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    Spaghetti Crop Forcast

    By PDX Food Dude Last Update April 20, 2018 2 Comments

    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.

     

    Related

    Category: April Fools Stories For Portland, Food Writing.

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    Reader Interactions

    Comments

    1. Michael M. says

      May 14, 2010 at 12:11 pm

      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.

      Reply
      • Food Dude says

        May 14, 2010 at 12:14 pm

        Thanks for making me laugh

        Reply

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