1 April 2014
Last updated at 05:40 ET
But here is a round-up of some of this year's bizarre stories that are true, or seriously intended at least.
1. Heston Blumenthal is moving the Fat Duck restaurant to Melbourne, Australia, for six months. The three Michelin-starred restaurant in Bray, Berkshire, will close for renovations from the end of December this year and the whole team - along with some fixtures and fittings - will head down under. The Crown Towers hotel will play host to the restaurant from February 2015.
More details (the Guardian)
2. A resident of Peterhead in Aberdeenshire is decorating dog mess on the pavement with strawberries and cream. Theresa Ritchie wants to draw attention to the small mounds and also embarrass owners into picking up more. The vigilante also uses cake icing and Nutella in her unusual labelling strategy.
More details (the Sun, page 3)
4. Sand from the Sahara desert landed on David Cameron's car. The phenomenon, sometimes known as blood rain, leaves a thin layer of red dust behind. The particles are swept up by winds in North Africa and can be blown for hundreds of miles in the right conditions.
More details (Daily Mail)
5. A hotel owned by Andy Murray is now open for business. The 26-year-old tennis star bought Cromlix House, near his home town of Dunblane, last year. It has been converted into a 15-room luxury hotel with its own loch, chapel and tennis court. It is already fully booked for the Ryder Cup. Murray was best man at his brother Jamie's wedding there in 2010.
More details (the Guardian)
7. Manchester United's Old Trafford ground could be renamed after Nike in a £500m deal. Football commentator Richard Keys originally made the claim and it has now been restated by the Daily Star. The club have dismissed the allegations as "rubbish".
More details (Daily Star)
8. Rats as big as cats are roaming the streets of Birmingham. The city had 5,100 rat alerts in the past year and pest controllers reported seeing one rodent which was 2ft long and the "width of a brick". Bad weather is thought to have increased the number of call-outs by forcing the monstrous creatures indoors.
More details (Daily Mirror)
9. Traditionalists in Brittany are upset by the spread of multiple cheek kissing. People in the Celtic-tinged region of France usually only greet others with a single kiss. But some people are adapting the style from elsewhere in France where between two and four kisses are normal. An internet campaign - The Group of the Rehabilitation of the Single Kiss in Brest - has now been launched.
More details (the Times)
10. A man lost over 14st (196lb, 90kg) using morris dancing. Richard Landon had reached a weight of 28st 2lb thanks to excess pies and alcohol. But his rapid weight loss coincided with taking up traditional British folk dancing.
More details (the Sun)
Assembled by Finlo Rohrer and Andrew McFarlane
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April Fools Day: 10 stories that look like pranks but aren't
April
Fools' Day sets a challenge for news junkies as they are bombarded with
bogus news stories, some so subtle as to be nearly undetectable.
1. Heston Blumenthal is moving the Fat Duck restaurant to Melbourne, Australia, for six months. The three Michelin-starred restaurant in Bray, Berkshire, will close for renovations from the end of December this year and the whole team - along with some fixtures and fittings - will head down under. The Crown Towers hotel will play host to the restaurant from February 2015.
More details (the Guardian)
2. A resident of Peterhead in Aberdeenshire is decorating dog mess on the pavement with strawberries and cream. Theresa Ritchie wants to draw attention to the small mounds and also embarrass owners into picking up more. The vigilante also uses cake icing and Nutella in her unusual labelling strategy.
Continue reading the main story
On 1 April 1957, the BBC current affairs programme Panorama
fooled the nation with a report about the annual spaghetti harvest.
Michael Peacock, who commissioned the film, recalls how his team came up
with the idea and kept it secret before broadcasting to a credulous
audience.
3. Ambitious internet sellers were trying to
sell a discontinued flavour of car air freshener for £450 on ebay. The
Jelly Belly 3D Juicy Flavour used to retail at £3.49 but is now being
replaced by other flavours. The item was later withdrawn although there
are other sellers still trying to get £100 for their fresheners. Is this the best April Fool hoax?
More details (the Sun, page 3)
4. Sand from the Sahara desert landed on David Cameron's car. The phenomenon, sometimes known as blood rain, leaves a thin layer of red dust behind. The particles are swept up by winds in North Africa and can be blown for hundreds of miles in the right conditions.
More details (Daily Mail)
5. A hotel owned by Andy Murray is now open for business. The 26-year-old tennis star bought Cromlix House, near his home town of Dunblane, last year. It has been converted into a 15-room luxury hotel with its own loch, chapel and tennis court. It is already fully booked for the Ryder Cup. Murray was best man at his brother Jamie's wedding there in 2010.
Continue reading the main story
6. A candidate for the Holy Grail, the
supposed cup from which Jesus drank at the last supper, has been found
in Spain. The goblet, made of agate, gold and onyx, has had to be
removed from display at a church in Leon after crowds flocked to see it.
Two historians published a book saying it could be the famous chalice.
They started their search after the discovery of two Egyptian parchments
at a university in Cairo. The cup will not be displayed until the
church of San Isidro has found a suitably large space to accommodate the
throngs of visitors. True stories from past April Fools
- Flea circus performers die of the cold (2013)
- Guns that turn victims into "zombies" (2012)
- Chickens terrorise Southport residents (2011)
- SOS from Titanic in the Caribbean (2010)
- Yoga and cheerleading for PE (2009)
- Pay-per-view funeral service scheme (2008)
- Eccleston quits as Doctor Who (2005)
- Viagra-for-votes scandal (2004)
More details (the Guardian)
7. Manchester United's Old Trafford ground could be renamed after Nike in a £500m deal. Football commentator Richard Keys originally made the claim and it has now been restated by the Daily Star. The club have dismissed the allegations as "rubbish".
More details (Daily Star)
8. Rats as big as cats are roaming the streets of Birmingham. The city had 5,100 rat alerts in the past year and pest controllers reported seeing one rodent which was 2ft long and the "width of a brick". Bad weather is thought to have increased the number of call-outs by forcing the monstrous creatures indoors.
More details (Daily Mirror)
9. Traditionalists in Brittany are upset by the spread of multiple cheek kissing. People in the Celtic-tinged region of France usually only greet others with a single kiss. But some people are adapting the style from elsewhere in France where between two and four kisses are normal. An internet campaign - The Group of the Rehabilitation of the Single Kiss in Brest - has now been launched.
More details (the Times)
10. A man lost over 14st (196lb, 90kg) using morris dancing. Richard Landon had reached a weight of 28st 2lb thanks to excess pies and alcohol. But his rapid weight loss coincided with taking up traditional British folk dancing.
More details (the Sun)
Assembled by Finlo Rohrer and Andrew McFarlane
You can follow the Magazine on Twitter and on Facebook
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