity and her rescue, so only the basic facts are included here she was injured, captured by Iraq Forces and rescued.
1st April 2003 : Jessica Lynch is rescued from a hospital in Nasiriyah, Iraq, where she had been held prisoner since her unit was ambushed nine days earlier.
This story has created a great deal of controversy over the years with conflicting reports of what happened during her time in captivity and her rescue, so only the basic facts are included here she was injured, captured by Iraq Forces and rescued.
April Fools Jokes
1957 UK April Fools Joke
The BBC creates a hoax Panorama programme about spaghetti crops in Switzerland and showing women carefully plucking strands of spaghetti from a tree and laying them in the sun to dry. It should be remembered in context that Spaghetti was not a widely-eaten food in the UK in 1957 and considered by many as an exotic delicacy.
1965 UK April Fools Joke
BBC conducts a trial of a new technology ( Smell-o-vision ) which allows the transmission of smell over the airwaves to all viewers. Many viewers reportedly contacted the BBC to report the trial's success.
1976 UK April Fools Joke
BBC Radio British astronomer Sir Patrick Moore told listeners that unique alignment of two planets would result in an upward gravitational pull making people lighter at precisely 9:47 a.m. that day. He invited his audience to jump in the air and experience "a strange floating sensation." Dozens of listeners phoned in to say the experiment had worked.
1977 UK April Fools Joke
The Guardian printed a supplement in 1977 celebrating the 10th anniversary of San Serriffe, its two main islands (Upper Caisse and Lower Caisse), its capital (Bodoni), and its leader (General Pica). ( San Serriffe is a typeface used in computers .
1978 Australia April Fools Joke
Australia a barge appeared in Sydney Harbor towing a giant iceberg. Sydneysiders were expecting it. Dick Smith, a local adventurer and millionaire businessman, had been loudly promoting his scheme to tow an iceberg from Antarctica for quite some time. Now he had apparently succeeded. He said that he was going to carve the berg into small ice cubes, which he would sell to the public for ten cents each. Local radio stations provided excited blow-by-blow coverage of the scene. Only when the berg was well into the harbor was its secret revealed. It started to rain, and the fire fighting foam and shaving cream that the berg was really made of washed away, uncovering the white plastic sheets beneath.
1980 UK April Fools Joke
BBC Radio announces that Big Ben would be replaced with a digital readout to bring it into the modern era and the BBC was inundated with angry listeners protesting the change.
1982 UK April Fools Joke
The Hong Kong South China Morning Post announced that a solution to Hong Kong's water shortage was at hand.Packets of powdered water imported from China would be distributed to all the residents of Hong Kong. A single pint of water added to this powdered water would magically transform into ten pints of drinkable water.
1985 U.S.A. April Fools Joke
Sports Illustrated writes an article about a New York Mets prospect named Sidd Finch, who could throw a 168 mph (270 km/h) fastball with pinpoint accuracy, reportedly learned to pitch in a Buddhist monastery. ( the highest speed recorded for a FASTBALL is officially 100.9 mph )
1989 UK April Fools Joke
Richard Branson the owner of Virgin lands a hot-air balloon that had been specially built to look like a UFO lands in a field on the outskirts of London where local residents immediately called the police to warn them of an alien invasion. A Local Policeman approached the UFO with truncheon in hand but as the doors open and a small, silver-suited figure emerged, the policeman ran in the opposite direction.
1992 U.S.A. April Fools Joke
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." . The radio station received many calls from outraged citizens who could not believe after being impeached he should run again for President.
. 1995 U.S.A. April Fools Joke
Discover Magazine runs an article about the Hotheaded Naked Ice Borer that caught its food by a group of these animals would burrow into the ice underneath suitable prey, and use their heads to melt through the ice. The animal was discovered by Aprile Pazzo ("April Fool" in Italian) but still thousands believed it and the magazine received more mail about this article than about any other article it had ever published, including multiple Zoos asking where they could acquire specimens of the creature.
1996 U.S.A. April Fools Joke
Taco Bell took out a full-page advertisement in The New York Times announcing that they had purchased the Liberty Bell to "reduce the country's debt" and renamed it the "Taco Liberty Bell."
1996 Canada April Fools Joke
Canada introduces the Two Dollar Coin to replace the Two Dollar Note in February of 1996 and DJ's on Chez FM fooled listeners into believing that April 1st 1996 would be the last day the Treasury would honour the Two Dollar Note. Thousands of Citizens contacted local banks and the Royal Canadian Mint outraged that they would lose their money.
1997 World Wide April Fools Joke
An e-mail is sent round the world stating the Internet would be shut down for cleaning for twenty-four hours from March 31st until April 2nd and was necessary to clear out the "electronic flotsam and jetsam" that had accumulated in the network. No Internet access would be available world wide on the day.
1998 U.S.A. April Fools Joke
Burger King ran an ad in USA Today, saying that people could get a Whopper for left-handed people whose condiments were designed to drip out of the right side.
2000 U.S.A. April Fools Joke
Google announces a new "MentalPlex" search technology that supposedly read the user's mind to determine what the user wants to search for, thus eliminating the step of actually typing in the search query.
2004 UK April Fools Joke
BBC Radio The Jeremy Vine Show reported that Germany had pulled out of the Euro but, as the German Mark was no longer in existence, they were in negotiations to join the British pound.
2005 Australia April Fools Joke
97.3FM Radio Station in Brisbane, Australia told listeners that the Brisbane River is shining blue which is caused by a rare movement of the moon, causing high tides and the sea water to run upstream to the river to give it clean blue water.
