In 1957, the BBC ran what is considered by many to be one of the greatest April Fools jokes of all times
It was a report on the Swiss spaghetti harvest. Back in those days, many people weren’t familiar with pasta, and knew nothing about how it was made. According to the Museum of Hoaxes, “Huge numbers of viewers were taken in. Many called the BBC wanting to know how they could grow their own spaghetti tree. To this the BBC diplomatically replied, ‘place a sprig of spaghetti in a tin of tomato sauce and hope for the best.'”
Personally, I only eat organic, sustainable spaghetti.
Michael M. says
A classic! Two stories:
My parents lived in a small village near Banbury in the early ’60s (my Dad was in the USAF). One night two local women came over to play cards and my Mom made popcorn. They had never had it before and loved it. So Mom bought them some on base and gave it to them. The next time she saw them, she asked if they’d tried the popcorn. “Yes,” they said, “but ours didn’t work. We boiled it and boiled it and boiled it, and it wouldn’t pop!”
When I was living in London in the early ’80s, I was charged with making pumpkin pie for a Thanksgiving dinner a bunch of ex-pat Americans I knew were planning. So I went to Sainsbury’s and couldn’t find any pumpkin meat. I asked a clerk where it was and she asked, “What’s pumpkin?” (I ended up having to get pumpkin at Fortnum & Mason, making it the most expensive pie I’ve ever baked.) I asked my flatmates and half of them had never heard of it, the other half had heard of it but weren’t quite sure what it was and had never seen one. It’s so easy to acclimate to a country where everyone speaks your language that it can be startling to stumble upon a little piece of what you think is common knowledge, only to find that it isn’t common knowledge at all.
Food Dude says
Thanks for making me laugh