There have been some very creative and ridiculous pranks done on April 1st. For example, the 1957 BBC broadcast of pasta growing on trees. Left-handed toilet paper done by Cottonelle. Taco Bell buying the Liberty Bell and renaming it the Taco Liberty Bell. A bill through Congress prohibiting surfing the internet while intoxicated. The bill was introduced by Lirpa Sloof. Spelled backward it’s…
The largest and the one I found most frightening, involves a volcano.
In Sitka, Alaska on the Kruzof Island sits an extinct volcano just over 3,000 feet in elevation called Mt. Edgecumbe. In 1974 on April 1st, on a clear morning, those just starting their day looked toward the mountain and saw black smoke rolling from the volcanic crater.
I’m sure some stood and stared for a moment not knowing exactly what was going on but I bet it donned on some of them that it was time to pack up and go.
This was all the work of Porky Oliver Bickar of Sitka. Via helicopter, Porky and a pilot transported tires up to the mountain. After a few loads, he soaked them in fuel and set them ablaze, creating a pillar of black smoke that could be seen for miles.
Porky, who was a member of the police commission, had notified the FAA and the Sitka Police but failed to notify the Coast Guard, which sent their own chopper over to investigate. What they found were the burning tires and also a big sign in the snow, “April Fools”.
The prank made the AP news worldwide.
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