2006 U.S.A. April Fools Joke
A Cheyenne radio station reported to listeners that during the previous night, a Union Pacific 4-8-8-4 "Big Boy" steam locomotive was stolen from Holliday Park. Although the locomotive weighed more than 550 tons (500 tonnes) and had no tracks connecting it to any nearby railroad, thus making its theft near-impossible, several listeners fell for the joke and went to investigate.
1957 UK April Fools Joke
The BBC creates a hoax Panorama programme about spaghetti crops in Switzerland and showing women carefully plucking strands of spaghetti from a tree and laying them in the sun to dry. It should be remembered in context that Spaghetti was not a widely-eaten food in the UK in 1957 and considered by many as an exotic delicacy.
1965 UK April Fools Joke
BBC conducts a trial of a new technology ( Smell-o-vision ) which allows the transmission of smell over the airwaves to all viewers. Many viewers reportedly contacted the BBC to report the trial's success.
1976 UK April Fools Joke
BBC Radio British astronomer Sir Patrick Moore told listeners that unique alignment of two planets would result in an upward gravitational pull making people lighter at precisely 9:47 a.m. that day. He invited his audience to jump in the air and experience "a strange floating sensation." Dozens of listeners phoned in to say the experiment had worked.
1977 UK April Fools Joke
The Guardian printed a supplement in 1977 celebrating the 10th anniversary of San Serriffe, its two main islands (Upper Caisse and Lower Caisse), its capital (Bodoni), and its leader (General Pica). ( San Serriffe is a typeface used in computers .
1978 Australia April Fools Joke
Australia a barge appeared in Sydney Harbor towing a giant iceberg. Sydneysiders were expecting it. Dick Smith, a local adventurer and millionaire businessman, had been loudly promoting his scheme to tow an iceberg from Antarctica for quite some time. Now he had apparently succeeded. He said that he was going to carve the berg into small ice cubes, which he would sell to the public for ten cents each. Local radio stations provided excited blow-by-blow coverage of the scene. Only when the berg was well into the harbor was its secret revealed. It started to rain, and the fire fighting foam and shaving cream that the berg was really made of washed away, uncovering the white plastic sheets beneath.
1980 UK April Fools Joke
BBC Radio announces that Big Ben would be replaced with a digital readout to bring it into the modern era and the BBC was inundated with angry listeners protesting the change.
1982 UK April Fools Joke
The Hong Kong South China Morning Post announced that a solution to Hong Kong's water shortage was at hand.Packets of powdered water imported from China would be distributed to all the residents of Hong Kong. A single pint of water added to this powdered water would magically transform into ten pints of drinkable water.
1985 U.S.A. April Fools Joke
Sports Illustrated writes an article about a New York Mets prospect named Sidd Finch, who could throw a 168 mph (270 km/h) fastball with pinpoint accuracy, reportedly learned to pitch in a Buddhist monastery. ( the highest speed recorded for a FASTBALL is officially 100.9 mph )
1989 UK April Fools Joke
Richard Branson the owner of Virgin lands a hot-air balloon that had been specially built to look like a UFO lands in a field on the outskirts of London where local residents immediately called the police to warn them of an alien invasion. A Local Policeman approached the UFO with truncheon in hand but as the doors open and a small, silver-suited figure emerged, the policeman ran in the opposite direction.
1992 U.S.A. April Fools Joke
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." . The radio station received many calls from outraged citizens who could not believe after being impeached he should run again for President.
. 1995 U.S.A. April Fools Joke
Discover Magazine runs an article about the Hotheaded Naked Ice Borer that caught its food by a group of these animals would burrow into the ice underneath suitable prey, and use their heads to melt through the ice. The animal was discovered by Aprile Pazzo ("April Fool" in Italian) but still thousands believed it and the magazine received more mail about this article than about any other article it had ever published, including multiple Zoos asking where they could acquire specimens of the creature.
1996 U.S.A. April Fools Joke
Taco Bell took out a full-page advertisement in The New York Times announcing that they had purchased the Liberty Bell to "reduce the country's debt" and renamed it the "Taco Liberty Bell."
1996 Canada April Fools Joke
Canada introduces the Two Dollar Coin to replace the Two Dollar Note in February of 1996 and DJ's on Chez FM fooled listeners into believing that April 1st 1996 would be the last day the Treasury would honour the Two Dollar Note. Thousands of Citizens contacted local banks and the Royal Canadian Mint outraged that they would lose their money.
1997 World Wide April Fools Joke
An e-mail is sent round the world stating the Internet would be shut down for cleaning for twenty-four hours from March 31st until April 2nd and was necessary to clear out the "electronic flotsam and jetsam" that had accumulated in the network. No Internet access would be available world wide on the day.
1998 U.S.A. April Fools Joke
Burger King ran an ad in USA Today, saying that people could get a Whopper for left-handed people whose condiments were designed to drip out of the right side.
2000 U.S.A. April Fools Joke
Google announces a new "MentalPlex" search technology that supposedly read the user's mind to determine what the user wants to search for, thus eliminating the step of actually typing in the search query.
2004 UK April Fools Joke
BBC Radio The Jeremy Vine Show reported that Germany had pulled out of the Euro but, as the German Mark was no longer in existence, they were in negotiations to join the British pound.
2005 Australia April Fools Joke
97.3FM Radio Station in Brisbane, Australia told listeners that the Brisbane River is shining blue which is caused by a rare movement of the moon, causing high tides and the sea water to run upstream to the river to give it clean blue water.
2006 U.S.A. April Fools Joke
A Cheyenne radio station reported to listeners that during the previous night, a Union Pacific 4-8-8-4 "Big Boy" steam locomotive was stolen from Holliday Park. Although the locomotive weighed more than 550 tons (500 tonnes) and had no tracks connecting it to any nearby railroad, thus making its theft near-impossible, several listeners fell for the joke and went to investigate.
