Subject: April Fools! 2000's version

Canadian Finance Minister Quits to Breed Cows and Ducks
In 2002 a rumor was posted on a Canadian gossip website, Bourque.org, alleging that the finance minister, Paul Martin, was quitting his job in order to breed "prize Charolais cattle and handsome Fawn Runner ducks." Martin, it was said, would be showing his livestock at a local fair in Havelock, a tiny Quebec town boasting a population of only 811. The Bank of Canada was also said to be ready to intervene in case the news rattled the currency markets. Of course, as soon as the word of Martin's retirement began to spread, the markets did get rattled, and the Canadian dollar promptly fell to its lowest level in a month. The currency only recovered once the minister's office denied the rumor. Pierre Bourque, the man behind bourque.org, readily admitted the story had been a hoax. "The ducks," he pointed out, "were the tell-tale sign."

15th Annual New York City April Fool's Day Parade
In 2000 a news release was sent to the media stating that the 15th annual New York City April Fool's Day Parade was scheduled to begin at noon on 59th Street and would proceed down to Fifth Avenue. According to the release, floats in the parade would include a "Beat 'em, Bust 'em, Book 'em" float created by the New York, Los Angeles, and Seattle police departments. This float would portray "themes of brutality, corruption and incompetence." A "Where's Mars?" float, reportedly built at a cost of $10 billion, would portray missed Mars missions. Finally, the "Atlanta Braves Baseball Tribute to Racism" float would feature John Rocker who would be "spewing racial epithets at the crowd." CNN and the Fox affiliate WNYW sent television news crews to cover the parade. They arrived at 59th Street at noon only to discover that there was no sign of a parade, at which point the reporters realized they had been hoaxed. The prank was the handiwork of Joey Skaggs, an experienced hoaxer. Skaggs had been issuing press releases advertising the nonexistent parade every April Fool's Day since 1986.

Whistling Carrots
In 2002 the British supermarket chain Tesco published an advertisement in The Sun announcing the successful development of a genetically modified 'whistling carrot.' The ad explained that the carrots had been specially engineered to grow with tapered airholes in their side. When fully cooked, these airholes caused the vegetable to whistle.

See the all time pranks here
http://www.museumofhoaxes.com/top1002.html