Every April 1st, like clockwork, the world turns into a playground of harmless mischief. News anchors deliver ridiculous stories with straight faces. Brands unveil outrageous “new products.” And for one day, everyone’s on edge, wondering what’s real and what’s a joke. We’ve always loved a good April Fool here at PureTravel. so what are the greatest April Fools Day Pranks of all time?
We once wrote about a new safari camp that was opening in Norfolk, UK. You game watched in a simulator with a live feed through to a game-drive in South Africa. We received 5 booking enquiries. Another time we wrote about five strange new species discovered that year and received a call from a TV production company a few months later wanting further details on one of then in order to make a documentary!
Some pranks, though, go beyond a quick laugh. They’re so clever, so ridiculous — or so convincing — that they make history.
Today, we’re counting down 20 of the best April Fools’ Day pranks of all time.
The ones that fooled millions, made headlines, and proved that sometimes, people will believe anything if you deliver it with enough confidence.
The Classic Pranks – When the World Was Easier to Fool
Let’s start with the OGs. These pranks happened long before the internet made everyone skeptical and ruined the fun.
1. The Swiss Spaghetti Harvest (BBC, 1957)
Picture this: a black-and-white BBC news report showing farmers in Switzerland harvesting spaghetti from trees. Yes, really. Viewers flooded the station asking how they could grow their own spaghetti trees. Turns out, all you needed was a gullible audience and a serious news anchor.
2. Taco Liberty Bell (Taco Bell, 1996)
Taco Bell took out full-page newspaper ads claiming they’d bought the Liberty Bell and renamed it the “Taco Liberty Bell” to help pay off the national debt.
Outrage ensued — until people realized it was April 1st.
3. The Left-Handed Whopper (Burger King, 1998)
Burger King ran ads introducing a Left-Handed Whopper, where all condiments were rotated 180 degrees. Thousands showed up asking for it. Others specifically requested the “right-handed” version. Because… balance?
4. Google Nose (Google, 2013)
Google announced a new feature: Google Nose. Search for a smell and sniff your phone. They even explained the fake science behind it: “photo-audio-olfactory sensory convergence.”
5. Flying Penguins (BBC, 2008)
The BBC is back at it again. This time, they claimed to have discovered a colony of penguins that could fly. They even had CGI footage. People bought it.
6. YouTube Rickroll Takeover (2008)
Every featured video on YouTube’s homepage redirected viewers to Rick Astley’s “Never Gonna Give You Up.” A full-scale, platform-wide Rickroll. Iconic.
7. Google Maps Treasure Mode (2013)
Google turned Google Maps into a pirate treasure hunt, complete with hand-drawn pirate maps. They claimed they’d found Captain Kidd’s treasure map. You had to go look for it.
8. Nixon Running for President Again (NPR, 1992)
NPR announced that Richard Nixon was running for president… again.
His campaign slogan? “I didn’t do anything wrong, and I won’t do it again.”
They even used a voice impersonator.
9. Big Ben Goes Digital (BBC, 1980)
The BBC reported that Big Ben would be converted to a digital clock face. Brits were not amused. The backlash was instant — until people checked their calendars. I remember this one. I thought it was a great idea…
10. Swedish TV’s Colour Converter (1962)
A Swedish TV station claimed you could convert your black-and-white TV to colour by stretching a nylon stocking over the screen. Thousands tried it. Spoiler: it didn’t work. I think this has to go down as the greatest April Fools day prank of all time. Believable and yet incredibly funny when you realise you’ve been had!
The Modern Masters — Internet Pranks Done Right
Then came the internet — and with it, a whole new level of prank warfare.
Brands got budgets. Social media made things go viral. And the jokes only got bigger.
11. Duolingo Push (2019)
Duolingo announced a new feature: Duolingo Push. Their giant, slightly terrifying owl mascot would physically show up at your door to remind you to practice Spanish.
12. Google Tulip (2019)
Google Benelux introduced Google Tulip, a technology allowing you to talk to plants.
They even had a promo video showing a woman chatting with a tulip about the weather.
13. Netflix Live (2017)
Netflix launched a show called Netflix Live, featuring Will Arnett commentating on… nothing. Literally, printers, microwaves, and random office objects.
14. Amazon Petlexa (2017)
Amazon introduced Petlexa — a voice assistant for pets. The ad showed dogs ordering treats and cats turning off the lights.
15. LEGO VacuSort (2021)
LEGO announced the VacuSort, a vacuum that would suck up stray LEGO bricks and automatically sort them by colour and shape.
Parents everywhere wished this one was real.
16. Tinder Height Verification (2019)
Tinder claimed they were rolling out a new height verification feature to stop people from lying about how tall they were.
The internet lost its mind… until the punchline dropped.
17. Minecraft in MS Paint (2021)
Mojang released a fake trailer for a version of Minecraft designed entirely in MS Paint-style graphics. Even blockier, even glitchier, even dumber — and everyone wanted it.
18. Razer Project BreadWinner (2016)
Razer unveiled Project BreadWinner: a toaster that would brand the Razer logo onto your toast. Gamers begged for it to be real — and eventually, Razer actually started working on it.
19. Honda Pastport (2019)
Honda introduced the Pastport, a retro SUV model straight out of the 90s — complete with a cassette player, manual windows, and pure nostalgia.
The ad looked so good people actually wanted one.
20. Google Screen Cleaner (2019)
Google claimed their Files app had a Screen Cleaner feature that could physically remove smudges from your phone screen using “haptic micro-molecules.”
Android users tried to activate it. It didn’t work.
Why Do These Pranks Actually Work?
So why do we fall for these every year?
The magic trick is simple: They sound just believable enough.
The BBC can’t possibly lie to you about spaghetti trees, right? And Google seems smart enough to make your phone smell like lavender…
The best pranks exploit that sweet spot between reality and ridiculousness.
And in the age of viral videos and branded content, these pranks aren’t just jokes — they’re performance art.
What Will April 1st bring this year?
Every year, someone ups the ante. Some brand will announce a hoverboard subscription service. Or a streaming platform for just elevator music. And for a moment — just a moment — we’ll all wonder: Is it real?
So this April Fools’, keep your guard up… but also, maybe let yourself laugh at how easy it is to fool even the smartest among us. At PureTravel we love an April Fool prank and don’t mined being made April Fools of. The World is a serious place so a few minutes of escapism is what we all need.
If something sounds too ridiculous to be true on April 1st — it probably is. But sometimes, it’s worth falling for the joke just for the laugh.
