April Fools Day pranks (2016 edition)

A selection of spoofs and tricks from April Fools' Day...

As usual, with yesterday being April Fools' Day, the internet was full of fake stories. Here are just a few of them...

1) Japanese keyboards

Kids born in English speaking countries are lucky that we only have 26 letters to learn.  However, in Japan there are about 50,000 kanji characters, and between 2,000 to 3,000 of these are in common use! So as you can imagine learning to type in Japanese must be quite a task, as you can see by this Japanese keyboard...

2) Darth Vader's real identity revealed.

Dave Prowse (Darth Vader from the original Star Wars trilogy) tweeted this clip from the soon to be released Extra Special Edition of Return Of The Jedi which reveals who Luke Skywalker's father really is... #SpoilerAlert

What do you think of this scene from the soon to be released 'Extra Special Edition' of Return of the Jedi? pic.twitter.com/bygbspiWcM

— Dave Prowse (@isDARTHVADER) April 1, 2016

Update: Sadly, the grumpy sourafces at twitter appear to have deleted the clip, so it's no longer available.

3) Footprints On The Moon

Footprints On The Moon

Ever since the Apollo Moon landings, conspiracy theorists have claimed that the moon landings never actually took place and were actually faked.  However, newly released recordings from the Itazura 4 Moon Rover provide conclusive video evidence that the Moon landings were real.

The video was released by the Asian Space Exploration Coalition (ASEC) and provides video footage of footprints found at the site of the Apollo Moon landings.  You can read more at the Tomorrow's Technology Today website:
Video evidence of the Apollo Moon landings

4) The Duolingo Pillow

Learn a language while you sleep!

Have you ever wanted to learn a new language, but you just don't have the time?  Well now you can learn a new language while you sleep, thanks to the Duolingo Pillow!  The high-tech pillow features the latest cutting edge technology to help you learn a language overnight such as...

i) Cerebral Cortex Cushion

State of the art synthetic fibers encourage development in the cerebral cortex, which improves language retention.

ii) Linguistic Reinforcement Vibration

A clever algorithm uses Morse code to subtly teach your brain new language vocabulary and concepts.

iii) Auditory Cortex Transmitters

The pillow transmits audio samples using high frequency sounds to subliminally teach you pronunciation.

It all sounds amazing, and it's just a shame that it's not real!  Find out more about the 'Duolingo Pillow' at the following link:
Duolingo Pillow

5) New/old mobile from Samsung

Mobile phones have come a long way since
the days of the Samsung Galaxy LTD.

Samsung proudly announced that 'old is the new new' with the relaunch of the Samsung Galaxy LTD, perfect for anyone who yearns for the olden days when tweeting was for birds, clouds stored rain, and mobile phones were for making phone calls!

The old school phone features loads of cool features, such as...

i) A fully extendable aerial!
ii) The largest ever battery, making it ideal as a makeshift doorstop!
iii) Ergonomically designed to fit both your hands (both at the same time judging by the size of it).

Check it out at the Samsung website:
The Samsung Galaxy LTD makes a comeback

6) Crossing the line (part 1)

Not all April Fools' Day pranks were harmless though, and some were a bit cruel, as highlighted by this prank from @bamasevere involving a generous gift of Krispy Kreme doughnuts ... or is it?

Cold blooded. #AprilFools pic.twitter.com/gcWrCxzD4A

— Scott McClellan (@bamasevere) April 1, 2016

Justin Bieber is(n't) moving to Sweden.

7) Heart-Broken Scandinavian Beliebers

Swedish teen magazine Frida was also a bit cruel when they thrilled thousands of Scandinavian Justin Bieber fans by reporting that Justin Bieber was moving to Sweden in the summer!

No doubt Swedish Justin Beiber fans were heart-broken when they quickly discovered it was just an April Fools' Day bluff.

You can read the fake news report on the Frida website:
Justin Bieber is moving to Sweden

...but only if you can read Swedish. #svenska

8) Crossing the line (part 2)

This cartoon from @WumoComicStrip on twitter involves an April Fools' Day prank which definitely goes too far...

pic.twitter.com/uhWsnRgSxE

— WUMO (@WumoComicStrip) April 1, 2016

9) Call Social Services...

But the most evil April Fools' Day prank of all has to be this tweet from @joeheenan which almost had me ringing social services for child cruelty...

#AprilFools Told my kids I got them an iPad but it's just the box. pic.twitter.com/GvSymVkq91

— joe heenan (@joeheenan) April 1, 2016

I can only hope that the photo was a set-up and he did actually get his kids an iPad after all, but judging by the expressions on their faces I would say they're extremely good actors if it was just a set-up.

10) Next year

It's too late for this year, but next year if you want to post your own made-up story on twitter or facebook, such as 'Lionel Messi signs for Accrington Stanley' or 'Next series of Big Brother to be held on the Moon', then you can use the following link:
http://smarturl.it/NewsPage415

It links to a photo saying 'April Fools!' but the link is disguised as a news story so that people won't instantly realise that it's a bluff.

. . . . . . . .

If you reckon you're an expert at spotting a good bluff, then check out 'True Or False: A Light-Hearted Collection Of 100 Facts And Bluffs' by Charles Fudgemuffin:

You can find more April Fools' Day pranks from previous years below:
April Fools' Day pranks (2015 edition)
April Fools' Day pranks (2014 edition)