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

What is April Fool's Day and what are its origins?

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.

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[1 April 2019 12:45 · tim.wyatt]

Researchers at the University of Oxford have decided to go one step further after computers learned how to defeat the best human chess and go players. 

Scientists there unveiled today their newest AI program, a bot which is able to beat anyone at the card game snap. 

"This is a game which on the surface appears simple, even a child can play it," said Professor Joanne King. 

"But actually it's incredibly complex and our researchers have spent years studying the tactics and nuances behind a winning strategy."

[1 April 2019 13:10 · tim.wyatt]

The Royal Albert Hall is planning a major redevelopment: rotating the entire Grade I listed concert venue by 180 degrees.

The project, which has been dubbed "The Great Rotation" would address some of the problems caused by the building's current orientation. 

Among them is "building hayfever", caused by pollen from the nearby Hyde Park. 

"Buildings like this simply weren’t meant to stay in the same place for hundreds of years. It’s about time we just got this whole process over and done with in as simple a way as possible," said Martina Smarch, a consultant working with the hall. 

The rotation itself is planned to be completed in four stages over the 2020 August bank holiday weekend. The entrance names will however be retained, meaning the north entrance to the hall will from 2021 in fact face south. 

"We feel that by keeping these entrance names consistent it will make things much easier for visitors,” said Emily North, south porch manager.

[1 April 2019 14:03 · Chris Baynes]

Tinder has caused much consternation among small men by unveiling a new feature which would effectively ban users from overstating their height on the dating app.

Users just need to upload a photo of themselves "standing next to any commercial building" and the "state-of-the-art" tool will cross-reference their claimed height with the picture. If they were being honest, they'll receive a "height verification badge" on their profile.

The feature would seem unlikely to be workable in a world in which Photoshop exists, but it was announced on 29 March, leading some people to believe it is genuine.

Sophisticated technology or a clear breach of April Fools protocol? No word as yet from Tinder.

[1 April 2019 14:25 · Chris Baynes]

Right, that's enough fun for one year. We're wrapping up our coverage of April Fools jokes 2019.

Thanks for reading. Now, everyone back to work.