Jape

Those Queen's English speaking cats over at The Economist have written an article all about the history/art of the prank, which they chose to call a jape. Here are some outstanding examples.

A classic of the genre is a 1957 BBC "documentary" on Swiss spaghetti farmers. Many British viewers asked where they could buy pasta trees.

To prove the point that Germans who break even minor rules struggle with their guilt, a few years back a newspaper in Tübingen announced a new experiment by the traffic authorities. Local drivers who had knowingly exceeded the speed limit in recent days were to turn themselves in, pay a fine and take lessons in safe driving. More than 60 sinners obliged.

In 1996, Taco Bell Corporation of America announced it had bought the Liberty Bell from the federal government and was renaming it the Taco Liberty Bell. Cue outrage across the country.

I love that people fell for that spaghetti farming prank.

There are even sponsoring a Prank contest. You can e-mail The Economist pranks, and they will publish the top 3.

[The Economist]