A Texan drone business took April Fool's Day to the next level after flying 300 drones over an entire city to form a QR code.
Forth Worth-based drone company Sky Elements Drones Shows collaborated with digital content creator Jared Guynes to produce a giant code on the evening of the infamous prank day.
The drone stunt saw thousands of spectators scan the QR code, which redirected them to a YouTube link for Rick Astley's song ‘Never Gonna Give You Up’.
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Essentially, the city of Dallas was ‘Rickrolled’.
Guynes also took to his Facebook page to recall the incident and wrote: "A giant, glowing, mysterious and unannounced QR code appeared in the sky above Dallas, near Reunion Tower.
“The QR code hung in the sky for some time before disappearing.
"If you scanned it with your phone, it actually worked."
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He said the idea was sparked after the business notified Guynes they had ‘pre-approved flight permission’ in an area of Dallas, which could authorise them to fly a swarm of drones.
“My friends over at Sky Elements Drones and I were talking about all the cool stuff they have coming up across the nation and I remembered they told me once that they have pre-approved flight permission in a particular place near downtown Dallas," he revealed.
He added: “I thought it was an especially stupid idea, but I suggested that they use their state of the art drone swarm to create a functional QR code in the sky, and Rick Roll an entire metropolitan city, mostly because it’s never been done before. Anywhere.”
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For those playing at home, ‘Rickrolling’ occurs when people are unexpectedly redirected to the music video of Rick Astley's iconic song.
According To Forbes, this prank first emerged in 2007, when bulletin boards like 4chan and Reddit would send users a link to the song.
However, the idea initially came from another prank called 'duckrolling', where people were unexpectedly sent an image of a duck on wheels accompanied by ‘The Picard Song’.
We’re going to be thoroughly disappointed if our QR code to check in to a venue isn’t met with one of these legendary songs now.
Featured Image Credit: Jared Guynes/FacebookTopics: Good News, News, Technology