Stay up to date with notifications from The Independent

Notifications can be managed in browser preferences.

As it happenedended1554125767

April Fool’s Day 2019: How to avoid falling victim to the biggest pranks and jokes

From Uber pogo sticks to fines for over-running funerals, here are this year’s best jokes

Tim Wyatt
Monday 01 April 2019 14:15 BST
Comments
What is April Fool's Day and what are its origins?

Your support helps us to tell the story

This election is still a dead heat, according to most polls. In a fight with such wafer-thin margins, we need reporters on the ground talking to the people Trump and Harris are courting. Your support allows us to keep sending journalists to the story.

The Independent is trusted by 27 million Americans from across the entire political spectrum every month. Unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock you out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. But quality journalism must still be paid for.

Help us keep bring these critical stories to light. Your support makes all the difference.

Newspapers and companies have been spinning tall tales all morning in an effort to dupe the public as part of this year’s April Fool’s Day.

The annual tradition sees firms announce bizarre and nonsensical products and rebrands, while many media outlets also publish invented stories.

Among this year’s crop of pranks include Uber unveiling a pogo stick option in its app, a crematorium threatening to fine funerals which overrun and Google reintroducing the classic mobile game Snake.

Here we’ve rounded up some of the best jokes and pranks.

Please allow a moment for the live blog to load

1554114918

Football fans in Manchester, famous for their willingness to work side by side with hated rivals, are being offered a unique opportunity as the Premier League season draws to a close.

Manchester City and Manchester United fans who are both rooting against Liverpool claiming the title can now buy a limited edition half-and-half shirt featuring both team's colours, thanks to sports website The Sportsman.

A spokesman for the company said: "We believe it is the perfect thing to wear for the Manchester derby on 24th April where both fans can join together in stopping the title going to Anfield."

tim.wyatt1 April 2019 11:35
1554115753

Poking fun at supposedly hapless millennials is basically mandatory on April Fool's Day in recent years (see Sainsbury's pink avocados below). 

Joining the fray this year are Kia, who have supposedly launched a new steering wheel which only features two touchscreens. 

Young people are so addicted to their smartphones, we obviously are incapable of managing a traditional steering wheel. Instead, Kia now offer the Finger Operated Optimum Lever (check the acronym...) which allows youthful drivers to simply swipe right or left to turn the car.

A double tap sounds the horn. Of course.

tim.wyatt1 April 2019 11:49
1554116043

Walkers Shortbread has heard the cries of "discrimination" from those who are not vertically challenged and in response has invented "tallbread", a shortbread finger (of "foot") which is three times the length.

Still packaged in the iconic tartan design, each of the new "tallbread" biscuits is 30cm long, meaning "even the loftiest of biscuit lovers are left satisfied".

tim.wyatt1 April 2019 11:54
1554116175

The best April Fool's jokes are those which could actually be true, of course, and Brixton Academy came up with a classic of the genre this morning.

The world-famous gig venue tweeted an image of work taking place inside the building and proudly announced they were "finally getting that of the sloped floor".

Non-music lovers may not appreciate the gag, but the Academy's sloped floor is a much-beloved and iconic piece of live music history. 

tim.wyatt1 April 2019 11:56
1554116637

Some smaller April Fools are also popping up on Twitter. This cheeky notice was spotted on a vending machine in a Cambridge office this morning:

tim.wyatt1 April 2019 12:03
1554116830

A cruel Year 7 teacher may have take the joke too far by setting her hapless pupils a wordsearch task with words which do not appear in the puzzle:

tim.wyatt1 April 2019 12:07
1554117479

In Australia, McDonald's announced the McPickle burger on Instagram, made from "juicy, flavoursome pickles layered between melted cheese, ketchup sauce and toasted sesame seed buns".

Slightly undermining the joke was the rapturous reception the fake burger received online, with many fans of the fast food chain genuinely interested in buying the product.

Sadly, the company confirmed those hopes would be dashed and said it was only "available until yesterday". 

tim.wyatt1 April 2019 12:17
1554117680

Everyone has experienced that awkward moment when watching a TV show or film with family when a graphic sex scene comes on. 

So the BBC's iPlayer April Fool's gag was also well-received. The broadcaster launched its latest iPlayer feature: a "skip the sex" button to automatically fast forward through any titillating but uncomfortable segments.

Allegedly, the technology uses "advanced meta-data techniques" to identify scenes with graphic content and ensure the skip button automatically pops up to allow viewers to rapidly move on without missing any of the story.

tim.wyatt1 April 2019 12:21
1554118353

The Daily Express's 2019 offering was somewhat inevitably Brexit-inspired: the newspaper reported the UK may be kicked out of the Eurovision Song Contest because it is seeking a hard Brexit.

The Paris-based L'Institute de Eurovision Song (as ever, have a look at what the initials spell) had apparently decided it would not be fair on other countries taking part if Britain continued to compete despite quitting the EU.

tim.wyatt1 April 2019 12:32
1554118686

Meanwhile, Malta Today published an almost-believable tale about a Conservative MP's efforts to strip the Mediterranean island nation's George Cross, granted to the country for its bravery during World War Two. 

The fictional MP, Alistair Dodding who is said to represent the Welsh border town of Fwlleugh, has written to the Honours Forfeiture Committee demanding Malta's George Cross be removed as punishment for Maltese prime minister Joseph Muscat's conduct during the Brexit negotiations. 

tim.wyatt1 April 2019 12:38

Join our commenting forum

Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies

Comments

Thank you for registering

Please refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged inPlease refresh your browser to be logged in