A British newspaper highlighted a new invention: the Poweriser. Essentially, it is a pair of springy stilts that strap on to your calves and, once youโve got the hang of the correct rocking motion, allow you to leap forward 17 feet.
Fact. The article appeared in The Independent in 2006. You can now purchase a Poweriser for yourself, new from around $200 to $400.
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A man dressed as a tree decided to stand in the middle of a busy intersection in Portland, Maine, as an act of performance art. Local police responded to the scene and asked the man to leave the intersection, but he was eventually arrested.
Fact. CNN reported the man was arrested with a misdemeanor charge.
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Nixon for President: In 1992, NPRโs Talk of the Nation broadcast the surprising run of Richard Nixon for president again.
Foolery! With various sound clips to back up the story of a comedian impersonating Nixon, NPR did run this April Foolsโ gag, and many did call in quite unhappy.
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Karate Experts Collect Bus Fares: Faced with a growing number of unruly passengers, one town in Ukraine adopted a unique solution: Karate-trained fare collectors.
Fact. This strategy was implemented in 1993 by a city in western Ukraine, following a number of attacks on bus inspectors.
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Purple Carrots: A British supermarket announced it would soon be selling purple carrots to appeal to picky children..
Fact. In 2002, Sainsbury began marketing purple carrots. But carrots have actually come in purple varieties for thousands of years.
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Chicken Manure-Powered Electrical Plant: The Mitsubishi Bank contacted venture capitalists about an exciting new investment opportunity: Fibropower, a 14-megawatt-generating plant fueled entirely by chicken poop.
Fact. In 1991, Mitsubishi Bank in London sought investors to back a 22-million-pound loan to fund Fibropower.
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Whistling Carrots: Tired of overcooking the carrots? Now thereโs a solution. British scientists announced the development of a genetically modified โwhistling carrot.โ Air holes inside the carrot cause it to whistle when properly cooked.
Foolery! It was advertised by Tesco, a British supermarket chain, in a half-page advertisement in The Sun in 2002.
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The Pepsi-Cola company sponsored teenagers to tattoo themselves with its logo. In return, the teenagers received a 10 percent lifetime discount on the companyโs products. Teenagers were said to have enthusiastically responded.
Foolery! This hoax report was made by โAll Things Consideredโ on National Public Radio in 1994.
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Carrots Reclassified as a Fruit: In 1979, officials in the European Union confirmed what many have long suspected: that carrots are not, in fact, a vegetable but are actually a fruit.
Fact. Bureaucrats in the European Union did classify carrots as a fruit in a 1979 directive.
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Vodka Bars: A Russian beverage company announced a new product designed to appeal more specifically to Russian tastes: chewy vodka bars. The vodka bars will be available in lemon, coconut, and salted cucumber flavors.
Foolery!
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Crustless Bread: For those who just canโt stand the taste of crust and are too lazy to cut it off, Sara Lee introduced the ultimate convenience: crustless bread. Available in stores everywhere!
Fact. This actually was a new product by Sara Lee in 2002.
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The Spaghetti Harvest: In 1957, a British news show announced that, thanks to a very mild winter and the elimination of the spaghetti weevil, Swiss farmers were enjoying a bountiful spaghetti crop season.
Foolery! In 1957, the respected BBC television program ran this famous hoax.
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15
In Ireland, a cat made it into the local newspapers when she decided the best place to give birth to her four baby kittens would be in a nearby birdโs nest.
Fact. In Louth County, Ireland the cat and her kittens were found curled up in the nest by the owner of a local pet supply store.