April Fools’ Day is a day where many people are on guard. If anything out of the ordinary happens, it’s assumed to be a prank. But what happens when it’s NOT a prank? Here are 25 Unbelievable April Fools’ Day Events That Actually Happened.
25
On April 1, 1949, Newfoundland officially became a province of Canada. It was received so poorly (or not all) by the public that the Prime Minister actually adjusted the Terms of Union to say it happened on March 31st.
Source: wikipedia 24
When Joss Whedon was announced as the director of the Avengers on April 1, 2010, many fans were upset because they thought it was a joke and that Joss would actually have been a perfect fit for the job. Well, it wasn't a joke. So that's awkward.
Source: imdb 23
On April 1, 1970, AMC announced the Gremlin to compete with the VW bug. Many people thought it was a joke.
Source: wikipedia 22
On April 1, 2004, Google launched gmail with an unbelievable 1 gigabyte of space. Nobody thought that was possible.
Source: mashable, Image: wikimedia commons (public domain) 21
It didn't make headlines, but some people have noted that Apple Computer was founded on April 1, 1976.
Image: pixabay (public domain), Source: wikipedia 20
On April 1, 2007, Google sent out an email to its NYC employees saying a python was loose in the office. It was true. Apparently an engineer had been keeping a pet python on his desk, and it got loose.
Source: mashable 19
For a long time in Germany, there has been a joke that the city of Bielefield doesn't actually exist. Finally, in 1999, the city released a statement saying that they do in fact still exist. Unfortunately for them, they released it on April 1st.
Source: wikipedia 18
On April 1, 2015, Amazon revealed the Amazon Dash Button. Basically you would attach it to things around your house and push it whenever you ran out of that thing. That would cause more to be immediately dispatched to your address.
Source: mashable 17
On April 1, 1985, Villanova, a school that finished 4th in its conference, beat Georgetown to win the NCAA basketball championship. It has been hailed as one of the biggest upsets in history.
Image: pixabay (public domain), Source: wikipedia 16
When King George II of Greece died on April 1, 1947, many people thought it was a prank.
Image: wikimedia commons (public domain), Source: wikipedia 15
On April 1, 2015, Sweden's parliament voted to keep a controversial law banning illegal public dancing. That includes "rhythmic movement of the feet."
Image: Jon Robson via Flickr, Source: dailymail 14
On April 1, 1946, there was an earthquake in the Pacific Ocean that caused a tsunami to hit the Aleutian Islands in Alaska. Some people ran through the streets yelling "Tidal Wave!!" and other people didn't believe them.
Image: pixabay (public domain), Source: wikipedia 13
On April 1, 2015, Tianna Marsh of New Zealand responded to an ad that everyone thought was a joke. A BMW dealership was offering a free car to the first person to show up. She showed up and got the car along with a special license plate that read NOFOOL.
Image: pixabay (public domain), Source: huffingtonpost 12
On April 1, 1865, the Confederacy suffered a major defeat at the hands of the Union while its generals were having a lunch break only a few miles away (Battle of Five Forks).
Image: wikipedia (public domain), Source: wikipedia 11
On April 1, 1944, the Allies accidentally bombed Schaffhausen, Switzerland. The US offered to pay $4 million in reparations.
Source: wikipedia 10
On April 1, 1983, Steven Newman of Ohio decided to set out to walk around the world. And he did, returning 4 years later.
Image: pixabay (public domain), Source: wikipedia 9
Since Sega and Nintendo were always bitter rivals, many people thought it was a joke when they announced on April 1, 2007 that they were releasing a game called “Sonic and Mario at the Olympics.”
Source: wikipedia 8
On April 1, 2015, Misao Okawa of Japan died of heart failure. She was the oldest person in the world at the time at 117 years.
Source: wikipedia 7
On April 1, 2011, a baggage handler at Dulles Airport named Eduardo Tlatempa fell to his death from a platform. Because he was known for his pranks, everybody who saw him lying there thought it was a joke.
Source: huffingtonpost 6
On April 1, 2015, UFC fighter Matt Hamill chased down a runaway car and saved a baby from certain death. The headline seemed incredible as it was, but being on April 1 just led to more doubt.
Source: wikipedia 5
On April 1, 2005, comedian Mitch Hedberg was found dead from an overdose in his apartment. Because of who he was, many people thought it was a joke.
Image: Robert Cudmore via Flickr, Source: wikipedia 4
On April 1, 2009, the satirical news website The Onion received a Peabody Award. Most people thought it was just another made up headline.
Image: hildgrim via Flickr, Source: wikipedia 3
On April 1, 1984, Marvin Gaye was murdered by his own father, who shot him twice.
Image: wikimedia commons (public domain), Source: wikipedia 2
On April 1, 1948, the Physical Review (a scientific journal) announced that the universe was created by "some sort of bang."
Image: pixabay (public domain), Source: wikipedia 1
On April 1, 2015, Lifetime announced a new film starring Will Ferrell (A Deadly Adoption). People thought for sure it was a prank and their suspicions seemed to be confirmed when Lifetime almost immediately canceled it, but then they released it 2 months later! It was a reverse April Fools' Day prank.
Image: Eva Rinaldi via flickr, Source: wikipedia Enjoy April Fools’ pranks? Check out 25 Hilarious April Fools’ Gifs You May Just Want To Try On Someone.
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Photos: 25. Johnathan Nightingale, Greenspond Newfoundland Canada, CC BY-SA 3.0, 24. Gage Skidmore from Peoria, AZ, United States of America, Joss Whedon (4839986303), CC BY-SA 2.0, 23. Barnstarbob at English Wikipedia, 1971 AMC Gremlin X, CC BY-SA 3.0, 20. H. Krisp, Heller Tigerpython Python molurus molurus, CC BY 3.0, 19. Zefram, Bielefeld Landgericht, CC BY-SA 3.0, 18. Alexander Klink, Amazon Dash Button Tide, CC BY 4.0, 15. Jon Robson via flickr, CC BY 2.0, 11. chensiyuan, 1 schaffhausen 2012, CC BY-SA 4.0 9. Sonic: BethaMiracle via deviantart, CC BY 3.0; Mario: pixabay (public domain), 8. PrakashP4u, मिसावो ओकावा, CC BY-SA 4.0, 7. Joe Ravi, Washington Dulles International Airport at Dusk, CC BY-SA 3.0, 6. jamie.lovelock, MattHamill, CC BY 2.0, 5. Robert Cudmore via flickr, CC BY-SA 2.0, 4. hildgrim via flickr, CC BY SA-2.0, 1. Eva Rinaldi via flickr, CC BY-SA 2.0 (Also feature image)
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