It's probably fair to say that back in the 50s people were more susceptible and easily fooled than they are today.
In 1957, Panorama was still a BBC TV programme (it's been running for a while), and it ran a three-minute broadcast that was a April Fools' hoax.
It's purpose? To convince people into growing spaghetti trees.
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The broadcast announced that thanks to a very mild winter and the virtual elimination of the dreaded spaghetti weevil, Swiss farmers were enjoying a bumper spaghetti crop. It accompanied this announcement with footage of Swiss peasants pulling strands of spaghetti down from trees.
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."
Even the director-general of the BBC later admitted that after seeing the show he checked in an encyclopedia to find out if that was how spaghetti actually grew (but the encyclopedia had no information on the topic). The broadcast remains, by far, the most popular and widely acclaimed April Fools' Day hoax ever, making it an easy pick for number one.
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Even now, CNN call this "the biggest hoax that any reputable news establishment ever pulled", and understandably so.
Words by Matthew Cooper
Lead Image Credit: BBC
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