1. Spaghetti Trees

In 1957, the British news program “Panorama” managed to convince hundreds of people that spaghetti could grow on trees. They ran a segment about the Swiss spaghetti harvest, that was apparently because of an unusually mild winter. There were weeks of preparation that went into it to make this prank possible. A film crew went to Switzerland to film this segment with actors and spaghetti that had been tied to the tree. After this aired, the company began receiving hundreds of phone calls of people asking how they could get spaghetti to grow on their trees as well. The answer was always, “place a sprig of spaghetti in a tin of tomato sauce and hope for the best.”

1. Instant Color TV

In 1962, all of Swedish television was still being broadcast in black and white. To prank the citizens of Sweden, the television station, STV, announced that viewers could now watch color TV by simply placing a nylon stocking, or tights, in front of the screen. They backed it up by stating that the tights would cause the light to bend in such a way that it would appear as if it was in color. Thousands of people fell for the hoax. Some wanted to further it and said that they truly saw the difference. Oddly enough, regular color broadcasts began in Sweden in April 1, 1970.

1. The Taco Liberty Bell

In 1996, Taco Bell took out a full page ad in six major American newspapers to claim that they had purchased the Liberty Bell “in an effort to help the national debt.” Needless to say, people were not to pleased with this news. Both Taco Bell headquarters and National Park Service in Philadelphia received an extensive amount of complaints. By noon that day, Taco Bell issued a press released admitting it was all a joke. Taco Bell made the generous donation of $50,000 for the bell’s care, but the joke will forever be priceless.

1. The Left-Handed Whopper

In 1998, Burger King published a full page advertisement in USA Today announcing a new item on the menu – the Left-Handed Whopper. It was said to be especially designed for the 32 million left-handed Americans, the new burger included the same ingredients as the original Whopper, but all the condiments were rotated 180 degrees. Thousands of customers went into restaurants to request the new sandwich.

1. Jovian-Plutonian Gravitational Effect

In 1976, British astronomer Patrick Moore took the BBC radio to make an announcement. He said that at 9:47, he explained, Jupiter, Pluto, and the Earth would align. This alignment would interfere with Earth’s gravity and people would weigh less. He instructed listeners to jump when the time struck 9:47, and then they would feel a floating sensation. Within a minute, dozens called into the stations to explain their experience of levity. Which is really funny and entertaining due to the fact that Moore completely made this up.