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Dog racing on ice? (The Daily Mirror). Nicolas Sarkozy to be stretched? (the Sun - natch). UBS share price soars on news of massive write-downs? (All financial press - the madness of markets).
On April Fool’s day it can sometimes be difficult to distinguish fact from fiction. Nor can you trust newspaper advertising - witness BMW's campaign today promoting Canine Repellent Alloy Protection, an ingenious system of delivering an electric shock to any dog thinking of relieving itself against a BMW wheel.
The online Museum of Hoaxes compiles a list of the top 100 April Fool’s day hoaxes of all time and the top ten worst wheezes.
Neither list include Google’s spoof moon base, Copernicus, which advertised for staff in 2004. Nor is there any mention of the hapless FT religious correspondent who was duped into writing up an entire page about the discovery of a new gospel by an elusive European academic, Batson D Seiling.
Paul, I recommend http://aprilfoolsdayontheweb.com/
Latest stuff here!
And of course Virgle!
How could you miss the flying penguins!? Absolute Genius.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/page/item/epeng001.shtml?src=ip_mp
I think it was in 1985 that the London Stock Exchange's TOPIC price display service showed an interesting gradual price ramp in a stock called Newton & Ridley. By lunchtime, the price had ticked up way above the sector average and the stock was listed as a "feature" - ie a big relative mover. Sensing an opportunity for a quick turn, a number of greedy market professionals were moved to ask their blue-buttons to go and "check price and size" (market-speak at the time for "how much can I buy at the indicated price, and what's the spread?). The blue-buttons had to go back and report that they couldn't find a dealer prepared to quote - nor even one that had ever heard of the stock. I remember this only too well - "I can't find the market, sir" is the worst possible response a blue-button could give to a broker with an order.
Newton & Ridley is the fictional manufacturer of beer sold in the Rovers - the pub in Coronation Street. It existed on screens on the morning of April 1, 1985, and at no other time.
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This post is from a series of posts in the group:
A place to share stuff that isn't at all fintec related but is amusing, absurd or scary.
Christian Ball
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