As well as being the end of the first quarter of 09 (a scary thought in itself), April Fools Day is also upon us, that day of the year when practical jokes are in and we read headlines with a grain of salt.

The origins of the day are not clear, but it has been celebrated since at least the 15th century. Some believe that came about in response to the change in the date of New Year's Day in Europe, which shifted from Easter or March 25th to January 1, and that those who stuck to the old date were considered fools, though it seems the tradition was in place before the calendar change. However what is undeniable is the connotation it has today as a chance for pranksters to go wild. So, in today's blog, we thought we would look at some of the more famous pranks committed on this day.

Digital Big Ben
In 1980 the BBC ran a story that this famous landmark was going to have an upgrade and go digital. Needless to say the idea didn't sit well with Londoners. It wasn't the first great hoax to play with time, in 1975 the ABC's This Day Tonight announced that Australia would be shifting to decimal time, with 100 seconds to the minute, 100 minutes to the hour, and 20 hours to the day.

Dead Fairy
What started out as a hoax in a local paper snowballed into a worldwide phenomenon in 2007 as photos were published of the supposed mummified remains of a fairy. It turns out it was the creation of a magician and artist, who then sold the fairy online for 300 pounds.

Flying Penguins
The BBC announced that its crew in Antarctica filming The Miracle of Evolution had captured the first footage of Adélie penguins flying north for the winter. The video of the faked footage was one of the most popular clips on the internet of 2008.

BMW series
For the past few years BMW have been running a series of ads on April Fool's Day for products such as a sealant to stop dogs going to the bathroom on your wheels and another that synchronises your home appliances with your in-car GPS to cook a meal when you get home.

Safety Conscious Dogs
The citizens of Copenhagen received a small shock in 1965 when a major newspaper reported the Danish government had passed a law requiring all dogs to be painted white, so they would be more visible to motorists at night.

The Great Spaghetti Harvest
In one of the most famous pranks of all time, the BBC (whose staff clearly live for this sort of thing) screened an edition of its flagship news program Panorama featuring a report on the Swiss spaghetti harvest, which was expecting a bumper crop that year. Dirndl-clad peasants were shown harvesting the spaghetti merrily, and praising the virtual elimination of the spaghetti weevil. To this day, it's a classic of the genre.

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